This past January, Madison Miller was announced as Volusia County Schools’ Teacher of the Year. The prestigious award is selected from 70 nominees countywide. Miller attributes a large portion of her success thus far to her choice to attend Daytona State.
Ever since she was in elementary school, Miller knew she wanted to teach. That’s where her teachers had inspired and pushed her to be the best student and person she could be. These were traits she also wished to inspire in others, and she felt attending DSC enabled her to eventually do just that.
“The teachers [at DSC], just like I felt in elementary school, built relationships with me to where I still have their numbers [and] we still text all the time,” Miller said. “I mean real relationships with the teachers where they really cared about me and where I was going.” Miller had developed a support network for herself, which carried on after she graduated from DSC.
“I didn’t know where I wanted to teach but I knew I wanted to be successful,” Miller said. “So, they [Miller’s professors at DSC] helped me find Chisholm [Elementary], and they helped me prepare for my first job, [providing] just overwhelming support from day one.”
Principal of Chisholm Elementary, Melissa Marple, is just one person on the long list of people that hold Miller in high regard.
“Madison was chosen as Volusia County School’s Teacher of the Year because she exemplifies the traits of an instructional teacher leader,” Marple expressed in an interview. “Not only does she work with students, but she also assists teachers with their professional practice and goes above and beyond to ensure that all underserved students’ academic, social, and emotional needs are being met.”
Marple also believes that what has helped Miller the most thus far is the compassion she shows for others.
“[She] is caring, supportive, and highly intelligent. She sees the good in every person and situation,” Marple said. “I would say she is driven by her heart more than anything else. For most people on campus, they would refer to her first as a friend and second as a colleague.”
Dr. Donald May, a Senior Professor at the School of Education at Daytona State, had this to say about Miller: “There are not enough words to convey how much Madison deserves to be recognized as the Teacher of the Year for Volusia County Schools.” He continued, “I am confident she will one day become a leader in Volusia County Schools.”
So, from everything Miller has and will continue to do in her career, the Volusia County Schools’ Teacher of the Year Award stands as a testament to her endurance and work ethic.
But her job isn’t quite done yet. Miller now moves on to the voting for Florida’s Teacher of the Year, which will be announced sometime this July.
Adrian Edwards is a guest writer. Editor-in-chief Tim Blalock contributed to this story.