Nikolai vitti biography

Nikolai Vitti is ready to return home, to the place where he grew up, where his family ran a pizzeria, to the place where his grandparents and father worked in an auto plant, and to the place where his mother still resides.

Now, he hopes to transform one of the most beleaguered school districts in the nation.

First, though, Vitti will have to earn trust in a community that's been battered by years of state control, a crushing deficit and enrollment declines that forced the closure of more than 100 schools, constant changes in leadership and student scores on a rigorous national exam that are the worst in the nation among big-city schools.

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Detroit superintendent Vitti: 'I feel like I've been drafted'

Nikolai Vitti is the choice for Detroit superintendent

To Vitti, Tuesday night's announcement that he was the choice to lead the Detroit Public Schools Community District was a proud moment in an education car