Michael R. McCormick is the superintendent of the Val Verde Unified School District.  He is known for his passion for innovation and helping students acquire their higher education aspirations.  Before becoming superintendent, Michael served for six years as the Assistant Superintendent for Education Services for Val Verde USD.  Under his leadership, VVUSD has been recognized by the Leadership Policy Institute (2019) as a California school district that is “Beating the Odds” for African American and Hispanic students and Education Trust West named Val Verde USD as, “tops among California districts Closing the Achievement Gap.”  He participated as a member of the Riverside County contingent of educators summoned by the White House to a meeting at the U.S. Department of Education to create the Riverside County Education Collaborative and connect with the College Day of Opportunity.
 
Through his involvement with the Riverside County Education Collaborative, Michael has been instrumental in helping trail blaze effective FAFSA/California Dream Act Application completion strategies.  Under Michael’s leadership, the Val Verde Unified School District has emphasized the importance of FAFSA completion by participating in the countywide FAFSA completion initiative “Race to Submit.”  This work led to hosting the statewide kickoff event for “Race to Submit” in Val Verde for the California Student Aid Commission.  Over the last three years, Val Verde USD has been recognized as having  some of the highest FAFSA/CADAA completion rates in the state of California.
 
Michael frequently gives presentations statewide, nationally, and internationally, where he offers audience members effective strategies and inspiration to create Future Ready organizations focused on STEAM and the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.  The Val Verde Unified School District is known for its emphasis on technology integration and Michael has presented multiple keynotes at Google Symposiums focusing on the successful implementation of instructional technology in a K-12 school district.
 
Michael was named Administrator of the Year by the Riverside County Office of Education in 2012, and by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) in 2015. He was named Superintendent of the Year in 2018 for Riverside County by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and Instructional Leader of the Year in 2019 by the California Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
 
Michael regularly provides testimony on assessment and accountability items to the State Board of Education.  In May of 2019, Mr. McCormick provided expert testimony as a panelist on the use of high school assessments to predict post-secondary student success hosted by State Superintendent, Tony Thurmond.
 
Michael is also active on numerous boards, including Google K12 Advisory Board Member, Operation New Hope Chairman of the Board, EDleader21 Advisory Board Member, University of California Riverside, School of Education, Advisory Board Member, University of Redlands, School of Education, Advisory Board Member, Brandman University, School of Education, Advisory Board Member, Science Technology Education Partnership (STEP) Board Member, and member of the Academic Assembly of the Western Regional Council for the College Board. He is a State Board member and former Region XIX President for the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Michael is also a member of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for the California School Boards Association (CSBA).