Miller aims to be a positive male role model

Miller aims to be a positive male role model
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Kyle Miller is in his 11th year of teaching in the East Holmes Local School District. He teaches fourth-graders at Chestnut Ridge Elementary.

                        

When Kyle Miller was a student at Hiland High School, he had Mark Hamsher as a biology teacher.

Hamsher inspired Miller to become a teacher himself.

“I saw (Hamsher’s) passion for teaching, and he was one of my soccer coaches as well, so that seemed like my dream job,” said Miller, who currently teaches fourth grade at Chestnut Ridge Elementary. “I started college as a middle and high school science education major, but that lasted one semester before I switched to elementary education.

“When I was hired in 2013 by East Holmes, I coached soccer for about six years before stepping away to spend more time with my family and focus on teaching. Thank you, Mark, for inspiring me to go into teaching 15 years ago.”

Before teaching fourth grade at Chestnut Ridge, Miller was a Title I intervention teacher. His favorite teaching memory stems from his time serving in that role.

“I got to work with struggling first-grade readers through the Reading Recovery program,” he said. “It was an intense intervention that required much planning and patience; however, I’ll never forget the moments after 12-13 weeks of working with a child and you see them start to catch on.

“It was powerful to see them finally realize that they could be successful and proud of the work they had done.”

Miller said when he began teaching, he knew it was a profession that required patience and dedication, but he didn’t originally realize how much time the East Holmes teachers put into making it a place where their students could thrive as learners.

“I have learned so much from the other teachers in my building and am inspired daily by their commitment to their students,” he said. “Teaching is a very difficult yet very rewarding profession.”

Miller said the most rewarding part of his job is positively affecting his students’ lives.

“I might be the only male teacher they have before they get to the middle school level, so I try to be a positive male role model for them,” he said.

Meeting his students’ various needs is the most challenging part of his job.

“Every class and certainly every student is different,” Miller said. “A class of 20 students could have a vast range of abilities and readiness levels, so planning for that can be difficult.”

Miller participated in several sports during middle and high school including soccer, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He also participated in National Honor Society, organized Wednesday morning prayer meetings and was an active member of his church’s youth group.

When he’s not teaching, Miller loves spending time with his wife Andrea and their daughters Darla and Emma. They love to travel and camp when he’s on summer break. He also enjoys hunting, fishing, exercising and playing guitar on his church’s worship team.

“Teacher Spotlight” is a feature on a teacher in the East Holmes or West Holmes school districts.


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