Dr. Nikolai Vitti was appointed as Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) on May 23, 2017 on a five-year contract which has now been extended twice (December 8, 2021 and March 19, 2024) until June 30, 2028. Dr. Vitti is now the second-longest serving Superintendent in the history of DPS/DPSCD. In strong partnership with the School Board, Dr. Vitti has rebuilt the school district after two decades of disinvestment under state-controlled Emergency Management and was most recently named National Urban School District Superintendent of the Year in 2022. Through the development and implementation of a Strategic Plan, along with hundreds of community and family engagement sessions over the years, DPSCD has experienced improvement for the first time in decades in the areas of enrollment; student achievement; student attendance; teacher recruitment, retention, and pay; leadership development and stability; student programming, including expansion of the arts; and financial stability. This improvement has led to reduced levels of financial and program oversight and monitoring by the federal and state government.

Through the leadership of the Superintendent, DPSCD has emerged as one of the most improved school districts in the country post-pandemic in literacy and mathematics. Aggregate learning loss in both subjects has been eliminated and at and above grade level performance has reached all-time highs for DPS/DPSCD, exceeds pre-pandemic levels, and is outpacing the improvement of the state, most suburban school districts, city charter schools, and large urban school districts nationally. Graduation rates have improved by 9% points since the pandemic, and nearly 60% of high school students are now enrolled and passing skilled trade and/or college courses such as dual enrollment and Advanced Placement. DPSCD is currently implementing an ambitious $700 million dollar capital investment program through former ESSER/COVID funds to substantially upgrade school building facilities with modern HVAC systems, roofing, and masonry. New school buildings will be constructed for the first time in Detroit in over two decades with a focus on re-establishing neighborhood schools. The Superintendent also serves as a mentor for several emerging urban superintendents and frequently hosts district leadership teams throughout the country to understand the systems and processes his team has created and implemented.  

Before arriving in Detroit, Dr. Vitti led Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), the 20th largest school district in the nation with approximately 130,000 enrolled students in 200 schools, and a fiscal budget of $1.7 billion. During his four and a half years at DCPS, the district ranked among the first to fourth highest performing urban districts in the nation on the National Assessment for Education Progress. In addition, the District’s graduation rates increased from 67 percent in 2012 to 78.8 percent in 2016, surpassing all Florida urban districts in African-American graduation rates. Under Dr. Vitti’s tenure, DCPS was recognized for its expansion of the arts, foreign languages, innovative school programming, and mental health and progressive discipline strategies. Dr. Vitti also successfully secured more than $40 million in local philanthropy to transform the District’s historically lowest performing schools with a focus on human capital and technology infusion. Many of the district’s lowest performing schools avoided sanctions and closures based on his school improvement and reform strategies.

Dr. Vitti was previously Chief Academic Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Assistant Superintendent for the Miami-Dade school district, and Deputy Chancellor at the Florida Department of Education. He also served children as a Principal, Dean of Students, and teacher. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a Master’s Degree in Education from Wake Forest University. He received a prestigious Presidential Scholarship to attend the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Urban Superintendent’s Program to earn a second Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Educational Leadership.