Dr. Deborah Kerr
District Administrator
Dr. Deborah Kerr is the proud Superintendent of Brown Deer School District, one of the most diverse 4K-12th grade districts in the state of Wisconsin with over 1,600 students which include over 80% of students of color with close to 50% students in poverty. She brings over forty years of educational experience to her position and is in her 20th year as a Superintendent with the last thirteen years in Brown Deer and is very proud to be a Brown Deer Falcon!
She earned her Doctorate of Education Leadership from National-Louis University, a Master of Education from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and a Bachelor of Arts & Science from Valparaiso University. Her teaching career began at the prestigious University of Chicago – Laboratory Schools. In addition to her current position, Dr. Kerr has served as a middle school principal, an adjunct professor at local universities, an assistant principal, a physical education/health teacher, coach, an athletic director, and a successful girls’ varsity high school basketball coach winning two back-to-back state championships.
Her experience also involves membership and leadership roles in regional, state and national organizations. She has served as President of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) and state governing board for six years. She also served her Milwaukee Metro community as President of the Milwaukee North Shore Rotary. Most recently she was elected to serve as President of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) a 13,000 membership organization advocating for all children across the world.
She is noted for her vision in closing the achievement gap and a passionate advocate of character education by fostering community partnerships. Her leadership trademark is a commitment to students with high-quality learning environments using all types of technology, developing collaborative work teams of professionals, and accelerating learning for all students. She is also deeply committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of the school organization. She knows her students, families, and staff well through excellent communication, visibility in the schools and community, models for staff the use of technology, and volunteers in the community. Deb truly believes that “it does take a village” to join together and provide high-quality educational experiences. Through her learning experiences with great educators, she believes that closing the achievement gap is not elusive but a reality as we collectively work together to promote excellence for all of our students. Leaders who value and act on equity and inclusion and encourage divergent ways of thinking are the ones who will change the face of education forever. | 
