Dr. Kari Carr

Dr. Kari Carr will serve as the founding Head of School of Chesterton Academy of St. Scholastica in Fort Wayne, IN. 

Dr. Carr holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from Indiana University, where she studied the intersection of Catholic education and state policies in Indiana. Most recently, Dr. Carr has served as a faculty member for the Catholic Educator Formation and Credential (CEFC) program at the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE). The CEFC program is the first of its kind in providing a uniquely Catholic approach to teacher licensure, drawing on the millennia of Church tradition in the liberal arts and classical pedagogy. Dr. Carr has taught workshops on the trivium and quadrivium integrating the wisdom of Aristotle, Euclid, St. Augustine and St. Benedict, among others. Dr. Carr was blessed to co-lead the inaugural cohort from the state of Oklahoma, serving teachers in both of the state’s dioceses in earning the CEFC credential.  

Prior to working with the ICLE, Dr. Carr has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in mathematics teacher education and educational leadership at both IUPUI, Indianapolis, and Purdue University Fort Wayne. She has presented research and published articles in teacher education and school choice for religiously-affiliated schools. Dr. Carr was the recipient of the favorite professor award, given by IUPUI student athletes, for multiple semesters.

Dr. Carr began her career in classical education with The Oaks Academy in 2003, where she first served as a mathematics and logic teacher to junior high students, and then later taking on roles in admissions, curriculum development, and finally serving as the director of academic development, leading and guiding teacher professional development in 2015. 

Dr. Carr and her husband, Anthony, and their five children reside in Fort Wayne, IN and are active members of the St. Vincent de Paul parish.