Executive Director, SchoolBOX Inc.: Sarah Kerr |

Sarah Kerr, executive director of SchoolBOX Inc., loves education, though she was advised not to become a teacher. So what did she do with that advice? She found a job where she supports Nicaraguan teachers in critical ways every day. Supporting teachers and “making education possible” is what Sarah now devotes her time to. Read on to find out what ignited her passion!

Why have you chosen to work in the education sector?

My mother is a teacher. Growing up, all I wanted to be was a teacher. However, my mother always said, “you can be anything you want to be, but don’t be a teacher”. It was not because she didn’t love her job, she did. So much so that she gave everything she had to her students, but she always struggled to manage the stress of not feeling supported. So I did follow her advice. I am not a teacher. But I now work to empower and support teachers to do their jobs and to ‘Make Education Possible’ with SchoolBOX.

My work with SchoolBOX brought me to Nicaragua, the second-poorest country in our hemisphere, where half of the children do not even make it to the fifth grade. Teachers struggle to provide quality education to kids who cannot even afford a simple notebook or pencil for their lessons. In some communities, schools do not even exist. Amazing women, like Antonia Avendaño, have taken on the mission to ‘Make Education Possible’ and change this reality. Ten years ago, Antonia started a school under a tree in her community. “We were of the mentality that where there is a teacher and a student, there is a school”, Antonia told us. By supporting Antonia’s vision and helping her build her dream school in Managua, Nicaragua, more than six hundred children now have the opportunity to access education.

It is women like my mom, and women like Antonia, who have inspired me to work in the education sector – empowering and supporting teachers to ‘Make Education Possible’.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Seeing the faces on the more than 15,000 kids we work with when they receive brand new school supplies for their classes or when they walk into a brand new classroom to study. Seeing the faces of the teachers at our partner schools when they cannot even come up with words to express how relieved they are to have a safe place to provide classes to their students.

What is the greatest challenge that you encounter within your role?

A challenge I encounter within my role is to get people here in Canada to understand that children everywhere are equal, and that kids everywhere deserve the same opportunity to access education. I think that there is this obstacle in many of our minds that says we should be giving locally, to the needs at home. I totally agree with this – we should be giving our time, support and resources in our own communities, but this does not need to be exclusive. I think a challenge is to get people to understand they can do both, and that their gifts can have such a huge impact on the lives of students in a country like Nicaragua.

What do you think attracts people across industries to work in education?

Education is everything – it opens minds, doors, and helps us image solutions for a better world.

What misconceptions (if any) do you think people have when considering a career in this sector?

Teaching is the only career in education. It’s not!

If you could change our sector in just one way, what would that look like?

In terms of the non-profit sector, I would change the negative perceptions around administrative expenses as being “bad”. There is a growing movement for donors to be more involved with the organizations they support to understand that complex challenges like poverty or improving the quality of education cannot be solved with organizations running from church basements. If we want innovation and high-impact non-profits, then we need to change the dialogue from admin costs to actual results-based measurements of “effectiveness”.

Reflecting on your role and the impact it has, is there anything that you find you appreciate more now than before?

The amazing public education I received growing up in Ontario.

What’s one thing you would want to tell to those applying for a job in the education sector?

Don’t lose track of the students. That’s why you’re there.

…and…finally:

What is your favourite apple-inspired food?

Chocolate-covered caramel candy apple! Mmm…

Thank you Sarah!