Kevin Turner grew up the youngest of six children in Lynchburg, Va. Turner, who will run for election to the Dulles District seat on the Loudoun County School Board this November, said education was his ticket out of a small town, and on to a lifelong career in technology and education.
"I am very respectful and proud of where I came from, my roots" Turner said. "No matter if you’re black, white, Asian, Hispanic, if you work hard, apply yourself, education can open all the doors in the world."
Turner moved to Loudoun County six years ago to work for IBM Global Business Services. He and his wife live in South Riding with their two sons, Gabriel, 4, and Grant, 2.
"From my perspective, there are lots of young families, young kids, that are about to enter the school system. We want the system to be as good, if not better for them," Turner said. "The main reason I’m running is for my sons. The world they will compete in will be a much more competitive one, not just with other Loudoun County students, but students from all over the world."
TURNER, AN EDUCATION industry sales director, works with superintendents, presidents, provosts and other business and academic leaders in kindergarten-12th grade school districts, State Department of Education and higher education institutions on a daily basis to help them improve business practices through consulting services and computer technology.
"We need to prepare students for a 21st century workforce with a 21st century education," Turner said.
With that said, Turner’s top priorities include improving elementary education conditions, increasing focus and attention on student achievement issues and special education and attracting and retaining the best teachers.
His No. 1 priority, he said, is to systematically address school boundary issues.
Turner described the school system’s current boundary process as "a broken one." The South Riding resident said he would like to put families first when making a boundary decision.
"I want to put on my consultant hat, make it a more integrated process, in order to lessen the impact on families," he said. "We all know this is going to be an ongoing challenge because of rapid growth, but I pledge to work to reform the boundary process so the best interest of families are put first."
SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, Turner spoke before the Board of Supervisors and requested it fully fund the fiscal year 2008 operating budget.
"I think Loudoun has a good public school system, but I argue we can do much more to make it a great public school system," he said. "I want to do a good job, do right by the people and use my experience, insight and passion to take Loudoun education to the next level."