College of Education and Human Development

Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement

Sara Kemper

  • Research Associate

Sara Kemper

Areas of interest

Educational leadership
Educational equity
Teacher retention
Schools as workplaces
School design

Biography

Sara Kemper joined the CAREI team as a Research Associate in 2021. Her early experience as a 5th grade teacher opened her eyes to the many ways in which formal education systems disadvantage low-income and BIPOC students. She now works to support people and organizations passionate about disrupting those systems and advancing educational equity through applied research and evaluation. At CAREI, Sara's portfolio includes a range of PreK-12 projects, including The Minnesota Principals Survey, the Minneapolis Public Schools - College of Education and Human Development research practice partnership, and the Wisconsin-Minnesota Comprehensive Center. Sara has a PhD in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Minnesota and an MEd in Elementary Teaching from Wilmington University. 

Publications

Pekel, K., Kemper, S., Parr, A., Evenson, A., & Zhao, Y. (2022). Report of Findings from the First Biennial Minnesota Principals Survey. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.

Demerath, P., Kemper, S., Yousuf, E., & Banwo, B. (2022). A grounded model of how educators earn students’ trust in a high performing U.S. urban high school. The Urban Review, 54, 703-732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-022-00635-4

Kemper, S. (2021, October 15). Stories as evidence: Capturing unsung learning in immeasurable ways. Education Evolving Blog. https://www.educationevolving.org/blog/2021/10/stories-as-evidence

Kemper, S. (2021, June 2). At Crosstown High, student agency flourishes on a bedrock of strong relationships. Education Evolving Blog. https://www.educationevolving.org/blog/2021/06/crosstown-high

Kemper, S. (2020). “Where I bloomed”: Exploring teacher professional vitality in the teacher-powered school. [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities]. https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/217788

Walls, J., & Kemper, S. (2019). Fitting in to stand out: How teachers at small urban “specialty schools” experience extra-organizational influence. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 18(3), 433-459.

Walls, J., & Kemper, S. (2019). Trading off between representativeness and social capital: The case of Bayview Secondary School. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 22(1), 15-28.

Kemper, S. (2018, May 23). What I wish I had known before I left teaching. Education Evolving Innovation & Policy Blog. https://www.educationevolving.org/blog/2018/05/what-i-wish-i-had-known.

Kemper, S. (2017). Understanding the role of teacher decision-making in voluntary teacher turnover: A review. Texas Education Review, 5(2), 47-65.

Sato, M., & Kemper, S. (2017). Teacher assessment from pre-service through in-service teaching. In J. Husu & J. Clandinin, Eds., International Handbook of Research in Teacher Education. London: Sage, 944-962.

Munson, B., Ryherd, K., & Kemper, S. (2017). Implicit and explicit gender priming in English lingual sibilant fricative perception. Linguistics, 55(5).

Presentations

Kemper, S. (2019). “I want to stay in a place like this”: Selected findings from a study of professional work life in teacher-powered schools. Invited presentation at the Teacher-Powered Schools “Teacher-Powered Day,” Burnsville, MN, November 9.

Kemper, S. (2018). Linking collective decision-making and teacher professional vitality in teacher-powered schools. Invited presentation at the Teacher-Powered Schools 2018 National Conference, Boston, MA, December 1.

Kemper, S. (2017). Model change agents: Teaching students to be powerful in teacher-led schools. Presented at the University Council for Educational Administration 2017 Convening, Denver, CO, November 17.

Kemper, S., & Demerath, P. (2017). Creating school belonging: The role of non-academic teachers and staff. Presented at the American Educational Research Association 2017 Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, April 27-May 1.

Kemper, S., & Walls, J. (2017). Small specialty schools: Enacting educational opportunity in the context of institutional constraint. Presented at the American Educational Research Association 2017 Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, April 27-May 1.

Kemper, S. (2016). The hegemony of documentation in public education: What counts as evidence in the implementation of a racial equity policy in an urban high school. Presented at the American Anthropological Association 2016 Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, November 19.

Kemper, S. (2016). Re-envisioning teacher leadership to improve school working conditions: Implications for school governance and teacher retention. Paper presented at University Council for Educational Administration 2016 Convening, Detroit, MI, November 18.

Walls, J., & Kemper, S. (2016). Making sense of the emerging role of "specialty schools" in urban settings. Paper presented at University Council for Educational Administration 2016 Convening, Detroit, MI, November 18.

Demerath, P., & Kemper, S. (2016). How U.S. urban high school students acquire noncognitive factors associated with academic success. Paper presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement Annual Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, January 8.

Kemper, S., & Munson, B. (2010). Implicit perception of speaker sex affects fricative categorization. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, Baltimore, MD, January 7.