|  | | MESPA Home > Honors > MESPA Division Leadership Award > 2012 Awards |  | Gail Lewis-Miller, West Suburban Division
 | | Gail Lewis-Miller, principal, L.H. Tanglen Elementary, Hopkins Public Schools |
2012 MESPA Division Leadership Achievement
Award Recipient
Education Philosophy:
"Get to know each student's strengths and grow their learning from their strengths."
Gail Lewis-Miller was nominated for MESPA Division Leadership honors by Joan Maland, principal at Indian Mounds Elementary School, in Bloomington Public Schools. On behalf of MESPA West Suburban principals, Maland stated: “‘In it's essence, leadership flows from the core of a personality. It may be enhanced through mentoring, but can not be taught.’ This quote aptly describes Gail Lewis-Miller. Both her parents were educational leaders and Gail followed her father’s footsteps to the principalship.”
“Gail eagerly stepped into the role of president-elect of the West Suburban Division,” Maland continued, “and followed with a year as president. Using this leadership opportunity, Gail brought to the division meetings speakers who created awareness for the audience on highly relevant topics, including Cybernet issues and the Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center. In true leadership style, when the division needed her, she responded to the call. It is for these reasons and many others that the West Suburban Division is proud to recognize Gail Lewis-Miller for her leadership efforts.”
Among her most significant career accomplishments, Lewis-Miller includes: working in three school districts as an administrator; providing the best education for all students through equity work; and creating strategies to involve more parents of color.
“I have been fortunate to have worked in three very unique districts as an administrator,” Lewis-Miller said. “By doing so, I have experienced a number of wonderful programs that all districts have to offer and have been able to bring new insights to each district.”
“Another accomplishment involves my work on equity at the district and building level and receiving a Recognition Award for leading Courageous Conversations from the Summit for Courageous Conversations conference in Baltimore two years in a row,” Lewis-Miller continued. “As our populations continuously grow and change, it is vital to work with all staff, parents, and community members to build the level of trust to work in partnership in order to provide the best education to all students.”
“Finally, I’ve worked to create strategies to involve more parents of color in our schools and in their students’ learning,” Lewis-Miller stated. “One of these strategies involves holding the annual Parents of Students of Color Listening Sessions. By asking questions and listening, we have been able to seek out suggestions about their children’s experiences, along with what we could do differently. For the larger parent community, I am involved in the PTO, school community events and ‘Coffee with the Principal.’ I also gather a great deal of information from parent surveys, which provided the necessary feedback for school improvement.”
“We are in our third year of implementing a strong Response to Intervention (RTI) program,” Lewis-Miller added. “With our talented staff, we have used our MAP assessments to monitor student growth and have been very excited to watch each student grow in math and reading.”
Past honors and recognition received by Lewis-Miller include: Recognition award for leading Courageous Conversation about race and equity; and Certificate of Commendation from Governor Arne H. Carlson for curriculum work on the “Bill of Rights.” She served her West Suburban division colleagues as president (2009-10) and served on the Nominations Committee for the National Association of Elementary School Principals for two years.
2012_DivLdr_LewisMiller.pdf
Print-ready media release for Gail Lewis-Miller.
|
|
