LIFE in the classroom: Jennifer Miller serves as assistant superintendent

by Mark Jahne

Editor

Jennifer Miller of West Hartford was hired at the onset of the current academic year to fill the vacancy for an assistant superintendent of schools. She speaks with enthusiasm about her new job and the quality of the Wethersfield Public Schools.

Miller was born in Vernon and later served as a teacher and principal of the elementary school she attended as a child. She’s married now and the mother of three grown children. She’s also a grandmother.

Her undergraduate degree was from Providence College. But it wasn’t in an education-related course of study. A career in education was not her first choice.

“I studied business and German there. I worked for Aetna Financial Services for 11 years,” she said.

Jennifer Miller is the assistant superintendent of the Wethersfield Public Schools. (Jahne)

She spent some time as a stay-at-home mom while raising her children and volunteered in their schools. That led to reflecting upon a teacher who made a profound impression on her in her youth.

“My own teacher inspired me to become a teacher,” she recalled.

Miller decided to a return to college. She earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Eastern Connecticut State University.

“I taught for four-and-a-half years at Center Road School in Vernon.”

She later became the principal.

That was followed by a job as principal of the Maple Street School in the Rockville section of Vernon. She led that school through a turnaround program designed by the University of Connecticut and state Department of Education.

“It was a program for a struggling school. Connecticut had the largest achievement gap in the country” at that time, Miller recalled.

She made connections with other schools around the state that were in a similar predicament. They all had the same goal, which was to change the trajectory of student success.

Miller next earned a sixth-year degree in educational administration from UConn. She also graduated from its executive leadership program with certification to become a superintendent of schools.

“Then I became a principal in Enfield at Prudence Crandall Elementary School,” she said.

Her parents are both first-generation Americans. One side of the family is of Italian descent and the other side is German. She visited the latter country for a summer semester during her collegiate days.

“I lived with a family outside of Munich,” she said.

Her next job as a principal was at the school she attended as a child, Center Road School in Vernon. It serves children in grades pre-kindergarten through five.

“That was a school that needed improvement as well. We made great strides and improved our accountability index by 110 points our first year,” Miller said.

Then came the challenge of guiding the school through the COVID-19 pandemic and all the trials and tribulations associated with those times. After that she decided to try a higher level of administration.

“I moved on to assistant superintendent of Regional District 17 of Haddam and Killingworth,” she said.

This is where she met and worked with Jeff Wihbey, who was the superintendent of that district at the time. Whibey is now the superintendent of the Wethersfield Public Schools.

When an opening in this district for an assistant superintendent became available, he didn’t hesitate to offer his former colleague the job. Miller arrived in town this past December.

She is responsible for a wide range of duties including curriculum and instruction, human resources, policies and relations with the Board of Education. Miller spoke about the need for the district to recruit and retain top-quality faculty and staff.

“Being assistant superintendent allows you to be part of improving the system,” she said.

She will be called upon to make important decisions and focus on creating ways where faculty and staff can solve problems together. But the focus must remain on the young people in the classrooms.

“It is so important to always keep the student experience in mind,” Miller said.

“Jennifer Miller comes to Wethersfield with unique and outstanding experiences. She was an outstanding school principal in Vernon where her school achieved outstanding student results.” Whibey said.

“She then became a high-performing assistant superintendent of schools in Regional School District 17. Under her leadership, Region 17 became one of the highest-performing school districts in Connecticut as measured by the state’s SDE Accountability Index,” he added.

“Jenn has a great deal of successful experience finding efficiency in human capital, maintaining manageable and sustainable staffing plans while hiring and retaining the most outstanding staff for the children and families she serves.”

Miller reflected on the career path she chose.

“Education has changed so much. My mother was a teacher in a Catholic school,” she said.

“Coming to Wethersfield felt like an important next step. It’s a rich community with diverse families. It’s like coming home,” she added.

The town’s history and sense of community pride also resonated with her.

“That was very appealing to me,” she said. “Everybody has been so welcoming. I see people walking to school, biking to school, families out with their kids.” WL