Superintendent of Public Instruction

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction supervises the state’s public schools. There is no term limit.

Four-year term
Vote for one

Deborah Kerr
Jill Underly

DEBORAH KERR

Village of Caledonia, 53108
info@kerr4kids.com
kerr4kids.com
Facebook: Deb Kerr for Wisconsin State Superintendent
Twitter: @kerr4wikids

1. What in your professional and community background qualifies you for this office? How will your experience assist you in working with people from diverse backgrounds?
I have dedicated the last forty years of my life to education. I am uniquely prepared and qualified to lead Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction in these unprecedented times. My passion for serving children in all education sectors (public, private, charter, parochial, and university adjunct faculty) has prepared me well. I have always worked in culturally diverse communities in my role as teacher, principal, and superintendent for the last twenty years.

2. How have you demonstrated nimbleness in responding to unforeseen crises in the past? How would you use this experience to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications?
I was a COVID-19 superintendent and believe we will celebrate a reawakening of support for education, including the Herculean educators, support teams, and school and community leaders who bravely served our kids and communities. The new year presents an opportunity for us to begin recovering from this pandemic, with the first step to return our children to in-person learning. I have proposed a statewide plan to return our students and staff to school safely. We are stronger together!

3. How will you reduce racial disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes in PreK-12 education throughout Wisconsin?
My vision is to create a world-class education system that is the highest performing in the country by implementing many of the same strategies that resulted in significant gap closing and student success in Brown Deer ensuring equity and access for all of Wisconsin’s children. My plan begins with ambitious goals to address and start closing achievement gaps within three years with a laser focus on reading and math, high-quality instruction, and significant support and resources for educators.

4. How will you ensure there is equitable public education funding, given the competition for funding in the next biennial budget cycle?
I believe there are creative ways to adjust the funding formula to stabilize all of Wisconsin’s public K-12 schools. I would focus on increased reimbursement for children with disabilities. This funding priority state-wide would reduce the transfer of millions of dollars from regular education to special education enabling districts to allocate those funds to other areas of need. I am also committed to advocating for full broadband access, ELL students, and weighted factors based upon need.

5. Using your influence and authority, how would you collaborate with other groups to set curriculum priorities? Please also describe your priorities and if they include civics education.
Partnerships are essential in our work to create a world-class education system in Wisconsin. This will involve working with all state organizations and associations that support education in our state. We will build upon the existing frameworks established in our state standards for learning and utilize this opportunity in time to transform our educational system. I believe civics education is essential. Education is the heartbeat of our democracy, and being a well-informed citizen is our goal.

JILL UNDERLY

Town of Moscow, 53544
underlyforwisconsin@gmail.com
www.underlyforwi.com
Facebook: Dr. Jill Underly for WI
Twitter: @underlyforwi

1. What in your professional and community background qualifies you for this office? How will your experience assist you in working with people from diverse backgrounds?
I am 100% unabashedly pro-public schools and against the privatization of education in Wisconsin and nationally. I am the only candidate currently leading a school district through this pandemic and I bring experiences across the entire landscape of public education: principal, teacher, union leader, DPI senior administrator, and at UW in student affairs with first-generation students. It takes a diverse set of voices around the table to advance ideas and facilitate change for the better.

2. How have you demonstrated nimbleness in responding to unforeseen crises in the past? How would you use this experience to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications?
I know the struggles of our kids, families, educators, staff, and my whole community. In our district we developed reopening plans and guidance last April. We put what we developed online to share with parents and other communities. We devised online recovery summer programs and designed virtual learning so that parents could have a choice in how to educate their kids. As we exit this pandemic, we need a full assessment of lessons learned across districts and share best practices broadly.

3. How will you reduce racial disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes in PreK-12 education throughout Wisconsin?
No matter the setting, I champion the learning and needs of our children of color, experiencing poverty, learning English or with different abilities. To advance an equity agenda, we need to start early. I think that early childhood education for all is absolutely critical to eliminating racial disparities. My first action would be to work with the state legislature to fully fund full-day Kindergarten for 4-year-olds through school based classes and community approaches with childcare centers.

4. How will you ensure there is equitable public education funding, given the competition for funding in the next biennial budget cycle?
I will fight relentlessly against any cuts to public education in this budget cycle. I will always ask for fair funding for our schools, particularly for our highest poverty schools, higher aid for special education students, support for rural schools plagued by declining enrollment, and higher aid for English learners. We need to change our inequitable school funding system. Long term, I would make it a priority to get our system fixed so it does not disadvantage our highest poverty districts.

5. Using your influence and authority, how would you collaborate with other groups to set curriculum priorities? Please also describe your priorities and if they include civics education.
I would work with the school boards to make sure they have the training they need to accomplish this key task locally. I would work with our Institutions of Higher Education to ensure that knowledge in our subject areas is deep as well as broad. I would work with the Professional Standards Council to review teacher education programs for teaching civics education. Particularly after the attack on our Capitol on January 6th, we need to ensure that there is strong civics education.