Karla brings a wealth of expertise honed through more than 50 years of varied
contributions to public education: as a teacher at the middle, high school, and
university level; central office administrator specializing in curriculum and
human resources; superintendent in suburban and then urban districts, and
deputy commissioner at a state department of education. Recognized for
distinguished service by nearly every major K-12 statewide education association
in Massachusetts, Karla now consults to state agencies, districts, and others on
change management and resource allocation and leads the core planning team
for R.E.D.I., the effort launched in 2020 by the Massachusetts Association of
School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) to support every school to advance racial
equity, diversity, and inclusion so that all students will learn and thrive.
Until June 2022 she co-led the state’s three-year New Superintendent Induction
Program for nearly a decade. Prior to that Dr. Baehr served as Deputy
Commissioner at MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education,
where she led the redesign of the state’s accountability and assistance system
and, later, led the team that designed, developed, and launched the state’s new
regulations and model system for educator evaluation. She co-led the MA Urban
Superintendents’ Network for six years and served as superintendent of schools
in Lowell for eight. Prior to her work in Lowell, she served on the faculty at Lesley
University for five years, as interim superintendent in Lexington, and as
superintendent of schools in Wellesley for nine. Earlier, she held central office
positions in personnel, curriculum and instruction including as acting
superintendent in Franklin, and taught middle and high school social studies in
Methuen and Arlington.
A history major at Middlebury College, she later earned a masters’ degree at
Harvard Graduate School of Education and her doctorate in educational
leadership at Boston University.