Northeast News
Jan. 12, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The Kansas City Public Schools Board of Directors will introduce the two finalists for the job of Superintendent of Schools at public forums later this week.

Dr. Ronald Gerald Taylor, Superintendent of Willingboro Township Public Schools in Willingboro, N.J., will speak to the public and answer questions from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by Dr. Mark T. Bedell, Assistant Superintendent for High Schools at Baltimore County Public Schools in Towson, Md., from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. The forum will be held Thursday, Jan. 14, at Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, 4747 Flora.

According to a press release from the KCPS, Taylor has worked in public education for more than 20 years. 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 was 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.

Before joining the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) four years ago, 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, 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 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.

The Superintendent search process began in July 2015. 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 will review feedback from the public forums and complete its decision process in January, with a permanent superintendent to begin by July 1, 2016.