Marcus Albert Foster (March 31, 1923 to November 6, 1973) was an American educator who rose through school leadership in Philadelphia before becoming the first Black superintendent of a large United States city school district. He served as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia from 1966 to 1969, then as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia from 1969 to 1970, before being appointed in 1970 to lead the Oakland Unified School District in California. His appointment to Oakland made him a national symbol of Black leadership in American public education during a period of major urban school reform. Foster was assassinated in 1973 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a domestic terrorist group, cutting short a career that had made him one of the most prominent school administrators of his generation.
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Marcus Foster (Wikipedia)
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Marcus Albert Foster (March 31, 1923, November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966-1969), as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia (1969-1970), and as the first black superintendent of a large city school district.
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