Kurt Pusch currently leads six charter schools in Colorado that serve students in pre-K through high school. He has spent the past 15 years with KIPP, which Summit Board of Trustees Chairman Edward Cole called “the nation’s largest and mostly highly regarded network of public charter schools.”

Previous to his current appointment as Chief Schools Officer at KIPP Colorado Schools, Push was a principal, academic dean and middle school history teacher for the system. He has also worked as a Teach for America Corps Member. Pusch holds a master’s of education in administration and supervision from National Louis University in Chicago and will receive his executive master of business administration from Northwestern University in June.

“Kurt’s demonstrated ability to lead a school to high ranking academic achievement, increase faculty retention and decrease student attrition is quite impressive,” said Cole. “He is well-versed on the advantages of a charter school, has a passion for outdoor education and aligns well with Summit’s place-based and whole-child approach to learning.”

Pusch was selected following a highly competitive national search to lead the K-9 school and will start his new job July 1. He is married to M.C. Pusch and has four children, ages 2 through 8.

 “My wife M.C. and I feel deeply privileged by this opportunity for our family to join the Cashiers-Highlands community and to serve Summit Charter School,” says Pusch. “In our time getting to know the staff, students, families, and supporters of Summit, we have felt the values and sense of community that clearly make the school such a special place.”

 Summit Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school in the midst of expansion. It welcomed its first ninth grade class in 2018 and will add one high school grade per year until the inaugural high school class graduates in 2022.