The Seattle Times

Former Bellevue school superintendent Mike Riley.

BELLEVUE - Former superintendent of the Bellevue School District, Dr. Michael Riley, was found dead in his Virginia apartment on Wednesday morning. He was 58.

Riley was superintendent from 1996-2008 and left when he joined the College Board, which administers the SAT and Advanced Placement courses and tests.Under Riley, Bellevue increased the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses from about 10 to 84 percent.

But he had also been at the center of the push for a standardized curriculum in Bellevue schools, which became one of the major sticking points behind the nine-day teacher's strike.

Teachers said the mandated, Web-based system micro-managed their ability to adapt to individual classroom needs, and parents said they didn't want their kids taught by robots.

Riley was senior vice president of the College Readiness Systems at the College Board.

College Board president Gaston Caperton issued a statement:

"Mike Riley was our friend and colleague for many years. We respected his intellect, his knowledge and his unwavering commitment to improving education. We'll miss many things about Mike - his warmth, his wit and his quiet confidence, and we, along with educators around the country, will mourn the loss of one of our most valued voices. We at the College Board will carry Mike's vision forward and are confident that his legacy will be a better education for underserved high school students, about whom he cared so deeply."

The cause of Riley's death was not immediately known.