Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt is a native of Virginia whose educational and professional background spans across a wide spectrum of experiences in the teaching and learning field and in a variety of roles and settings throughout the Commonwealth. On July 28, 2022, the Alexandria City School Board appointed Kay-Wyatt as the interim superintendent effective Sept. 1, 2022. This appointment followed her previous roles at Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). On July 1, 2021, Kay-Wyatt began her journey at ACPS as the executive director for human resources of Alexandria City Public Schools where she quickly moved up the ranks, in recognition of her hard work and commitment to those she serves, with her appointment as Chief of Human Resources in just one year since starting at ACPS in 2021. Her excellent organizational, communication and customer service skills have successfully served the ACPS community in its work aligning School Board priorities and ACPS’ mission and vision to the 2025 Strategic Plan: Equity for All. Kay-Wyatt’s interdepartmental collaboration as well as with external stakeholders to support instruction and staffing feasibility for all schools has enabled the school system to ensure our students’ continued learning, especially throughout the challenging times presented by the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
Kay-Wyatt holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mary Washington College, a master’s in science in education from Old Dominion University in addition to a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Mary Washington. Kay-Wyatt’s doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University centered on an evaluation of early literacy groups and she has extensively researched Title I schoolwide and targeted assistance programs’ impact on schools.
As an experienced educator and administrator, Kay-Wyatt started her career as a special education teacher in Culpeper Middle School and then went on to Fredericksburg, Va., where she later advanced to serve first as a middle school assistant principal followed by a principalship at Walker-Grant Middle School. She also has extensive experience as an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary and Shenandoah University where she provided instruction on classroom management techniques and human resource leadership with a focus on school improvement.
Kay-Wyatt’s strong administrative skills were sharply honed during her tenure as the director of human resources for Spotsylvania County Public Schools along with her presidency and as a former Board chair of the international education membership organization, ASCD. In her human resources director role in Spotsylvania, she successfully developed the Plan Implementation of Educators Academy and supported Dual Enrollment programs, in addition to overseeing the recruitment and retention of highly effective licensed and support employees. Kay-Wyatt has also led strategic reorganizations of budget and staffing and demonstrated a working knowledge of financial and business acumen to accomplish strategic priorities at ASCD.
In all her years of public education service, Kay-Wyatt has exhibited a deep, clear understanding of student and staff needs as well as an enormous dedication to working closely with internal stakeholders, other school divisions, and outside agencies to promote comprehensive plans and policies that equitably address divisionwide needs. These qualities will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the ACPS community of students, families and staff as she leads the school division in her newly appointed role of interim superintendent.
Kay-Wyatt is also the proud mom of two adult daughters.
