Today we conclude our brief look at the individuals who have been chosen to receive Those Who Excel awards from the Illinois State Board of Education. They and other recipients from around the state will be honored at a banquet in Normal on October 25. Our final recipients are Assistant Director of Science Tom Kelly and Director of Special Education Jay Miller. Tom Kelly - Award of Recognition - Classroom Teacher Tom Kelly has taught every level of science at Stevenson since 1990, and this fall added the duties of assistant science director. As is the case with many people at SHS, titles and words fail to capture the impact Kelly has had on students and colleagues over the past 24 years. He typically arrives at school around 5 a.m. to prepare for the day and to be ready for the steady stream of students who stop by his classroom starting at 7. “Tom is the most energetic teacher I have ever seen in a classroom,” says Director of Science Steve Wood, one of many faculty members whom Kelly mentored. Kelly has been a leader in showing other teachers effective uses of data and developing a curriculum aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. What really sets him apart, however, are the things that can’t be measured. It’s not uncommon for Kelly to spend time during class talking with students about everyday concerns, whether they be the transition from high school to college, to dealing with an event that has had an emotional impact on them. While acknowledging that the content in his classes is important, Kelly says the most significant role he has as a teacher is in helping his students become good people who are compassionate, honest and teach others with respect. “I hold close to my heart the saying that, ‘People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel,’” he wrote in a letter to the Those Who Excel committee. “When students leave my class I want them to be aware that other people in this world need their help.” Jay Miller - Award of Excellence - School Administrator Jay Miller worked as a management consultant for many years before deciding to enter the field of special education. However, he was familiar with special education long before making it his career. His sister had significant disabilities while he was growing up, and Miller remembered the substandard facilities where his parents would take her for help. Miller has worked at Stevenson since 1995, first as a program supervisor with the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL), and as the school’s special education director since 2006. Since becoming director, Miller has worked to expand special education support systems and services for SHS students. His work has been so successful that after this school year, Stevenson will withdraw from SEDOL because it is able to educate all special education students within its walls. Miller’s commitment to parental involvement was emphasized by his founding of the Special Education Community Advisory Board, which has been recognized by the state for its efforts to discuss and address the perspectives and challenges facing parents of students with special needs. “In his book Schools of Hope, Douglas Heath suggests that our schools need teachers and leaders who inspire their colleagues to look beyond themselves and imagine new and more enriching possibilities for our individual and collective lives,” Superintendent Eric Twadell wrote in his Those Who Excel nomination. “Jay Miller is one of those leaders.”
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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