Columbia teacher receives
statewide leadership award

Monica Miller, a third-grade teacher at Paxton Keeley Elementary School in Columbia, is the recipient of the 2005 Missouri National Education Association Shirley Cromer Leadership Award.

A Missouri NEA member for five years, Miller served three of those years as the president of the Columbia MNEA, as well as serving on the MNEA Political Action Committee, MNEA Human Rights Committee and NEA Black Caucus.

Miller has taught for 18 years and has earned the respect of both colleagues and students.

“Monica is an invaluable educator in who has demonstrated excellence in the classroom throughout her tenure in Columbia. She has been an inspiration to her students and understands that educators have duties beyond the classroom,” says Kathleen Wells-Morgan, a social studies teacher at Hickman High School.

Miller serves on the Show-Me Central Habitat for Humanities Board and is a member of the Women’s Build Committee, the chairperson of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Scholarship Committee, a volunteer at Boone County Democratic Headquarters, a leader in Delta Kappa Gamma, the sponsor of the Comet Culture Club at Paxton Keeley Elementary School, a member of the Columbia Public Schools Positive Behavior Support Committee and an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church.

“Monica is a dynamic and inspiring personality who appeals to our better natures and convinces us through her example that we can have richer professional lives,” Wells-Morgan says. “She is the best kind of leader, who shows rather than tells.”

The Shirley Cromer Leadership Award is funded annually through the Shirley Cromer Memorial Fund. Each year, this award is presented to a Missouri NEA member who exemplifies qualities of leadership and dedication to the Association. Miller receives a financial grant to attend the NEA Midwest Regional Leadership Conference or another conference of her choice.

The 33,000-member MNEA represents teachers, education support professionals, college faculty, retired teachers and students studying to be teachers in school districts and on college campuses throughout the state. It is the Missouri affiliate of the 2.7 million-member NEA.

For further information:
Debra Angstead
573-634-3202

November 14, 2005