Congressional Forum: Dr. Charles Foust, Superintendent of KCK Public Schools

Congressional Forum is the Chamber's public policy series featuring local, state and federal representatives to speak about issues relevant to the area's business community. The speaker for the November installment is Dr. Charles Foust, Superintendent of Schools for Kansas City Kansas Public Schools. 

Dr. Foust Bio:

Charles Foust, the Superintendent of Schools, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS), is a leader in transformational education, guiding leaders to improve education so that students receive a quality education daily. He is a certified practicing leader with hands-on experience developing staff, teachers and school leaders guided by the conviction that leading is about simultaneously improving individual lives, transforming systems and in turn, achieving lasting social and academic change.

Under Foust’s leadership, schools have become top performing, moving from low-performing while closing the achievement gaps. He has restructured strategic plans to target a set of high-impacted priorities, among them: design a more effective, performance-driven, student-centered educational system in his schools. He meets with assistant principals within his schools quarterly to develop the next generation of school leaders.

Foust was a highly effective principal in high-performing and turnaround schools. He led Fondren Middle School to become one of the top performing Apollo Middle schools in Houston Independent School District (HISD). Under his leadership, the school received several state distinctions in the first year. He led the school through the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme process, receiving authorization and becoming a fully accredited program within the three years as a turnaround principal. Additionally, the school became a Steven Covey – Leader In Me School.

Prior to joining KCKPS, he was the Chief School Performance Officer for Union County Public Schools. Specifically, he supervised the day-to-day operations of all schools, and led the nursing and social worker department along with overseeing the office of student transfers. Foust also coached and supervised principals at the elementary and secondary level. He led Brooks Global Studies to become one of the top performing elementary schools within Guilford County Schools. Brooks Global Studies is a school that focuses on diverse cultures and prepares students to be knowledgeable citizens of a global society. He has been an assistant principal (elementary and middle), magnet school coordinator (elementary), curriculum facilitator (high school), elementary teacher (5th and 4th grades), and tutor (reading, algebra and geometry).

Foust earned his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, two masters degrees in Instructional Technology and School Administration from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctoral degree in Professional Leadership from the University of Houston.

Charles is married and they have two daughters.