State Superintendent Announces Retirement, Effective Oct. 3

LANSING – Dr. Michael F. Rice, Michigan’s 44^th superintendent of public instruction, today announced his retirement from the position, effective Oct. 3.

“It’s been an honor to serve Michigan’s 1.4 million public school children over the last six school years,” said Dr. Rice. “It’s been a privilege to work with the State Board of Education and the state’s talented teachers, students, parents, administrators, support staff, Governor Whitmer, state legislators, education organizations, broader community, and the dedicated staff of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), small in number but mighty in battle, to improve education for our children.”

State Board of Education President Dr. Pamela Pugh praised Dr. Rice for his commitment to children.

“It has been an honor to serve alongside Dr. Michael Rice over the past six years,” noted Dr. Pugh. “During that time, I have witnessed his steadfast commitment to putting children first—even in moments of disagreement, his focus on what was best for students never wavered. From record-high graduation rates to greater investments in public schools, the passage of monumental literacy legislation into law, teacher shortage rectification measures, the advocacy for and expansion of career and technical education, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, and other forms of secondary school rigor, and expanded mental health services in schools, Dr. Rice’s leadership has delivered transformative outcomes and laid pathways for continued improvement to Michigan schools.” 

Selected state superintendent, chair of the State Board of Education, and head of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) by the State Board of Education in May 2019, in 2020 Dr. Rice led the revamping, with the board, of Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, with defined goals and associated metrics. During his tenure: 

• Michigan reached its highest four-year graduation rate in history, 82.8%, in 2024. (Goal 5 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan) That is the highest level since the state adopted the federal formula for calculating the rate in 2008.
• Michigan increased student participation in five rigorous secondary school programs beyond pre-pandemic levels, in some cases to historic levels: career and technical education (CTE), Advanced Placement (AP), dual enrollment, early middle college, and International Baccalaureate. (Goal 4 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• Michigan reached historic highs in CTE program completers (52,625); dual enrollment participation (35,145); Early Middle College participation (15,905); and number of students taking one or more AP tests (63,053), number of AP tests taken (110,901), number of students with AP tests with scores of 3, 4, or 5, which often generate college credit (44,711), and number of AP tests with scores of 3, 4, or 5 (77,381). (Goal 4 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• The state began the Michigan School Meals Program—universal free breakfast and lunch for all public school children—and increased the number of daily breakfasts by 26% and the number of daily lunches by 20%. (Part of Goal 3 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• With support from the state board and department, Michigan increased its children’s mental health and school safety budget from $31 million to more than $250 million and increased the number of helping professionals—counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists—by 1,700. (Part of Goal 3 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• The state increased teacher preparation program enrollment every year since 2016-17, a total increase of 71 percent during this period. To support MDE recommendations to the governor and legislature to address the teacher shortage, the legislature has appropriated $1.1 billion over three fiscal years for fellowships/scholarships and student teacher stipends for aspiring teachers, Grow Your Own programs for support staff and students to become teachers, teacher student loan repayments, mentoring and induction grants, and a rural credentialing hub, among other efforts in this area. (Goal 7 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• The department fought for generational literacy/dyslexia legislation, passed into law in the fall of 2024, to strengthen early literacy materials, professional development, and coaching and to require dyslexia screening and intervention. It led the push to provide Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) science of literacy professional development for educators, with more than 3,600 teachers having completed the training and more than 6,500 having begun the training, in addition to the department’s extensive efforts to expand diverse literature and comprehensive history instruction in classrooms. (Goal 2 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• The state board and department fought successfully for more adequate and equitable school funding for students, including but not limited to economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, English learners, and rural students, as well as general education transportation reimbursement. (Goal 8 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan).
• Michigan’s preschool program, the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), consistently ranked tied for first nationally in quality over the last several years, as the state works to implement Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s call for universally accessible preschool. In winter 2025, the governor announced that GSRP enrollment had reached a record high in Michigan. (Goal 1 of the state’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• Michigan’s percentage of adults ages 25-64 with a postsecondary credential rose to 51.8 percent, on the way to the governor’s Sixty by 30 goal: 60 percent of all 25-64 year-olds with a postsecondary credential. (Goal 6 of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan)
• Michigan raised its state summative test results in 15 of 20 categories in spring 2023 and 13 of 20 categories in spring 2024.
• The state board and department worked to lift up and demonstrate the value of student voice, through five years of a diverse MDE Student Advisory Council, board presentations that have included students, and a student-produced guidance document on the importance of safe spaces.
• The state board and department additionally worked to lift up and support all students, including those who are marginalized or stigmatized.

“Family members are getting older and, with a nod to Robert Frost, I have promises to keep to them,” said Dr. Rice. “While I will be writing, consulting a bit, and mentoring in the coming year, I expect mostly to be reengaging more deeply with family. Beyond the year, though, I expect to return to working eye level with children, work that I have missed enormously these last six years and to which I look forward. To Frost again: ‘And miles to go before I sleep.’”

Dr. Rice came to the Michigan Department of Education after serving 17 years as a local district superintendent: 12 years as superintendent in Kalamazoo and five as superintendent in Clifton, N.J.

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.

He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in psychology with honors and from New York University with a master's degree and doctoral degree in public administration, also with honors.

State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice reading with children in 2019 at Benton Harbor Public Schools.

###