I seek the office of Alameda County Board of Education to have broader policy impact on many of the areas I am passionate about in my professional life. My core belief is that every student can succeed in school.

In 1985, I founded Seneca Center, a non-profit agency, which provides assistance to thousands of children with learning disabilities and those struggling with life circumstances that interfere with their capacity to succeed in school. The centerpiece of our mission is to create a setting of absolute confidence that every student can succeed. This core value guides my daily work and I bring this belief with me as I seek this office.

The Alameda County Office of Education is faced with the worst potential budget crisis in recent history. In facing the upcoming crisis, unified advocacy between the Board, the Superintendent, and Alameda County school districts will be imperative.

Within Alameda County schools, and most particularly among schools serving the most vulnerable populations in the county, significant disparities exist between schools serving students in wealthier catchment areas and schools in areas of relative poverty. We must begin to address these disparities so that every child in Alameda County has the ability to graduate high school and to access opportunity in an economy where education is predictive of economic well-being.

My top priorities are:

• Increase High School graduation rates
• Reduce truancy rate and the resulting juvinile crime rates
• Increase cross district programs and bring in funding from multiple sources to support students and families

Ken's wife, Jill Duerr Berrick, is a professor of social welfare at UC Berkeley, and has been an active and devoted advocate for children and families for many years. Together, Ken and Jill have two children, ages 6 and 9, who both attend Oakland public schools.