Michigan has a new state superintendent: Michael Rice.
Rice began his teaching career as a high school French teacher in the Washington D.C. public school system. For the past 12 years, he's been the leader of the Kalamazoo Public Schools district. And last week, he was chosen by the State Board of Education to assume the state's top education job.
Rice says there are a few issues he considers top priorities in his new role as state superintendent. They include:
- Adequacy and equity of school funding
- Investment in career and technical education
- Addressing teacher shortages
When it comes to that last priority, Rice told Stateside, "I want to rebuild the profession. I want more people going into public education. I want more people proud to be excited about training to be teachers."
(Subscribe to Stateside on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)