Teacher of the Year resigns

JoAnn Miller, who was named Wisconsin High School Teacher of the Year in 2012, has resigned as science teacher at Oconto Falls High School. Miller was also selected to represent Wisconsin in the national teacher of the year program, which included a teacher from each state and four U.S. territories. The Oconto Falls School Board on Monday accepted her resignation, effective Friday, contingent upon a receiving a $3,000 late resignation penalty. Miller has accepted a position at the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA), which is a statewide network that provides services for schools and other agencies that serve students. She will serve as Intervention and Science/STEM Specialist for CESA 8. “The lack of career advancement plans available to me in this district caused me to seek a career change in which future financial and career growth are available,” Miller wrote in her letter of resignation. Prior to becoming a teacher, Miller served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a quality manager in the food industry. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a master’s degree in education from Viterbo University in La Crosse. She earned National Board Certification in 2010 and has taught at OFHS for eight years. Miller teaches high school science classes, including a college credit human biology class for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The university will need to endorse the new employee in order for the students to earn the credits. Miller offered to teach the biology class for the 2014-15 school year, but the administration decided against it. The district advertised the position, and by Monday evening, received four applications, Superintendent Dave Polashek said. “None of them, obviously, are the quality of the person that’s leaving,” Polashek said. He said Miller leaves a legacy of sparking interest and a love of science in hundreds of students. The district might hire a substitute teacher to fill the position for the school year, then advertise the position again for 2015-16 when there’s a larger pool of candidates available, Polashek said. In an e-mail to the Times Herald, Polashek said school districts are challenged to retain teachers because of financial limitations brought about by the state funding formulas. “Professional educators are not valued to the extent they once were. Unfortunately, professional educators have few other options than to relocate in order to achieve higher compensation levels,” he wrote. “We are losing some of our best and brightest.” District employees received 1.46 percent wage increases for the 2014-15 school year.