Vitti officially named superintendent of DCPS

Posted on November 9, 2012 By Editor Neighborhood News

The Duval County Public School district officially welcomed new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nikolai Vitti to its helm, approving his contract effective Nov. 12.
His contract expires June 30, 2016. The announcement follows an exhaustive search that yielded many high quality candidates.
Vitti will be relocating to Northeast Florida from Miami. His wife and four children will make the transition to Duval County in the coming months. His children attend public schools. Vitti is the former chief academic officer with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). His primary focus is to take the district from good to great by: expanding early childhood education; increasing the graduation rate; developing instructional leaders; improving teacher quality and morale; streamlining the efficiency of business and operations, and strengthening parent and community involvement.
“I am eager to listen and act on what our stakeholders believe needs to happen to transform our district into a national model, where all students excel and develop the skills and confidence to fulfill their aspirations,” Vitti said. “Public education is at a breaking point and we must prove that it continues to be the vehicle to make the country’s promise of equal opportunity a reality.”
Vitti received the prestigious Presidential Scholarship from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was a member of the urban superintendent program, which has developed a number of successful superintendents throughout the country. In 2012 he completed his doctorate from Harvard in education administration, planning and social policy by writing a dissertation on urban parent involvement. He received his master’s degree in educational leadership from Harvard as well.
Vitti holds another master’s degree in education from Wake Forest University, where he was awarded a Master Teacher Fellowship, and a bachelor’s degree in
history.