Carter, Kelly

College

Kelly and her husband, Joe, have been married 23 years, and have been a part of the Elizabethtown Community for 17 years. She grew up in South Jersey, about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia. After high school, Kelly attended Messiah University for two years as an Elementary Education Major. She transferred to Rowan University to finish her degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education with a specialization in Math and Science. While attending high school and college, Kelly worked in daycare and as an aide in an elementary classroom. When she graduated from college, she began working in her hometown as a Kindergarten teacher. She had two children and then moved to Pennsylvania for her husband’s job. In Pennsylvania, she worked for LCBC Church in several leadership roles within their kidMinistry. She had her third child shortly after moving to Elizabethtown. Kelly and Joe have been involved in the foster care system for the last ten years. They had planned to just be a foster home, but have ended up adopting four children and are currently fostering one. Her eight children currently span the ages of 3-20. All of her children have been enrolled in the Elizabethtown Area School District. Currently, she has three children at Bear Creek, one at Elizabethtown Middle School, two in Elizabethtown High School and one studying Nursing at Wilkes University. Kelly is a part-time substitute teacher as she cares for her three year old and manages the many appointments, schedules and laundry at home. Kelly has served as an Elizabethtown school volunteer in many capacities over the last 15 years: PTO Board, sports’ boards, and classroom volunteer. She has volunteered on the Parent Advisory Board for Head Start and has been an active volunteer in the kidMinistry at her church. Kelly’s journey of teaching, parenting, and fostering has grown the passion in her to care for children and advocate for them. Being a foster parent, Kelly learned a lot about our Child Welfare System. She has had to stand up for the children in her care many times, in different ways, and she has learned what works when communicating with agencies and different providers. As foster/adoptive parents, Kelly and Joe have recognized the importance of the ongoing relationship with the biological families of their children. It has made Kelly realize, after being uncomfortable initially, it eventually led to a very positive outcome as the families were blended together. Kelly’s life experiences have uniquely prepared her to step into the role of school board director. Having children throughout the district also gives her a ground level perspective to aid in decision making within the Board.

​​Teach Respect. Learn Respect. Show Respect. Let’s give our teachers an environment that is safe and productive. Let’s give our students the resources to be successful and hold them accountable to achieve that success. As a community let’s give each other a chance to be heard, and support one another so everyone succeeds.