Center names interim superintendent

By Jill Draper

Kansas City’s Center School District announced that Troy Hogg will be interim superintendent beginning April 1. Hogg will serve through the next school year while the district considers candidates for a long-term superintendent this fall.

Hogg currently works as assistant superintendent of elementary education at Jefferson City Schools in the state capital, but he has ties to the KC metro area. In 2018-2022 he was principal of Hawthorn Hill Elementary in Lee’s Summit, and was named a “Missouri Distinguished Principal” by the Kansas City Elementary Principal Association in 2020.

“I look forward to returning to Kansas City,” he said. “There’s nothing like living in the Chiefs Kingdom, for sure.”

Hogg’s 32-year career in education includes jobs in Sedalia, Columbia and Kirkwood (St. Louis) as well as three years he spent teaching through an exchange program in Japan, where he met his wife. They have two sons, ages 20 and 22.

Academic achievement will be a priority, he said, adding the district has “room for growth in this area,” and “Learning should always be our focus.”

His first step will be a listening tour that involves meeting other administrators, teachers and people in the community, he said. He plans to visit each of the district’s eight schools, going from classroom to classroom, spending time with principals, chatting with teachers at lunchtime in teachers’ lounges and attending community events.

Hogg said working at the administrative level in education has always been an aspiration. “I loved being a classroom teacher, but you want to have a larger impact,” he said.

One accomplishment he touts is being the lead principal responsible for transitioning Benton Elementary in Columbia to a STEM school emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math. This transition, beginning in 2011, provided the staff with a common focus and direction, he said.

Hogg grew up near Jefferson City, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Lincoln University and a master’s degree in educational administration from William Woods University. He later studied at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he earned a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis.

Hogg replaces former Center superintendent Yolanda Cargile, who resigned in February.