Michael F. Rice was appointed Michigan's 44th Superintendent of Public Instruction by Michigan's State Board of Education in May 2019. He came to the Michigan Department of Education after serving 17 years as a local district superintendent - most recently at the Kalamazoo (MI) Public Schools, where he started full-day pre-kindergarten and quintupled the number of full-day kindergarten students; and led the improvement in student achievement in reading, writing, math, Advanced Placement participation and success, and graduation rates. Prior to serving as Kalamazoo's superintendent, Dr. Rice served five years as superintendent of the Clifton (NJ) Public Schools. Dr. Rice began his career in public education in the Washington, D.C. Public Schools, where he taught high school French, and founded and coached an award-winning speech and debate program.