Donalyn Miller, a language arts teacher at Keller ISD’s Trinity Meadows Intermediate School, has been named one of three finalists for the 2011 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year Award by the Texas Education Agency.
Miller was recently named the Education Service Center Region XI Elementary Teacher of the Year, and was selected from among a group of 40 regional winners to contend for the honor of being named Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year. Six finalists were named by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) – three elementary and three secondary school educators.
“We are very proud of Donalyn and her accomplishment, and we are delighted that she is part of Keller ISD and is representing our district,” said Keller ISD Superintendent Dr. James Veitenheimer. The winners will be announced at an October 15 luncheon at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.
The top two teachers will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a technology package valued at more than $16,500, a computer, a trophy, and travel allowance and other mementos. A $500 cash prize is awarded to the remaining 38 regional Teachers of the Year.
“The six finalists for the top award are those kinds of teachers that students remember long after they have left their classroom,” said Commissioner of Education Robert Scott. “Their impact has been far reaching; their excitement contagious. On behalf of the Texas Education Agency and parents across this state, I thank you for your commitment to our children.”
Donalyn Miller has been in education for just eight years after working previously in the private sector. In that time, her successful methods of inspiring students to read has led to writing a book called The Book Whisperer which describes her beliefs about teaching reading. To encourage reading over the summer, Miller began Trinity Meadows’ annual Book Swap in which students bring books they have finished and are willing to swap for other books.
“This decade, Keller ISD has been blessed to have two Texas State Teachers of the Year, and it is phenomenal that we once again have an educator who is being considered in that same arena. We have so many exceptional teachers in Keller ISD and it’s always gratifying to see them recognized like this for the work they do,” added Veitenheimer.
Keller ISD teachers Nika Maples and Grant Simpson were named the 2007 Secondary and 2008 Elementary Teachers of the Year, respectively.
The other finalists for the 2011 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year are Rachael Brunson, a teacher at Great Oaks Elementary School in Round Rock ISD, and Daniel Jeija, a fifth-grade teacher at Esparaza Elementary School in San Antonio’s Northside ISD.