nikolai vitti updated resume duval application

DR. NIKOLAI P. [email protected]

(786) 334-7923

EDUCATION

• Doctorate of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA. Education, Administration,Planning and Social Policy. 16u1 Cohort of the Urban Superintendents Program. Dissertation Topic:Developing Demand Parents: A Study of Miami-Dade 's Parent Academy. March, 2012.Presidential Fellowship, $174,000/4 Years, Harvard University, 2004

• Master of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA. Education, Administration,Planning and Social Policy. June, 2006

• Master of Education, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. Professional specialization: SecondarySocial Studies. August, 2001. Masters' Thesis: Social Studies Teachers' Attitudes Toward End-of-CourseExams. December, 2001Master Teacher Fellowship, $30,460114 months, Wake Forest University, 2000

• Bachelor of Arts, History Major. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. May, 2000. Golden Key Honor Society, 1999

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

Chief Academic Officer 2012- Present

Miami-Dade County Public Schools

• Supervise the Education Transformation Office, which leads and manages 70traditionally lower-performing schools. 26 of which were identified as "persistentlylowest-achieving" by the USDOE/FLDOE. 38 elementary schools, 19 middle schools,and 12 high schools. 50,400 students. 64% African-American, 33% Hispanic, 2% White,1% Other, 15% English Language Learners, 13% Students with Disabil ities, and 89%Free/Reduced Lunch.

• Lead and manage the departments of Title I, Title II, Early Childhood/Head Start, SchoolImprovement, Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Careerand Technical Education.

Nikolai P. Vitti ...Continued

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, SchoolImprovement and Accountability, Education Transformation andPerformance

2010-2012

Miami-Dado County Public Schools

• Led and managed the 26 schools identified as "persistently lowest-achieving" by the USDOEIFLDOE. 9elementary schools, 7 middle schools, and 10 high schools. 24,000 students. $120,000,000 budget. 71%African-American, 25% Hispanic, 1% White, 3% Other, 12% English Language Learners, 13% Studentswith Disabilities, and 91% Free/Reduced Lunch.

• Of 19 schools originally served, 7 schools were "Cs", 10 were "Ds", and 2 were "Fs". Now, 5 are projected"As", "2"Bs," 8 "Cs," 3 "Ds", and 1 "F". Of 26 schools served, reading proficiency has increased by 7percentage points; math proficiency by 32 percentage points; Algebra proficiency by 10 percentage points;science proficiency by 25 percentage points; reading learning gains by 19 percentage points; reading learninggains for the lowest 25% by 37 percentage points. Reduced days of outdoor and indoor suspension from19,180 days to 11,533 days. Each of 10 high schools improved graduation rate by an average of 12 percentagepoints, to an overall average of78%. College reading readiness improved by 36 percentage points and mathreadiness by 16 percentage points. Accelerated Participation (dual enrollment, industry certification, andAdvanced Placement) improved by 49 percentage points and performance improved by 32 percentage points.

• Developed and led the Education Transformation Office (ETO) consisting of turnaround experts in reading,math, and science who directly support schools instructionally. Office streamlines and spearheadsinstructional, professional development, operational, budget, personnel, maintenance, and facility functions.

• Led three annual Instructional Reviews at each school to strategically tier instructional support and investresources for improvement.

• Coordinated the commitment of over a million dollars of investment from businesses to expand dualenrollment and mentorship opportunities for students.

• Secured 20 million dollars in competitive School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds.

• Negotiated three Memorandums of Understandings (MOUs) with the union to provide incentive andperformance pay, common planning, lesson study, use of assessments for progress monitoring, extendedlearning opportunities, and additional hours for parent-teacher conferences.

• Redesigned and remarketed high school Career Academies that lead to Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement,or Industry Certification.

• Developed and implemented new enrichment courses including Freshman Experience, Sixth GradeFoundations, Creative Writing, Science Double Dosing, Algebra Readiness, and 11th and 1th grade collegereadiness classes.

• Paired each principal with a business CEO.

• Created an Enrichment/Intervention Plan for all students based on interim assessments.

• Expanded mentorship and internship opportunities for students.

• Upgraded technological infrastructure of schools.

• Expanded Parent Academy classes.


• Implemented Positive Behavior Support in all schools.

• Designed Project Lead initiative to develop future principals and assistant principals for urban schools throughresident and internship process.

• Developed ETO Task Force to bring together community stakeholders to support turnaround process.

• Introduced Coaching and Teacher Academies focusing on effective instructional delivery, data analysis, lessonstudy, New Sunshine State/Common Core Standards, and use of technology to improve student engagement.

• Coordinated networking visits with principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, and teachers toshowcase best practices and provide job-embedded professional development through walkthroughs.

• Partnered with Teach for America, City Year, and College Summit.

• Served as advisor to Superintendent as Florida's Chair of Race to the Top MOU committee.

• Recognized as district model for turnaround by USDOE, FLDOE, and districts throughout country.

• Served as media contact for turnaround effort for the district.

• Two-time Broad Finalist for Excellence in Urban Education

Deputy Chancellor of School Improvement and StudentAchievement

2009 - 2010

Florida Department of Education

• Reorganized and supervised Bureaus of School Improvement, Title I, Federal Programs, Office of EqualOpportunity, Guidance, Just Read, Florida!, Early Learning, and Community and Parent Outreach. Managednearly $800 million in various federal and state programs and initiatives.

• Served as Florida's lead for struggling schools throughout the Race to the Top and-School Improvement Grantapplication and initial implementation process.

• Provided professional development and technical assistance to superintendents, district administrators,principals, and teachers on numerous school improvement and Federal Program initiatives.

• Initiated and developed policy for Florida's Differentiated Accountability Plan, which was the state's schoolimprovement plan that improved 79% of the lowest-performing schools by one or more letter grades for twoconsecutive years.

• Led, trained, supervised, and expanded five regional offices throughout the state consisting of a RegionalExecutive Director, Instructional Specialists, and Reading Coordinators who directly supported the state'slowest performing schools and their districts.

• Served as the media contact for Differentiated Accountability.


Bureau Chief of School Improvement/Regional ExecutiveDirector for Region One/Lead Executive Director forDifferentiated Accountability

2008 - 2009

Florida Department of Education

• Spearheaded the implementation of Differentiated Accountability's Pilot, which merged existing No Child LeftBehind (NCLB), state statute, and State Board requirements related to school improvement and accountabilityunder one system. Initiative led to 79% of targeted schools improving their school letter grade by one or moregrades. Some of which went from "Fs" to "As" and made AYP.

• Supervised five regional offices each consisting of a Regional Executive Director and four InstructionalSpecialists who provided direct support to the state's lowest performing schools and their districts.

• Developed an Instructional Review process to conduct instructional reviews at the state's lowest-performingschools.

• Developed the Knowledge Capture Project to identify the effective practices that were implemented statewide toturnaround the state's lowest performing schools.

• Redesigned the state's School Improvement Plan, District Improvement Plan, Restructuring Plan, and Mid-YearReport.

• Developed and presented bi-monthly status reports on the state's lowest-performing schools to the State Board ofEducation.

• Supervised four Instructional Specialists to provide direct assistance to Region One's lowest-performing schools.Support resulted in increasing the school grades of 6 out of7 targeted schools by one or more letter grades. Twoschools increased their letter grade from an "F" to an "A" and made AYP.

• Assisted superintendents and district leadership teams in mobilizing resources and personnel to target the specificneeds of their lowest-performing schools.

• Conducted Instructional Reviews to targeted schools in Region One.

• Provided professional development on instructional leadership and the development of School ImprovementPlans to school site and district administrators in Region One.

• Reviewed School Improvement, District Improvement, K-12, and Title I Plans for the lowest-performing districtsand schools in Region One.

• Coordinated school site and district professional development on effective teaching in the content area, dataanalysis, differentiated instruction, writing, and effective instructional coaching in Region One.

• Led 25 directors or specialists in the Bureau of School Improvement on various projects and initiatives includingoutreach programs to low-performing schools, Pupil Progression Planning, Career Academies, and SchoolAdvisory Councils. Managed nearly $15.5 million in grants and general revenue for numerous programs withinthe Bureau.


Principal; Homestead Middle School 2007 -2008


• Increased FCAT Letter Grade from a "D" to a high "B"

• Increased proficiency in reading by 7 percentage points, mathematics by 10 percentagepoints, science by 18 percentage points, and writing by 3 percentage points. Increased"learning gains" in reading by 8 percentage points and mathematics by 15 percentagepoints. Increased growth of "lowest 25%" in reading by 3 percentage points andmathematics by 16 percentage points.

• Implemented International Baccalaureate (IB) Program.

• Instituted uniform policy.

• Named strongest Language Arts/Reading Program in Region VI by district.

• Reduced outdoor suspension rate by 70%.

• Increased student attendance by 3 percentage points (led district in the highest increase inattendance ).

• Assisted both assistant principals in being admitted to the Principal Preparation Program.

• Maintained financial status without exemptions.

• Two time City of Homestead "Certificate of Recognition" Recipient, 2007-2008

Knowledge Management Officer 2007


• Served on Senior Cabinet.

• Co-planned and facilitated COMSTAT meetings among Senior Staff and Regional Superintendents tostrengthen district's lowest-performing schools, which led the district to increase its attendance rate anddecrease its suspension rate.

• Analyzed data to identify problem areas in schools and conducted instructional walkthroughs to provideprincipals with instructional support.

• Aligned and coordinated district and Regional Center resources and strategies to address problem areas.

• Spearheaded Senior Cabinet's "Collegial Collaborative" meetings.

• Vetted District initiatives prior to implementation.

• Incorporated feedback from all district departments.

• Served as Superintendent's representative on Early Learning Coalition and Homeless Trust boards.

• Conducted instructional audit of the district's Early Childhood Programs.

• Assisted in the development and negotiation of innovative professional development for district's non-instructional personnel.


• Prepared district staff for the development and presentation of Board items.

• Broad Prize Finalist for Excellence in Urban Education.

Intern to Superintendent Dr. Rudolph F. Crew 2006


• Participated on Senior Cabinet.

• Served as Project Leader of District Assistance TeamFormed over fifty Focus Teams to conduct instructional walkthroughs of schools district-wide.Designed classroom walkthrough tool for district-wide school visits.Trained Focus Teams on use of walkthrough tool and school visit protocol.Developed professional development menu for Focus Teams.Coordinated Focus Team visits to schools.Reviewed, compiled, and assessed feedback from Focus Team visits.Met with Deputies and Regional Superintendents to review feedback fromFocus Team visits and determine school-site intervention.

• Assisted Superintendent in the selection of A-Items for School Board Meetings.

• Broad Prize Finalist for Excellence in Urban Education

Head Dean of Students; Fordham Leadership Academy High School 2003-2005

New York City Public Schools

• Opened smaller high school within former 4,000 student high school.

• Designed and implemented innovative discipline strategies which united the roles of guidance counselors,deans, teachers, principals and parents to significantly improve student achievement, increase attendance, andreduce suspension rate.

• Supported first and second year teachers by creating individualized classroom management models.

• Represented school at Regional Suspension Hearings.


TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2003/05 Fordham Leadership Academy High SchoolNew York City SchoolsT.R. Educational Campus, 500 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458

2002/03 Joseph Wade Middle School (Professions and Careers Academy)New York City Public Schools1865 Morris Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453

2001/02 Carver High SchoolForsyth County Schools3545 Carver School Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27105

Parkland High SchoolForsyth County Schools1600 Brewer Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27127.

2001

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

May, 2012 - Florida Sterling Leadership Conference"Succession Management in Struggling Schools: Building the Bench for Urban Instructional Leadership in Miami-Dade County Public Schools"Orlando, FL

May, 2012 - National City Year Conference"Insight to Action: Effective District-wide Approaches to Turning around Low Performing Schools"Washington, D.C.

April, 2012 - Symposium on Response to Intervention (RtI)"The Education Transformation (ETO) and RtI"Fort Lauderdale, FL

April, 2012 - University of Miami Education Symposium"The Effects of High-Stakes Testing with Alfie Kohn"Miami, FL

March, 2012 - Florida International University STEM Conference"Aligning STEM Initiatives Across K-12, University, Non-profit, and Business Entities"Miami, FL

January, 2012 - Miami Fellows"Challenge of Turning Around Lower-Performing Schools"Miami, FL

October, 2011 - Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS)"The Education Transformation Office: Building, Sustaining, and Accelerating Miami-Dade County's LowerPerforming Schools"San Francisco, CA

October, 2011 - Carnegie Learning School Improvement Summit"School Improvement, New Standards, Accountability, and Technology"Washington, D.C.


September, 2011 - McGraw Hill Innovation in Education Summit"K-16 Digital Solutions: Are they Capable of Driving Student Achievement and are they Scalable"New York City, NY

August, 2011 - Aspen Institute Senior Congressional Retreat"Implementing the School Improvement Grant: Successes and Challenges at the State, District, and School Level"Queenstown, Maryland

June, 2011 - Florida Department of Education's Leadership Conference"Education Transformation Office: Build, Sustain, and Accelerate"Tampa, FL

June, 2011 - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"Debate on History of Florida's Education Reforms"Miami, FL

June, 2011 - Title I Conference"Education Transformation Office: Build, Sustain, and Accelerate"Orlando, FL

May, 2011 - City Year National ConferencePanel Discussion on School TurnaroundWashington, D.C.

February, 2011 - United States Department of Education National Webinar"The Miami-Dade County Public School Story"

December, 2010 - Cambium Learning Superintendents' Solutions Summit"Overcoming the Odds: All Systems Go! Increasing Student Achievement in Miami-Dade County Public Schools"Washington, D.C.

July, 2010 - Florida Department of Education's Leadership Conference"Lessons Learned: Two Years of Leading School Improvement in Florida"Tampa. FL

July, 2010 - North East Florida Educational Consortium Conference"Instructional Leadership in Low-Performing Schools"Daytona Beach, FL

June, 2010 - Florida Association of Management Information Systems Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Tallahassee, FL

May, 2010 - Southern Regional Educational BoardPanel Discussion on School Improvement, Race to the Top, and School Improvement GrantsWashington, D.C.

May, 2010 - Florida Negotiators Conference"Differentiated Accountability Requirements and Negotiating with Unions"Daytona Beach, FL


May, 2010 - Florida Organization ofInstructional Leaders Conference"Curriculum Changes through Differentiated Accountability"Lake Mary, FL

April, 2010 - Association of State and Federal Education Program Administrators Conference"Update on School Improvement Grants and Differentiated Accountability"Orlando, FL

March, 2010 - Gadsden County School Board"Effective and Strategic Use of Title I Funds to Drive School Improvement"Gadsden County, FL

November, 2009 - Florida Organization of Instructional Leaders Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Orlando, FL

November, 2009 - Florida Charter Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Orlando, FL

October, 2009 - Florida Education Association Conference"Differentiated Accountability and Union Concerns and Issues"Orlando, FL

September, 2009- Florida Association of District School Superintendents"Changes to School Improvement Grant"Orlando, FL

September, 2009 - Florida Association for Staff Development Conference"Implications for Professional Development through Differentiated Accountability"Tampa, FL

September, 2009 - Exceptional Student Education Conference"Implications for Exceptional Student Education through Differentiated Accountability"Tampa, FL

September, 2009 - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"School Improvement Successes and Challenges in Florida"Miami,FL

August, 2009 - Differentiated Accountability Rule Development WorkshopsTallahassee, Miami, and Tampa

August, 2009 - Madison County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Madison County, FL

July, 2009 - Gadsden County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Gadsden County, FL

July, 2009 - Walton County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Walton County, FL


July, 2009 - Gulf County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Gulf County, FL

July, 2009 - Calhoun County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Calhoun County, FL

June, 2009 - Panhandle Area Education Consortium Conference"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Chipley, FL

May, 2009 - FOIL Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Tampa, FL

May, 2009 - Leon County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Leon County, FL

May, 2009 - Escambia County District and School Administrators"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Escambia County, FL

April, 2009 - Title I Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Daytona, FL

February, 2009 - Title I Conference"Update on Differentiated Accountability"Tampa, FL

February, 2009 - Florida Reading Supervisors Conference"Reading Strategies for School Improvement"Tampa, FL

January, 2009 - Franklin County School Board Workshop"Instructional Leadership and School Improvement"Franklin County, FL

July, 2008 - Just Read, Florida Conference"Literacy Leadership Team and Improving Literacy Instruction at Homestead Middle School"Miami, FL

July, 2008 - Nova Southeastern University"Effective Principal Leadership in Low-Performing Schools"Miami, FL

nikolai vitti updated resume duval application

Documents