Education Researcher, SRI Education
Anna Jennerjohn is an education researcher with expertise in reading and writing instruction, teacher workforce solutions, and science learning for children. Leveraging her experience as a practitioner, she designs rigorous, community-informed studies that advance reading development and STEM engagement for all children, particularly for multilingual learners and students historically underserved by education systems.
At SRI, Jennerjohn leads and contributes to projects across topics of literacy instruction, teaching quality, and STEM. She currently co-leads the evaluation of a National Professional Development Program grant supporting bilingual and multilingual educator pathways at Alder Graduate School of Education, an innovative program that is scaling licensure pathways for schools in need of highly qualified educators. She also leads classroom literacy observations for the Urban District Literacy Collaborative, applying a validated tool to assess equitable reading instruction in more than 30 schools across four urban areas. In each of these efforts, she employs mixed methods to elevate community insights while simultaneously connecting to quantitative program outcome data.
Prior to joining SRI, Jennerjohn led or co-led federally funded evaluations of early STEM and literacy initiatives, including projects supported by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Education. Her earlier work also includes developing curricula for multi-tiered systems of support in reading, instructing preservice teachers in asset-based literacy instruction, and conducting participatory research with emergent bilingual children in nature-based settings. She has authored peer-reviewed publications in The Reading Teacher, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, and Action in Teacher Education, among others. Her goal is to contribute to education systems where all children learn how to read well and have opportunities to engage in playful learning.
Jennerjohn holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction—literacy education and an MA in education policy and leadership from the University of Minnesota. Before transitioning to research, she served as a teacher, literacy specialist, and instructional leader in schools across the Midwest and Mexico.
Key projects
- Research Partners for the Urban District Literacy Collaborative
- Evaluation of Alder Graduate School of Education – Bilingual and Multilingual Educator Pathways
- Developing Science Assessments for Language Diversity in Early Elementary Classrooms (SALDEE)
Selected publications
- Jennerjohn, A., Peterson, D. S., & Cavanaugh, C. (2024). Nearby Nature: An Interdisciplinary Science, Literacy, and Technology Project Situated within a Traditional Teacher Preparation Program. Action in Teacher Education, 46(1), 21-37.*
- Ittner, A. C., Jennerjohn, A., & Helman, L. (2025). Insights Into Multilingual Students to Capitalize on Their Language Knowledge. The Reading Teacher, 78(6), 415-423.*
*Publication written prior to SRI employment
