Chad Miller named Hawaii’s 2012 State Teacher of the Year

Chad Miller, an English language arts teacher at Kailua High School, is Hawaii’s 2012 State Teacher of the Year. Governor Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii State Board of Education Chairman Don Horner, and Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi made the announcement this afternoon during a ceremony honoring seven District Teachers of the Year at Washington Place.

On the first day of school, Chad sets clear expectations and creates an environment in which students become active agents in their education. Drawing from Matthew Lipman’s Philosophy for Children, Chad serves as a facilitator while his students take ownership of their learning. Student inquiry becomes the main driver for English instruction, and every assignment requires students to demonstrate their thinking and reasoning. For seven years, Chad has conducted workshops to share his effective teaching practices with colleagues. He facilitates reflective meetings where teachers discuss successes, failures, struggles, and frustrations. Teachers emerge from meetings with new lessons, strategies, and reenergized to focus on engaging, relevant, and rigorous instruction. Chad earned a bachelor’s degree in Arts and a double major in Philosophy and Communications from John Carroll University in Ohio. He holds a master’s of Education in Teaching Secondary English from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Foundations.