Dubbed by her principal “the person who could teach a rock to read,” Judith Miller has been a D.C. Public Schools special education teacher for 26 years, but her approach in the classroom is constantly evolving. Daily integration of the Smart Board, iPads, and computer programs are key to her approach, she explains, along with creating a collaborative environment in which students can learn from one another. In her six years at Payne, Ms. Miller has also been involved in a variety of school leadership roles, including as a member of the School Improvement Team, Green Team chairperson, and organizer for Payne’s annual Read Across America Day.

Ms. Miller has a passion for special education, sparked by her disappointment as a teenager that certain students were excluded “I believed that education should be equal for all students,” she remembers. “If I became a special education teacher, I was committed to providing quality learning experiences for students regardless of their disabilities.” Though she measures academic success in a variety of ways, Ms. Miller is particularly proud when her students are able to return to their general education classrooms to participate on grade-level with their classmates. Ms. Miller is consistently impressed by her students’ efforts to persevere through any academic challenge they encounter. “I love witnessing students becoming aware of their abilities, and incorporating that knowledge into the world around them,” she says. “It is inspiring to see students strive for greatness.”