Ken Kerr

Ken Kerr was born in and lives in Frederick, Maryland. Kerr earned an associate degree from Frederick Community College in 1978, a B.A. in music from Hood College in 1981, an M.S. in professional writing from Towson University in 1995, and a doctorate in higher education leadership (EdD, leadership) from Morgan State University in 2003. His career experience includes working as the chair of the English department at Frederick Community College.[1]

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What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

increasing access to Career and Technology Education and apprenticeship opportunities

Improving access to public transportation and reducing highway congestion

Ensuring access to affordable healthcare and prescription medicines

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education

Economic Development

Environment

Healthcare

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The willingness to listen and consider all points of view, being honest with people, doing what's best for the most, showing up prepared for work.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have had careers both in private industry and education. I have been active in my community and have a history of taking on leadership roles and getting big projects completed.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To work for all citizens of the district--not just the ones who supported you.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I had just turned 5 years old when John Glenn blasted off in Mercury 6 to become the first American to orbit the earth. I remember thinking that anything was possible.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was in the 10th grade. I went to high school across from the Social Security Administration in Baltimore. I got a union job cleaning the cafeteria after school. I worked there through that school year mopping floors, mostly.

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

Thanksgiving. It is just a time to celebrate with family and friends. There are no expectations other than having great food and enjoying being together.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I was fascinated by the scope of it and how actions would lead to consequences thousands of years later.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

My outdoor cooking area with my Argentine asado and wood fired over. I built them both and adorn the exterior with rocks I bring home from my travels.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

A national process by a non-partisan body or impartial algorithm.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Appropriations or Ways and Means as they deal most directly with education funding.

Ken Kerr participated in [the profile publisher]'s 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on February 5, 2016:

I have no goals other than for Frederick County to have excellent schools. I am not going into office with a laundry list of problems that need to be fixed. Schools are complicated and outsiders do not have the complete picture. I have the experience, knowledge, and skills to do the job. What I hope to achieve is just that--to do a good job.[11][12]

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.

Education policy

Click here to learn more about education policy in Maryland.

Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking

Candidate's ranking

Issue

1

Improving post-secondary readiness

2

Closing the achievement gap

3

Balancing or maintaining the district's budget

4

Improving education for special needs students

5

Expanding arts education

6

Improving relations with teachers

7

Expanding school choice options

Board/teacher relations are important, but I do not see that as an area where I am personally in need of improvement,[12]

—Ken Kerr (February 5, 2016)

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from [the profile publisher] regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.

Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools.In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.)

Yes. Charter Schools are a viable and important option for experimenting with new teaching methods and classroom practices. With more autonomy, freedom, and flexibility, teachers and curriculum developers are able to try new approaches, innovate, be creative. The best charter schools are those that take on big challenges and bold ideas, schools that want to tackle problems and find solutions. The best charter schools are those that want to work with special populations who are not thriving in traditional school settings and find ways to help them learn and reach their goals.

Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement.

The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases.

Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?

No. Standardized test are a measure of a school system--not individual students or teachers.

What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative?

In general, I am in favor of some type of educational standards. Standards are a part of everyday life--building codes, health department regulations, sanitation requirements--all of these are standards. If the Common Core Standards were not in place, some other set of standards would need to be. Right now, these are the standards we have.

How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district?

Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. Teaching is a complicated job. There is so much more that goes into it besides the 7-hours-a-day with students. It can be difficult for new teachers as well as seasoned teachers facing times of great change. Beyond that, we should treat struggling teachers like we treat struggling students. We don't terminate under-performing students before trying all we can to help them.

Should teachers receive merit pay?

No. Not at this time. I have not seen a plan that is fair and equitable. To design and implement a fair plan would require an administrative overhead that may cost as much as giving pay increases to all teachers regardless of merit. Teachers in my district have not seen regular increases in almost a decade. We need to address base salaries before we begin discussing merit pay.

Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program?

No.

How should expulsion be used in the district?

Certainly, when a felony conviction is involved. Beyond that, when all efforts to ameliorate habitual anti-social behavior have been unsuccessful and the school system does not have the expertise or resources--beyond what has been tried--to alter the student behavior.

What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration?

Teachers Teachers, a good teacher can improve a poor curriculum. A poor curriculum cannot improve a poor teacher. Parent involvement is probably the most important, but that is something that cannot be legislated, regulated, or mandated. Class size is also important, but the most important is an effective teacher.

Kerr explained his themes for the 2014 race on his campaign website:

Teacher Salaries:

Frederick is the 8th wealthiest county, in the wealthiest state, with the 6th most effective schools. Yet, we have the lowest teacher salaries in 22 of the 24 school districts. We need to pay our teachers for what they have already accomplished: the state's lowest dropout rate at 5.05%, 70% of graduates indicating they are going on to college or advanced training, SAT scores that are 55 points above the state average and 40 points higher than the national average. These statistics reflect what is happening in Frederick County classrooms with Frederick County teachers. Our teachers merit salaries commensurate with the quality of the work they already do compared to their peers.

Learning Technologies:

The top-ten jobs today did not exist in 2004. We are preparing today’s students for jobs that do not yet exist. The only aspect of the workplace we can safely assume will be part of their professional lives is technology. Yet, our schools are not making the best use of technology in teaching and learning. We need a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to provide adequate technology and infrastructure in public schools to provide our students with the tools and skills they need for a reasonable chance at success in college and career.

Curriculum:

Teachers need autonomy to teach in a way that is most effective for them and for their students. You can’t teach someone else’s canned curriculum any better than you can use someone else’s canned PowerPoint presentation. You don’t understand the foundational thinking that went into the development of the logical sequence as it unfolds. We hire qualified professionals. Let’s trust them to do their jobs.

Standardized Tests:

Standardized testing is one factor in a complex equation. It measures what students know and are able to do after they have been given time and experience with the concept or skill. This shows how well students are learning—not necessarily how well teachers are teaching. These types of tests—MSA, PARCC—show where teaching and learning are effective and where they can be improved. That is the only way they should be used. And this is true only when the test is valid. No matter what the case, PARCC results will not be meaningful for at least 4 years when current 7th graders take 11th grade assessments. In the strictest sense, we cannot make meaningful conclusions from PARCC assessments until today’s 1st graders are in 11th grade. It’s like asking someone who entered the theater in the 3rd act to explain the sequence of the plot.

The Common Core:

Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a set of learning outcomes. More specifically it is a sequence of outcomes—not a collection. One builds upon the previous. It is the autonomous responsibility of the school system to design a curriculum that will effectively help students master the outcomes at each level and move on to the increased complexity of the next. If assessments show students cannot perform as expected, we know where to go back and make adjustments to the curriculum. It will take time to see if students across the USA can meet the Common Core Standards. In Maryland, we have some of the best schools in the nation. Frederick should score well against national peers. I'm up for the challenge.

[12]

—Kenneth Kerr's campaign website, (2014)

[13]