As the Lead Senior Research Scientist at WestEd, Kylie Flynn coordinates research-related quality assurance, professional learning, and compliance activities across the agency. Her research focuses on testing promising educational innovations across academic domains and identifying best practices to support the learning of students with inequitable educational opportunities. She has an established record of partnering effectively with school districts and developers to execute educational research projects that inform instructional practices. She is an invited instructor at the Institute of Education Science’s (IES) Cluster Randomized Trials’ Summer Training Institute.
Flynn is currently leading or co-leading multiple studies funded by IES and the Office of Innovation and Improvement’s Education Innovation and Research program. These projects examine a variety of impactful interventions, including high-dosage math tutoring for preschoolers, a digital game-based social-emotional learning program for third graders, and a self-affirmation intervention designed to buffer Black and Latinx middle schoolers from stereotype threat. Additionally, Flynn has led large contracts with educational companies, such as Scholastic, Newsela, and Age of Learning. Most of her projects are in WestEd’s Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) content area.
Prior to joining WestEd, Flynn worked at Florida State University’s (FSU’s) Florida Center for Reading Research on several intervention studies funded by IES and the National Institutes of Health. She also taught reading courses to students in FSU’s special education teacher preparation program.
Flynn received a BA in American Public Policy and English from Michigan State University and a MS and PhD in Special Education from Florida State University.