Megan Miller went out and gained over a decade of principal experience only to return to her hometown of Poplar Bluff to apply it as the leader of one of the district’s Blue Ribbon schools.
Miller was hired by the Board of Education in February as the next principal of Lake Road Elementary, succeeding Dr. Rondi Vaughn, who has been promoted to R-I assistant superintendent of curriculum.
“She was a part of the original Eugene Field staff that implemented PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports), Leader in Me, and tiered reading and math interventions so she understands the importance of educating the whole child from a teacher’s perspective,” stated Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Jennifer Taylor, previously the principal of Eugene Field. “Her decade of administrative experience with implementing academic, behavioral and social-emotional learning initiatives will allow her to pick up where Dr. Vaughn left off.”
Originally serving as physical education and health instructor for R-I beginning in 2009, Miller was a member of the team that ushered in the LIM cultural initiative at Eugene Field, eventually achieving the esteemed Lighthouse status. She was among eight educators from that group who went on to become administrators at schools across the region.
In 2015, Miller accepted an elementary assistant principal position in Doniphan, advancing to head principal the following year. She initially applied to be athletic director to ease into school administration, she recalled, but instead was recruited as a building leader.
For the past eight years, Miller has served as elementary assistant principal in Dexter, allowing the family to move closer to Sikeston, where her husband Brandon took a job with the Missouri Department of Transportation. During her first year there, she was named Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year by the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals.
“It’s so beneficial to have seen other schools—the good, the bad and the ugly—and I’m excited to use the experiences that I’ve gotten from other places,” Miller said. “I’m so glad to be back. This is home.”
A graduate of the Poplar Bluff High School Class of 2005, Miller was a student-athlete who participated in cheerleading and volleyball, earning school records that stand to this day under coach Carol Davis, a long-time teacher at Junior High. “I wanted to be her,” Miller said of her inspiration in the education business.
Throughout her teaching career at Junior High, Eugene Field, Lake Road and the Kindergarten Center, Miller additionally served as assistant volleyball coach for one year and varsity cheerleading for five at PBHS. Afterward, she continued with athletics for several years as a volleyball official through the Missouri State High School Activities Association in order to “stay involved with the sports community,” she explained.
Currently working on her dissertation through William Woods University, she previously received her specialist and master's in administration from the Fulton college. She obtained a bachelor's in physical education/health from Missouri State University in Springfield, upon getting her start at Three Rivers College.
Not only does Lake Road fly the Blue Ribbon flag, the highest honor an educational institution can achieve, the elementary was named an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished School, a four-year Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase School and has received the Gold Award of Excellence for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation nine years in a row.
“Mrs. Taylor said during our interview that I’m coming into an awesome school and my job is to keep it there,” Miller recalled. “I think because I have that competitive background, not only do I want to stay at the top, but I want to find areas where we can improve it. And I know I can’t do it myself; we have a team that has that competitive drive for their kids.”
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Cutline: Megan Miller spent the month of June visiting Lake Road and meeting staff members before officially starting her principalship the following month.