Internships at RFA
Mentorship, practical training, & professional development.
Want to join a dynamic team and add hands-on research or communications experience to your resume? Research for Action has several internships available for Spring 2024 (January through May 2024). To apply, please use the link below, indicate which internship you are applying for, and be sure to submit both a cover letter and resume to be considered.
Internships
Pennsylvania Policy Intern (Spring 2024 Semester)
The Spring 2024 P/ACER Policy intern will support RFA’s policy-oriented projects grounded in Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. The Pennsylvania Clearinghouse for Education Research–or PACER–is designed to inform state education policy discussions through rigorous, objective research; regular policy briefs; and research-based commentaries in leading media outlets statewide. The Allegheny County Education Research (ACER) project provides robust, timely, and actionable independent research and analysis to inform educational policy and practice in Allegheny County public schools.
The project is looking for an intern that can support project staff in conducting research activities for upcoming PACER and ACER policy briefs. The P/ACER intern will conduct literature reviews, scan policies, and draft analytic memos on pressing educational policy issues that relate to the state of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. Research topics may include school finance, enrollment patterns, educational opportunities, teacher workforce and other topics related to educational equity. The P/ACER intern will also contribute to descriptive data analysis on timely policy related research. There will be opportunities to assist in dissemination of research and strategic event planning. Click here to learn more about this internship opportunity.
Quantitative Program Evaluation Intern (Spring 2024 Semester)
The intern in this position will support two projects over the course of the spring semester:
- For the first half of the semester, the intern will support RFA’s evaluations of afterschool programs funded through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant. As the local evaluator for approximately twenty Community Learning Centers, RFA produces mixed-methods reports that examine the implementation of the 21st Century afterschool and summer programs and outcomes related to student attendance, academic achievement, and behavior. In addition to quantitative evaluation report requirements, RFA conducts observations, interviews, and focus groups to develop snapshots of program quality for formative purposes.
- For the second half of the semester, the intern will support RFA’s evaluation of a suite of social-emotional and prevention programs across more than ten Montgomery County school districts (also referred to as “MontCo SEL”). As the evaluator, RFA collects program outcome data through surveys about different programming components across all participating districts, reports program outcomes at school-, district-, and county-level, and collaborates with evaluation partners and stakeholders to achieve the evaluation goals.
Click here to learn more about the internship. Click here to apply.