Kansas City Catholic schools have a new superintendent; longtime leader to retire
After more than a decade leading schools in the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Superintendent Dan Peters is retiring at the end of June.
The new superintendent will be Karen Kroh, associate superintendent for student services in the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas Office of Catholic Schools. She starts July 1.
Leaders in the diocese conducted a national search before selecting Kroh, who has held her current position in Kansas since 2004.
“Dr. Kroh immediately stood out to us as an ideal candidate to lead our diocesan and parish schools with her experience, reputation and strong commitment to the Catholic faith and the mission of Catholic Schools,” said Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. “We are eager for Karen to join our team.”
During his tenure, Peters, 65, created, for the first time, subject-area standards for religion, math, English, science, social studies, and some electives. He also set benchmarks on assessments to help teachers and administrators focus on areas needing the most attention and improve students’ academic performance.
Enrollment in parish schools has dropped 3% to 4% every year for the past 15 years. But in the three years before COVID-19, the trajectory had began to tilt upward. In 2017 the diocese opened a new high school, St. Michael the Archangel, in Lee’s Summit.
Kroh brings more than 25 years of experience in education, having worked in the early-childhood, K-12 and college levels in positions of leadership and in the classroom.
Kroh received a bachelor’s degree in family and child development as well as a master’s degree in special education from Auburn University. She also received a doctorate in school leadership from St. Louis University. And for more than a decade she served as an adjunct professor at Benedictine College in Atchison.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph includes 40 schools with more than 12,000 students, from early childhood through high school.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 12:02 PM.
