Superintendent

Message from the Superintendent

After graduating with my teaching degree from Mankato State University, I began my career in education in 1991 as a fourth-grade teacher in Big Rapids, MI, where I also coached track and cross country. In 1993, I received my master’s in educational leadership from Central Michigan University and accepted a position in Ludington in 1998 to become an elementary principal, a role I held for 17 years.

In 2013, I returned to the classroom and earned my educational specialist degree from Grand Valley State University, which further prepared me for my goal of becoming a superintendent. In 2015, when the superintendent position opened in Charlevoix, I was excited to apply. I was hired by the board of education and began on July 1, 2015.

The unwavering support of my wife and family has been paramount in my life. My wife, Julie, hails from England, was raised in Scotland, and works as an optometrist at Grand Traverse Ophthalmology Clinic (GTOC). Together we have four children and one grandchild. Matthew, the eldest, is a patent attorney in Washington, D.C.; he and his wife are the proud parents of our first grandchild, Edmund Ritter. David, a 2017 graduate of CPS, is a software consultant for Dynatrace, and he and his wife live in Iowa City, Iowa. Alan, who graduated from CPS in 2020, is an optometry student at the Michigan College of Optometry in Big Rapids. Our youngest, Kate, graduated from CPS in 2024 and is attending Ferris State University.

Go Rayders! 

Mike Ritter, Superintendent