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A former Illinois school superintendent with local roots has been named the next assistant superintendent for the Fort Dodge Community School District.
The district announced on Wednesday afternoon that Dr. Craig Doster will be joining the district's administrative leadership on July 1, pending approval from the Board of Education.
"We are excited to welcome Dr. Doster to our team," said Josh Porter, incoming FDCSD superintendent. "He brings a wealth of leadership knowledge and experience that will have a positive impact on our students, staff and schools."
Doster is a Rockwell City native and got his start in the classroom student teaching under Loren Miller at Cooper Elementary School.
"I learned a great deal from him, including that Fort Dodge values its students, staff, community and education," Doster said in a release from the district. "The support from the Fort Dodge community is inspirational and refreshing. I look forward to meeting and working with all stakeholders and to returning to a great place to live."
Doster has nearly 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator, and has spent the last half of that serving as superintendent at several Illinois school districts.
According to previous reporting from the Daily Southtown newspaper, Doster served as superintendent at the Ottawa School District in Illinois from 2006 to 2011, when he began as superintendent at Flossmoor School District.
Flossmoor is a pre-K through 8th grade district with roughly 2,300 students across five school buildings in the southern suburbs of Chicago. According to the Daily Southtown reporting, Doster resigned from the district in November 2016 due to "philosophical differences in direction and approach that could not be reconciled."
In 2018, Doster was hired for the superintendent position at Beach Park School District, a K-8 district with 1,900 students across five schools in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He served in that capacity until May 2022, when he resigned following complaints from staff of a management style "rooted in intimidation and bullying," according to the Chicago Tribune. According to reporting from the Chicago Tribune, the Beach Park School Board and Doster "came to a mutual agreement to end the relationship."
"As for the separation agreement, it was due to philosophical differences," Doster wrote in an email. "That is in the past, and I'm ready for a great future serving the school district and community."
Porter said that he's not concerned about Doster's past challenges with the staff and school boards at Flossmoor and Beach Park.
"Being in leadership roles is really difficult, especially being a superintendent," he said.
He noted that there's always another side to every story and "at the end of the day, he was the candidate that we were excited to move forward with."
Doster was selected for the assistant superintendent role in Fort Dodge following a search by Grundmeyer Leadership Services, of Ankeny. According to Porter, GLS helps the district recruit and vet candidates for administrative positions like this.
Throughout his career, Doster has earned several awards and honors for his service, including the Ottawa, Illinois, Citizen of the Year for community relations and the Illinois State Board of Education Those Who Excel in Leadership Award.
"Craig is a good fit," Porter said. "He checked a lot of boxes for Fort Dodge. He has experience as a superintendent, he's been in a leadership role, and he has a lot of experience with curriculum and strategic planning."
Porter said that Doster has a great personality and interviewed well during the process.
Doster could not be reached for further comment Wednesday evening.