Campus Connection

Alum Tina Miller is the 2021 Wisconsin Elementary Principal of the Year

Tina Miller and her mother, Donna Weber, hold the unique distinction of being the only mother-daughter pair to serve as principals in the Wisconsin Rapids public school district.

“Continuing that legacy,” Miller, ’03, says, “has been really important to me.”

Now, Miller can add another exclusive honor to her resume: 2021 Wisconsin Elementary Principal of the Year.

She was nominated by several staff members and parents in her district. Representatives from the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, the Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and the Wisconsin Parent Teacher Association selected her for the honor.

“It’s still unbelievable to me that I was chosen. I just shake my head and say, ‘Is this real?’” says Miller, who holds a master’s degree from UW-La Crosse. “To be recognized by my staff, my administrative peers and parents in our district, it’s such a great feeling.”

Receiving the award was a full-circle moment for Miller, who grew up in Wisconsin Rapids and attended the district where she now works.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from UW-Stevens Point and soon returned to Wisconsin Rapids to teach second grade at Mead Elementary School.

A year in, Miller and several of her colleagues decided to pursue their master’s degrees. They chose UWL’s professional studies in education program, which included a cohort that met in Sun Prairie one weekend a month for two years.

For Miller, the program was about much more than furthering her education and setting her up to become an administrator. It was also a time of personal growth and the foundation for long-lasting friendships.

“The biggest benefit of the program was having 40 to 50 people in this little community, helping each other through the process,” she explains. “These people become your biggest cheerleaders and champions. You go through life with them for those two years. I still keep in touch with a lot of them, even though we all graduated in 2003.”

Shortly after earning her degree, Miller took on a new role in her district, splitting time as a classroom teacher and a professional development facilitator.

In 2008, when her school became a charter school, Miller became a charter school grant coordinator in addition to her professional development work.

Finally, she became the principal of Howe Elementary in 2016.

Being a principal, and being named the Elementary Principal of the Year, has allowed Miller to share her passion and teaching philosophies with a wider audience. Teaching, she says, is about much more than pushing students to excel in the classroom.

“I have always believed that happy kids learn,” she says. “Teaching isn’t just an exercise in regurgitation; we need to get students in the right brain setting to learn. This means understanding the challenges kids carry in their invisible backpacks and creating a safe and structured environment for them every single day. It goes back to having empathy, working together as a staff and making sure we’re serving the whole child.”

Miller had an excellent role model mentoring those characteristics — her mother. Even now, two decades after her mother’s retirement, Miller still calls her at the end of most school days.

Their relationship, Miller says, has made her success as a principal even more meaningful.

“It’s so cool to have that connection with her and to be able to talk about the challenges of the job, even though they’re very different from back in the ’90s when she was a principal,” Miller says. “To share this award with my mom and the rest of my family has been really special.”