Kerri Ferate is a Washington native, born in Bellevue. She later moved with her family to Issaquah and graduated in 1979 from Issaquah High School. After earning her bachelor’s in business education from the University of Washington (Seattle) she moved to Bremerton and found employment at CKHS teaching business to fulfill her interest in teaching young adults the ins and outs of finding jobs, being strong employees, and working their way to the top.

After showcasing her knowledge in business, she began coordinating many student programs including DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), teen mentoring,and the BEST program (teaching assistants), as well as teaching Business English and Financial Math. After the retirement of teacher Eric Emans, she added Store Operations to her daily class load.

In 1988, she met her future husband, Jim Ferate. Jim had been the auto shop teacher at CK since 1977, a gig which he held until his retirement in 2002. Jim and Kerri married and had one son, Bryant, now 24. Jim still works for the Central Kitsap School District as a manager of the Silverdale Stadium.
Ferate says her favorite part about teaching is “watching students graduate and go to college and visit me years later to tell about their success.” Senior Dustin Hovey is enrolled in store operations third period and said, “Mrs. Ferate is always in such a great mood and asks every student about their day. She just finds ways to make everyone feel welcome and special”. On her time off Ferate prefers to be surrounded by family, especially her three grandchildren, travelling to Ocean Shores, and shopping!