Mike Esseily will serve as the new superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools. He becomes the first Arab American and Muslim educator to hold that position. The district announced the selection on Monday.
Esseily currently serves as the district executive director for Special Populations. He oversees special education, English language learners and mental health programs. He previously served as the district director of special education. He also spent two years as special education coordinator.
Esseily will need to negotiate his contract before he is officially hired. If all parties agree to a contract, he will replace former superintendent Glenn Maleyko. Maleyko now serves as the state superintendent of public instruction. He oversees all public K 12 education programs throughout Michigan.
The national search was conducted by the Michigan Leadership Institute. About 25 candidates applied to the position. The pool was narrowed to six candidates for initial reviews. Three finalists were named. One finalist withdrew. That left Esseily as a hometown pick and Moussa Hamka from Grosse Pointe Public Schools.
Esseily will potentially helm a district that largely looks and worships like he does. The district has a large concentration of students from Middle Eastern backgrounds. It includes high populations of Lebanese, Yemeni, Palestinian and Iraqi students. The district serves about 20,000 students overall.
It is one of the largest school districts in Michigan.