Dr. Glenn Maleyko started his role as State Superintendent and head of the Department of Education this week. The State Board of Education selected him for the role in August, following the retirement of former Superintendent, Dr. Michael Rice. Dr. Maleyko has 30 years of experience in Dearborn Public Schools as a central office administrator, building principal, teacher, and superintendent.
At this week’s State Board of Education meeting, he outlined his priorities:
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- Renewing the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan to update and strengthen it through robust statewide stakeholder engagement.
- Improving student literacy by building upon new measures that are already being implemented under laws for which the Department of Education and the State Board of Education advocated.
- Further improving student health, safety, and wellness, including increasing mental health supports and reducing chronic absenteeism.
- Strengthening student pathways to academic and career goals and postsecondary readiness. That includes expanding dual enrollment, early college, Career and Technical Education, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate programs, many of which are already at record-high levels, and increasing graduation rates, which are also at a historic high.
- Providing adequate and equitable school funding. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature have significantly improved the adequacy and equity of school funding in recent years. However, he wants funding to align with the levels recommended by a Michigan School Finance Research Collaborative study, which found Michigan still underfunds public education by billions of dollars. He’s advocating for a strong emphasis on at-risk categorical funding and on providing resources to English language learners and students who receive special education services, consistent with high-achieving states.
- Strengthening the educator workforce by investing in teachers and support staff, improving mentoring, and growing the educator pipeline.
“In the coming months I will launch a Statewide Listening Tour,” Dr. Maleyko said. “I will visit schools across Michigan, meet with educators, students, families, support staff, school board members and community partners, and attend events across every region. This Listening Tour, with support from the State Board of Education and Michigan Department of Education staff, will directly inform a major statewide initiative: the renewal and enhancement of the Top 10 Strategic Education Plan through broad stakeholder engagement. High-achieving states build strategies through deep listening—and we will do the same. As Wayne Gretzky said: ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ Our Listening Tour will help Michigan skate toward the future of education.”
