Duval Schools Superintendent selected for top job by the Detroit School Board

Jacksonville, FL — The Detroit School Board has selected Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti to be its next superintendent, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.

That decision came in Tuesday night, about a month after it was first reported that Vitti was one of three finalists.

Vitti has previously said, "Detroit is, and will always be in my DNA." He also released the following statement back in March:

"Over the years, I have been asked and recruited to consider opportunities in other school districts, charter networks, and in the private sector. I have not considered those opportunities for over four years. Most recently, I was recruited by a search firm to consider returning home to serve the City of Detroit as its superintendent. Right now there are few, if any, challenges on a national level to traditional public education more than in Detroit. It was too difficult to walk away from this challenge and opportunity."

WOKV has reached out to Duval County Public Schools for more information about what this means for our district, we're told they will provide an update as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Trey Csar, the President of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund is reacting to the news:

"I want to congratulate Dr. Vitti on being selected tonight by the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education. In him, they have found a leader who is deeply committed to students, especially those who need the most. This is demonstrated in the significant advances that Duval County Public Schools made under his watch, ensuring that thousands more students graduated from high school and narrowing the achievement gap.

Should Dr. Vitti choose to take this role, I hope that he and the school board will work together to finish the school year strong and look forward to the school board taking the next steps to conduct a high-quality search for someone who can succeed Dr. Vitti and build on the strong foundation that has been laid. The board and staff of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund will join the many who will be sad to see Dr. Vitti leave. But I am optimistic, because our city's public schools have a strong community of parents, school staff and public education advocates that will never stop working to make sure every child graduates ready for success in the future."