Beloved social studies teacher William Kerr teaches his students one last time this week prior to his retirement. 

After his 16 years of teaching here at Suquehannock, along with his 31 years of teaching in total (when including his time at York Tech, York Suburban and Susquehannock), Kerr told Dr. Bryson on Jan. 9 that his last day would be May 29.

Kerr’s time here at Susquehannock High school has been enjoyable, making new memories and funny moments with his students- especially when working here when his own children were students. 

“This is where my kids went to school, and I actually got to spend some of their high school experiences [alongside] them at Susquehannock,” Kerr said. “So this has always been an extended part of my family, that’s how I look at it.” 

Kerr  has also been a football coach both at the middle and high school, and Kerr has enjoyed being able to connect with students through something other than history. 

“I would say the longest lasting impact on me with my students is the daily interaction that I have with the kids,” Kerr said. “Not just in the classroom, but as a coach, a lot of the moments…here in the school and on the field.”

Sophomores Grant Wilhelm and Shawn Mikesell have fond memories of their experiences with him as a teacher and as a coach. 

“The biggest impact that Mr. Kerr would have [had on me would have been inspiring me] to become a better student in the classroom and learn more about the wars and what happened,” Wilhelm said.

Kerr has always been a very understanding teacher and is always willing to be there for his students and his football team. 

“What stood out to me about his coaching is probably when he is up front with us, and if we did bad, he would tell us and try to get us to become better players when it comes to games and practices,” Mikesell said. “He also had the most experience because he was one of the older coaches we had, so he really knew the ups and downs on how to get people going since he had all that knowledge about football and coaching.”

Kerr plans on moving out of state closer to Auburn, Alabama to be closer to his family. 

“Over the summer, all of our adult children now live in the south,” Kerr said. “So my daughter lives right not too far from Auburn, Alabama. So we’re probably [going to] settle down there. That gets [us] closer to all our kids and our grandchildren. Really, spending more time with them is kind of the next goal that we want to achieve.”