First black woman to hold post
Of the St. Louis American
Kay Royster, a Chicago native, was new to St. Louis a year ago when she moved here to serve as the Riverview Garden School District’s chief academic officer.
Now that she knows her way around, she’s moving again – but this time just a matter of miles.
Royster has been named superintendent of the Jennings School District, making her the first African-American woman to hold the position.
“Riverview offered me the opportunity to become acquainted with St. Louis. Now, I’m moving right next door to a school district that shares many of the same demographics,” she said.
“I loved my time with Riverview, and I did not seek another job. I was recruited by Jennings and fortunately was selected. But I had the opportunity to work with many wonderful people (at Riverview).”
Royster said her most important goal upon taking the reins of the Jennings district on July 1 would be to “increase student achievement in the culture and context of Jennings.”
“I’m listening to the history of Jennings, I’m learning about this community. I can’t wait (for the community and I) to put our heads together and take on complex issues.”
Before joining the Riverview district, she was superintendent of schools in Peoria, Ill., where in 2003 she became that district’s first woman and African American to hold the post.
She was dismissed by that city’s school board with a year remaining on a three-year contract. The vote was 5-2, with five white board members voting to oust her and two black board members remaining in support.
She told the Peoria Star, “I was provided with no explanation. They (the School Board) did not respond to the question of why.”
She had been recruited to Peoria from Kalamazoo, Mich., where she also served as superintendent and helped that school district achieve academic gains.
She is a former assistant superintendent of instruction in Atlanta public schools and deputy CEO and chief academic officer in the Detroit public schools.
Born in Chicago, she attended Chicago public schools. She earned an undergraduate degree in English from North Park College in Chicago, a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Rochester in New York.
Royster said that the transition period from Riverview to Jennings has left her with “one foot in one place and one in another.”
“I’m anxious to get started at Jennings. It is going to be interesting and intriguing.”
During the final weeks of the school year, Royster said she will be “building upon the (academic) initiatives we have in place at Riverview.”
“July 1 will be here quickly.”
Jennings has more than 3,200 students in seven schools, including Jennings High School. More than 95 percent of the district’s students are black.
In 2005, the district made several outstanding improvements in academics.
For example, in 2004 12 percent of third graders were reading at or above the level of proficiency called for by the state of Missouri Education Department. This jumped to 23 percent in 2005.
In communications arts, just 13 percent of third graders were proficient in 2004, compared to 23 percent in 2005. Similar advances were made with fourth graders in math, with 32 percent being proficient in math in 2005, compared to just 18 percent in 2004.
