As a Senior Research Associate, Dan Mello builds state and district capacity to create, transform, and sustain high-quality data systems aimed at promoting positive educational outcomes.
Mello leads planning, development, and implementation of technical assistance for states and districts to improve their collection, management, integration, and use of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) data. He serves as a Targeted and Universal Technical Assistance Lead for the Center for Integration of IDEA Data (CIID) and provides technical assistance for the IDEA Data Center (IDC).
Mello brings technical and adaptive expertise to help educators meet and exceed federal requirements to ensure that reliable data drives educator and system improvement. Mello also provides evaluation and monitoring services, including as a lead monitor for the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter School Program Monitoring grant, for which he ensures programmatic and fiscal accountability among CSP grantees.
Mello has supported state and district leadership to plan and implement systemic improvements to address emerging data quality challenges. These efforts have focused on support for English learners, the development of social-emotional skills, and project-based learning data.
Mello has authored and coauthored a number of reports, publications, and tools for promoting high-quality data systems serving educationally disadvantaged students. Notably, Mello coauthored the IDC Part B Data System Framework (for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services) as well as the Home Language Survey Data Quality Self-Assessment (for the Institute of Education Sciences).
Mello graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s in mathematics in 2008.