Georgia Teacher of the

Georgia Teacher of the Year Was Nurtured as a Student

I bounced a lot from house to house and needed support from teachers. — Amanda Miliner, 2015

Georgia Teacher of the Year

Amanda Miliner, a fourth-grade teacher from Miller Elementary School in Warner Robins, is the 2015 Georgia Teacher of the Year. As the only child of a single mother who was active duty in the United States Air Force, Miliner depended on her school relationships, especially her teachers. “I bounced a lot from house to house, and I found the need for support from teachers,” says Miliner in speaking to her alma mater, Valdosta State University. A 2006 graduate, she was the first in her family to graduate from college.

Volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters while in college changed the course of Miliner’s life. Her “little sister” was taught by Julie Hiers at nearby S.L. Mason Elementary. “She is an amazing teacher,” Miliner says. “When I saw her teaching, I changed my major from psychology to early childhood education.” Later, Miliner completed her student teaching with Hiers.

After serving as Miss Georgia in 2006 and becoming the second runner-up in the 2007 Miss America Pageant, Miliner traveled and worked in entertainment for a year; but she felt the need to return to where she had felt most fulfilled, and within a few weeks she landed a teaching position.

As host teacher for a Math Early Intervention class, Miliner’s class achieved a 100 percent pass rate in math on the CRCT for several years.

In her role as Teacher of the Year, Miliner is an advocate for public education in Georgia. “She has already changed lives in her classroom, and through this platform she will change the lives of many more children in Georgia,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge.

“I want to give a voice to teachers,” Miliner says. “I really want people genuinely to understand the many hats and roles that teachers play. … I would love for people to spend a week—not a day, anyone can last a day—and really see what it is like as an educator.”

2015 Georgia Teacher of the Year Finalists

Teacher System School Subject

Rita L. Simmons Atlanta Cleveland Ave. Elem. Gifted K-5

Rhonda Lokey Cobb Campbell Middle 6th Grade Social Studies

Dr. Lyn Schenbeck Coweta Central Educational Center Film/Video Music, Business in Arts, Music in Medicine, String & Vocals

Michelle Peace Early Early County High Spanish I, II, III,

Sarah Ballew Welch Fannin Fannin County High English, Oral/Written Communications & British Literature

Nick C. Crowder Forsyth South Forsyth High Engineering Education

Hyunjin Son Gwinnett Gwinnett School of MS&T Physics, Foundations of Engineering &Technology

Paul D. Mixon Heard Heard County High Journalism, Economics

Amanda Miliner Houston Miller Elementary 4th Grade

Marc Pedersen Paulding Paulding County High Biology, Biotechnology & Chemistry

PAGE AND MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE present The 3rd Annual ‘First-Year Survival’ Conference

A day of professional learning focused on preparing teacher candidates for a successful first year in teaching

YOUR FIRST CLASS

EXPECTATION REALITY

Experienced educators will be the first to tell you that the realities of our first classrooms don’t exactly meet our expectations. Those little darlings we dream about don’t always behave like we imagine. Add to that the many demands of lesson planning, SST meetings, parent conferences, submitting grades and completing report after report, and you quickly learn that a teacher’s first year is hard. Really hard.

So we have put together a professional learning event that instructs teacher candidates on: • classroom management strategies • designing work that truly engages students • meeting the needs of diverse learners • engaging parents in the education process

• … and more!

Plus, a special presentation by the PAGE legal department on avoiding ethical and legal problems