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Kayleigh Koester has a wealth of experience in the education field. In 2013, they began their career as an English Language Learners Teacher at Phillis Wheatley Elementary in Kansas City Public Schools. In 2015, they joined KIPP St. Louis as a Founding Kindergarten, Second Grade, Third Grade, and Fourth Grade Teacher, in addition to Grade Level Chair, Course Leader, and Upper Elementary Literacy Coach. In 2017, they began Cooperating Teacher roles at Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. In 2019, they joined St. Louis Teacher Residency as a Mentor Teacher and Washington University in St. Louis as a Cooperating Teacher. In 2020, they took on a Private Instructional Consultant role, advising and directing families seeking differentiated learning experiences during district virtual instruction, and they were recruited for the inaugural Alumni Coaching Fellowship with Teach For America to direct the development of secondary Spanish teachers during virtual and in person instruction. In 2021, they began roles as a Program Evaluator with Des Moines Public Schools and a Virtual Instructional Coach with EdConnective. Finally, in 2022, they began a Graduate Assistant role at the University of Iowa Center for Assessment and Evaluation.

Kayleigh Koester's education history includes a Bachelor's degree in Music and International Relations from Drake University, which they completed in 2013. Kayleigh then went on to receive a Master's degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis in 2015. In 2021, they began a Master of Arts in Educational Measurement & Statistics at the University of Iowa, which they are currently pursuing. In 2012, they also attended the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES Abroad) to study International Relations and Affairs and Spanish Language.

Koester also holds certifications in Social and Behavioral Research from the University of Iowa IRB, a Career Continuous Professional Certification from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, a Master Educator License from the State of Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, and is a Member of the American Evaluation Association.