Dr Paul Fochtman

Since 2010, Dr. Fochtman has served as the Head of School at Frankfurt International School (FIS), an IB World School that serves nearly 1,800 students aged 3 to Grade 12 across two campuses in the heart of Germany. Originally from Petoskey, Michigan, Dr. Fochtman’s career began in the pharmaceutical industry, but shifted to education in the early 1990s. Since then, his career has taken him across the globe, from a high school chemistry, economics and physics teacher in Guam, to principalships and a superintendent role at international schools in New Delhi and Mumbai. In 2018, he was named Superintendent of the Year by the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE).

Dr. Fochtman is a committed lifelong learner, and is continually exploring new research and initiatives in an effort to provide growth opportunities, both for himself and for those around him. That ethos extends throughout the school he leads. In addition to work that he and his leadership have personally done with executive coaches, the school has also hired a number of full-time coaches to work alongside faculty and staff. Dr. Fochtman recently published an article in International School Leadership Magazine about his commitment to ensuring professional development opportunities for his faculty and staff and growing leaders – even when that means saying goodbye as they move into new roles at other international schools.

Dr. Fochtman studied Business and Economics at Lycoming College, Educational Administration at the University of Guam, and Business Administration at Duke University, before completing his Doctoral study at the University of Minnesota. In 2016, Dr. Fochtman was also  awarded a fully-funded fellowship to the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership’s Heads of Schools program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

In addition to his role as Head of School at FIS, Dr. Fochtman is also an alumni parent; both of his children graduated from the school.