Charleroi Area teacher reaches milestone

Students and faculty members walking through Charleroi Area High School on Fridays have likely heard shouts of excitement coming from the classroom of Spanish teacher Lauren Miller.

Miller, with the district for four years, was recognized as a tenured teacher during the school board business meeting Tuesday night.

To be eligible for tenure, a teacher must be with the district three years, have 24 credits beyond their degree and have successful teacher evaluations.

Superintendent Dr. Ed Zelich noted her excitement, passion and genuine love for students.

“We like to invite the teachers and their families in to celebrate,” Zelich said. “This is a huge milestone and really something to be proud of.”

School board President Ken Wiltz said the board knew almost immediately that Miller was the right candidate for her position – even though her competition had more experience.

“She stood out to us,” Wiltz said. “It is nice when you can look at each other and say ‘this is the one.’”

On Tuesday, Zelich commended the board for making the right choice.

“She does such amazing work and loves the children she teaches,” Zelich said.

Miller was hired three days before the start of the 2014-15 school year – her first gig in the public education system.

However, she was teaching long before her first public school position.

As a senior at Greensburg Salem High School, Miller was involved in a program that paired her as a foreign language tutor with an elementary student.

While working toward her degree at Seton Hill University, Miller took a part time-teaching position with Queen of Angels Catholic School in North Huntington Township.

After graduation in 2011, she was offered a full-time position at the Catholic school, where she taught Spanish to students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

After two years, Miller took a position creating online curriculum for Pittsburgh-based VLN Partners, which provides educational services to public school systems.

While looking for full-time classroom positions, Miller saw an opening in a district with which she was familiar.

“Even though I liked what I was doing, I missed teaching,” Miller said. “Coincidentally enough, Charleroi had used VLN, so I had really already been making classes for the district. It really seemed like fate.”

After meeting with faculty members and administrators, Miller was called back for a second interview.

“At that point, I went into the interview and decided I need to be honest,” Miller said. “I knew that I might not have all of the proper experience on paper, but I had been teaching since I was 18.

“I had traveled to Spain and Mexico, and knew I had the passion to do this.” Miller teaches exploratory foreign language in seventh and eighth grades and Spanish I through honors IV at the high school to more than 160 students each year.

“I came in as an outsider and have come to love this community as my own,” Miller said. “It has been so much fun.”

Miller said fun is a staple in her classroom.

“I want my students to know I love what I do, and I love teaching them every day,” Miller said.

On Fridays, students count to three and shout “ole” to celebrate the end of the school week.

“For me, it’s about creating a sense of community in my classroom,” Miller said.

“I want my students to be as interested in learning as I am interested in teaching them.”