American Institutes for Research

Betheny Lyke is a principal technical assistance consultant at AIR. Dr. Lyke brings a wealth of experience and vision to her role as principal consultant of the District and School Improvement Center at the American Institutes for Research as one who understands the demands of school and district administrators. As the former executive director of the Illinois Center for School Improvement at AIR (Illinois CSI at AIR), she led a team of 100 staff from across the state to achieve substantial success in supporting leaders from underperforming urban, rural and suburban schools and districts in transforming their systems and ultimately driving higher student achievement.

Dr. Lyke began her career as a mathematics teacher with Chicago Public Schools and Thornton Township High School District in South Holland. She advanced her education career at Thornton Township High School District having served in a variety of administrative roles including four years as a principal with the district.  Dr. Lyke was then appointed to serve as assistant superintendent and later superintendent for the same district. As a district administrator she led a variety of turnaround strategies to halt and then reverse the trend of declining student achievement. She also served as a Rising Star trainer and School Improvement Grants reviewer for the Illinois State Board of Education. Dr. Lyke is passionate about supporting struggling schools and districts in putting equity into action by identifying and addressing root causes of underachievement.