Jordy Berne

Alumni

Jordy Berne

Associate Economist, RAND

Jordy Berne is an Associate Economist at RAND. His research examines the drivers of economic opportunity, with a particular focus on education policy, childhood circumstances, and social safety net programs. Berne specializes in causal inference meth...

News

EPI Predoctoral Fellow Jordy Berne wins Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award

Mar 20, 2026

Education Policy Initiative (EPI) Predoctoral Fellow alum, Jordy Berne (PhD ‘25), was recognized by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) with the 2026 Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award for his research on Michigan's thir...

EPI Predoctoral Fellow Jordy Berne wins Jean Flanigan Outstanding Dissertation Award

Publication

Transitional kindergarten in Michigan: Impacts through elementary school and predictors of a lasting boost

Sep 29, 2021

Access to early education programs have been shown for decades to improve the educational prospects for children in kindergarten and beyond. A new type of early education program widespread in Michigan and California—transitional kindergarten (TK)—ha...

Transitional kindergarten in Michigan: Impacts through elementary school and predictors of a lasting boost

EPI Policy briefs

Michigan Transitional Kindergarten: A First Look at Program Reach and Features

January 1, 2023

Anna Shapiro, Jordy Berne, Katia Cordoba Garcia, Brian Jacob, Tareena Musaddiq, Samuel Owusu, Christina Weiland

Thousands of young Michigan children attend state-funded transitional kindergarten (TK) programs. These programs are intended to provide an additional year of early education before children begin traditional kindergarten. School districts in Michiga...

Teacher with children in kindergarten classroom