Melissa Lautenschlager

Melissa has been committed to advancing education in Texas for over 25 years. She began her career as a high school science teacher, where she developed curriculum and instructional materials for innovative courses. After 15 years of teaching and course development across three cities and five schools, Melissa transitioned into district roles, focusing on supporting teachers and leaders in science and math instructional practices.

As the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for KIPP Texas, Melissa led the implementation of aligned, high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) in Math across four cities and 59 K-12 schools. This experience deepened her commitment to ensuring equitable educational experiences for all students through effective HQIM use.

Melissa later served as the Director of the Instructional Materials and Implementation Division at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). In this role, she led a team responsible for fulfilling legislative and policy requirements related to instructional materials and the State Board of Education, managing the state’s Technology and Instructional Materials Allotment (TIMA) funds, providing accessible materials, reviewing products for quality through the Texas Resource Review (TRR), and developing resources and training to support effective implementation practices.

Currently, as Director of Customer Success at Amira Learning, Melissa supports district and campus leadership in implementing innovative reading solutions.