Kyla Wahlstrom

Kyla L. Wahlstrom, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development (OLPD) in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, where she has worked for the past 26 years. She is the primary investigator of the original research on school start times begun in 1996. In 2010 she was awarded a federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue research on the outcomes for later school start times. Her 20-year study of the effect of the later start time on high school students has influenced school policies across the U.S., and has been featured in publications and media ranging from Congressional Quarterly and Rolling Stone Magazine to Scientific American, Newsweek, NPR’s All Things Considered and PBS’ Frontline. Dr. Wahlstrom is the recipient of the MASCD National Research Award for her ground-breaking study of the effects of later starting times for high schools.