Dr. Mark Bedell and Dr. Ronald Taylor, candidates for superintendent of the Kansas City School Board.
Two finalists for the job of superintendent of the Kansas City Public School District will meet the public tomorrow.
The school board will allow the candidates to speak to the public and answer questions Thursday, Jan. 14 Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, 4747 Flora at the following times:
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Ronald Gerald Taylor, Superintendent of Willingboro Township Public Schools in Willingboro, NJ.
- 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Mark T. Bedell, Assistant Superintendent for High Schools at Baltimore County Public Schools in Towson, MD.
The superintendent search process began in July 2015 after Superintendent Stephen Green announced in May that he would leave the district for a job in Georgia. The KCPS Board contracted with the education leadership search firm Ray & Associates to conduct a regional and national search. More than 70 individuals applied for consideration.
The KCPS Board said it will review feedback from the public forums and complete its decision process in January, with a permanent superintendent to begin by July 1, 2016.
Here is biographical information about each provided by the school district:
Dr. Taylor has worked in public K-12 education for more than 20 years. He completed a Master’s degree with a focus on School Administration from Trinity University in Washington D.C., and earned a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from The George Washington University. Dr. Taylor began his education career in early childhood education. He has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, regional superintendent and superintendent, working in the Washington D.C. Public Schools, Boston Public Schools and Newark Public Schools. During his tenure in central administration, Dr. Taylor has been instrumental in increasing the number of schools reaching Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s No Child Left Behind legislation in both Newark and the Willingboro Township Public Schools.
Dr. Bedell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Tennessee State University, and a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Before joining the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) four years ago, Dr. Bedell worked for Houston Independent School District for 12 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and as a school improvement officer. While in Houston, he received the Young Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award two consecutive years; the Feeder Pattern Principal of the Year Award and the Outstanding Educator Award from Texas A&M University. For BCPS, Dr. Bedell created an approach to reduce dropout rates. The BCPS graduation rate increased to 87.6 percent for the Class of 2014, up nearly four percentage points from 2012. In addition, suspension rates at BCPS have decreased from 8.3 percent to 5 percent from 2012-2014. He also worked to increase the participation rate of juniors taking college entrance exams.
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