Mel Wylen is a program associate with WestEd’s Resource Planning team. She has over 10 years of experience in the field of education. She is knowledgeable about large district and school-level strategic planning, school-level evaluation, and individualized school support focused on data-driven continuous improvement. Wylen also has expertise in data-informed instructional changes and facilitating inter-district professional learning communities focused on building administrative and teacher capacity.
Before joining WestEd, Wylen was a High School Network Data Strategist at Chicago Public Schools (CPS). She began her role at CPS coaching 36 elementary and high schools to use real-time data for continuous improvement. Later, she transitioned to supporting 19 high schools when the district moved to a model housing elementary and high school support teams separately. In these roles, she provided reporting and data-informed systems support to advise on interventions, continuous improvement, instructional change, professional development, and strategic planning measures at the school and network levels.
Preceding that role, Wylen was the Assistant Manager of Data Strategy and Professional Learning for the University of Chicago Success Project, supporting Chicago Public Schools Networks build On Track systems to drive student success and achievement.
Wylen received her BA in sociocultural anthropology from the University of South Carolina and her MAT from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, where her studies focused on teaching English and English language learners.