Ryan Kerr, English and Theatre teacher at Normal Community West High School, will be leaving his teaching position at the end of the first semester.
Kerr has been teaching for seventeen years, and at West for nine. His career started with Slinger High School in Slinger, WI. He then moved to Austin High School in Austin, TX, for two years and then to Rantoul Township High school in Rantoul, Il for three years. Here at West, he is the sponsor for the Drama Club and director for the Fall Play at West, in addition to teaching.
Remy Garard, head of the English Department, believes Kerr’s absence will be a loss for the English & Theatre departments.
“The theater productions in the fall have been fantastic, which is really due to his hard work and vision, and he’s pushed the kids to do things in theater that they didn’t think they could do,” Garard states.
Kerr has put on a variety of productions at West, including The Laramie Project, which was selected to perform at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival in 2018, Everybody, Radium Girls, Rumors, Clue, and more. He has also helped direct several musicals, including The Wizard of Oz and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
In addition, he has taken students to TheatreFest, typically hosted at the University of Urbana-Champaign, where students could watch a variety of performances, attend workshops, and entertainment events such as improv or karaoke.
Kerr will be relocating to Saline, MI, to Saline Area Schools to become a Curriculum Specialist and Coach, a long time career goal for him.
NCWHS will miss the dedicated teacher and director, and wishes him the best of luck on his newest endeavors and career path.
