NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The 2024 New Haven Public Schools Teacher of the Year is Julia Miller, a social studies instructor at the Metropolitan Business Academy.
In addition to being a teacher in the city, Miller is a proud New Haven Public Schools parent and alum, according to the district. Miller is in her 18th year in the classroom and has taught at Metro since 2015. She is a graduate of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University and the Teachers College at Columbia University.
“I teach for many reasons,” Miller said. “I tell my civics students at the start of the year that my main goal for them is that they are informed and active community members who feel empowered to make change. I want them to be able to make the differences they want to see in their communities, in society and the world.”
Miller adds that she loves New Haven Public Schools because the district provides incredible education, essential community resources and opportunities and experiences that help impact students’ lives for many years.
“I am a huge proponent of whole child, trauma-informed and culturally relevant education,” Miller said. “I want our students to see themselves in the curriculum, in our classrooms. I want their lives and contexts to be understood and validated and uplifted. I want their needs to be met so they can access their education and help create the life and pathways that they want for themselves.”
The district says Miller teaches in Metro’s Academy of Law, Leadership & Political Science. Miller taught Constitutional Law for many years before transitioning into her current role of co-teaching a course she designed with a colleague called Youth Justice in Practice.
Youth Justice in Practice is grounded in the theories of restorative and transformative justice and is the senior capstone class of the law pathway. As part of the course, Miller co-facilitates the Metro Youth Justice Panel, which is a student-led restorative justice initiative in the school endeavoring to repair harm, provide accountability and support students who make mistakes, according to the school district.
Miller also contributed to launching the “Grow Your Own” initiative to create and nurture the district’s next generation of teachers. By partnering with her coworkers in the district, Miller has supported the development of the new Education and Leadership Pathway that is being piloted at Wilbur Cross, Hillhouse and Metro.
The district says that last school year, Miller led an after-school program named Educators Rising for aspiring teachers. Beyond curating several guest-speaker events, trips and experiential learning opportunities for students, Miller served as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University, teaching its Intro to Public Education course to 11th and 12th graders for dual credit.
Miller was also part of a writers’ group that crafted an Early College Experience course called Seminar in Education through a partnership with Southern Connecticut State University. She is currently teaching the course at Metro as part of the inaugural year of the Education and Leadership pathway.
Outside of these initiatives, the district says Miller plays several different leadership roles. She is a grade level team lead, a member of the Leadership and School Planning and Management Teams, a Student Council advisor and a mentor teacher. As an educator, Miller has worked with community partners such as the Yale Law and Racial Justice Center, Yale Education Studies Teacher Partner Program and the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Collective.
Additionally, Miller has facilitated professional learning workshops, focused on restorative justice practices in schools, both at the local and national level. She completed her Sixth Year Certificate in Educational Leadership (Intermediate Administrator) in the spring of 2023.
The district says that Miller was selected as a teacher of the year from among last spring’s recipients of the district’s TAPS awards, based on nominations by colleagues. The selection was ultimately made by a panel including administrators and union representatives, as well as Marco Cenabre, the 2023 Teacher of the Year.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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