Duane Kelly Calls for a Grassroots Approach to Education

Throughout his 40-plus year career in education, Duane Kelly has been criticized for many things – his sometimes unkempt appearance, his policy of no-holds-barred honesty and a tendency to stray off topic. Yet, as the elected representative of Sub-District Three on the Kansas City, Missouri School District School Board, Kelly has proven to be an invaluable resource. One of the few board members with practical classroom experience, Kelly brings something new to the table (besides, of course, his long, silver beard). He brings 33 years experience as a teacher with the Kansas City Missouri School District. During this time, he pioneered the field of secondary ecology education, becoming one of the first ever to introduce the science to high school curriculum. In 1994, his efforts were recognized with the Missouri’s Conservation Educator of the Year Award.

For a pioneer in his field, Kelly adopts a surprisingly simple, grassroots approach to education. Wielding a business card with a quote written in lieu of an E-mail address, he maintains: “The kids come first, teachers are a close second, because if anything happens in education it happens in a classroom between a teacher and the kid.” In a school district that has experienced its share of ups, downs and ongoing debate, Kelly has stood firm in his belief that successful school administration is built upon communication and first-hand experience. During an interview with KCTribune, he noted “I keep trying to get the board members to go to the classrooms to see what [they’re] like…If you have never been there and you don’t know what the problems are, and you don’t know how the problems came about, how can you ever hope to solve them? And I get no answer.” Slowly but surely, Kelly is determined to bring about positive change in the way education is administered in Kansas City, Missouri “for the sake of the children.”

Duane Kelly would like to dedicate this recognition to his family and students.