Dr. Deborah Kerr is the 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 73% students and color with over 48% students in poverty. She brings over 39 years of educational experience to her position and is in her eleventh year as Superintendent in Brown Deer and 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. Two years ago, she 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.
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, 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. |
