Nikolai Vitti

Dr. Nikolai Vitti has served as Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) since May 2017. With his contract extended through June 2028, he is the second-longest-serving superintendent in the district’s history. In partnership with the School Board, Dr. Vitti has led the rebuilding of DPSCD following years of state control and was named the 2022 National Urban School District Superintendent of the Year.

Under his leadership and the district’s Strategic Plan, DPSCD has achieved its first sustained, districtwide improvements in decades. The district has increased enrollment, improved student achievement and attendance, strengthened teacher recruitment and retention, expanded academic and arts programming, stabilized school leadership, and restored financial health—significantly reducing state and federal oversight.

Post-pandemic, DPSCD is recognized as one of the most improved large urban districts in the nation in literacy and math. Graduation rates have increased by nine percentage points, nearly 60% of high school students are enrolled in skilled trades, dual enrollment, or AP courses, and the district is implementing a $700 million facilities improvement program, including the first new school construction in Detroit in over 20 years.

Prior to Detroit, Dr. Vitti served as Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools in Florida and held senior leadership roles in Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the Florida Department of Education. He holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Harvard University, where he was a Presidential Scholar.