Meet Dr. Kevin Miller, a highly experienced Adjunct Professor of Ohio Superintendent Licensure, Ohio Principal Licensure, and Ohio Teacher Leader Endorsement. He is an experienced superintendent who is known throughout the state for his dedication to the field.
What programs do you teach at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago? What drew you to this field of study? What keeps you excited about it?
I am an Adjunct Professor of Ohio Superintendent Licensure, Ohio Principal Licensure, & Ohio Teacher Leader Endorsement at OAESA in conjunction with Concordia University Chicago (CUC). I have taught several classes over the years since starting with Concordia University in 2007, but most recently, my focus has been on leading the Superintendent Internship course.
In the past, I taught online courses for North Central University out of Arizona. When Julie Davis, the Executive Director of OAESA at the time, asked me to consider teaching courses through CUC as part of OAESA’s program, I jumped at the chance. Dr. Davis and I have been colleagues and friends for several years (we earned our doctorates together through OAESA), so working alongside her and the team at OAESA was an appealing offer for me.
I am continually energized in my teaching at OAESA with CUC because I work with educational leaders from around the state of Ohio who are seeking to build their skills as educators and who aspire to step into new leadership roles. They bring so much energy in their interactions with one another and with me that I can’t help but feed off that energy. I have worked with educators from all over the nation, and I can attest, the educators I work with in the classes that I lead are uniquely qualified and incredibly special.
How will your programs better prepare/equip educators for the current climate they are facing? How will it help them tackle today’s education challenges?
The courses at OAESA are designed to address important issues that impact educators and the school districts they serve. In their ongoing discussion posts and in larger assignments, Concordia students are researching and reflecting on issues that include diversity, equity, and inclusion; school funding; family and community engagement; curriculum development; school policy and more.
What is incredibly valuable is that each class is made up of students who represent a variety of backgrounds—from small rural districts to large urban districts. They share some of the same problems, but they also reflect a diversity of realities. Students learn from each other by providing examples from their school districts and sharing those diverse realities. It’s real-life learning at its best.
What attracted you to teach at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago? What sets them apart?
OAESA has long been a pacesetter in Ohio when it comes to providing support and professional development for school administrators. Forging this partnership with Concordia is an example of how OAESA has been progressive in providing learning opportunities for educators and administrators from all over Ohio.
Because OAESA and CUC have worked together to provide meaningful and challenging programs, educators from across the state have been able to improve teaching and learning in Ohio’s classrooms. It’s hard to match the level of partnership exhibited by OAESA and Concordia. It’s what sets them apart from other graduate-level programs.
What is your professional background as an educator/superintendent?
Degrees/Certifications
I received my Bachelor of Science in English Education from Defiance College. My Master of Science in Secondary Education was earned at Indiana University, while my Principal’s and Superintendent’s Certification work was completed at the University of Dayton. I earned my Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Superintendent Background
I served as Superintendent of Hicksville Village Schools in Defiance County, Ohio for seven years before becoming Superintendent of Ottawa Hills Schools in Toledo for nine years. For three years, I served as Director of Governmental Relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA). BASA is Ohio’s Superintendent organization—the Superintendent’s version of OAESA. In this role, I worked with legislators to impact education-related legislation and acted as a liaison between the Statehouse and Ohio’s superintendents.
But I found that my heart is in the schoolhouse, not the “statehouse”, so recently I transitioned back to the Superintendency. I am currently Superintendent of Licking Heights Schools in Pataskala, Ohio. Licking Heights is one of Ohio’s fastest growing school districts, impacted greatly by large corporations located in the area, such as Google, Facebook, Amgen, and American Electric Power.
Tell us a little about yourself. Why did you become interested in education?
It was my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Louisa Matthews, who convinced me that I wanted to be a teacher. She was fun, she was happy, and she named me classroom librarian. Instead of finding subjects and verbs, we had the chance to write wonderful stories and to make classroom presentations.
It was hands-on, student-directed education, making Mrs. Matthews decades ahead of her time back in 1969. Mrs. Matthews was one of many wonderful teachers who taught me during my educational career. It was easy to see they loved what they did. I wanted a career that gave me something that gave me joy each day; I never wanted to be anything but a teacher.
What would you tell prospective students considering your programs about yourself? What’s something that students and colleagues should know about you?
In Dr. Jim Bray’s Foundations of Education class my freshman year at The Defiance College, I remember a phrase from the textbook: “A great educator has ‘a cause beyond oneself.’” I’ve never forgotten that.
Every great educator knows what I’m talking about. Try to go back and remember something specific that a teacher taught you and you’ll have a hard time coming up with an answer. What year did you first study Christopher Columbus? When did you realize what an adverb is? How about long division, when did you first learn that?
But if I ask you how a teacher treated you, the memories that a teacher created for you in a classroom—those things you’ll remember.
There is a quote that goes: “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The lessons you teach are important; the lessons you model are critical.
It’s the type of instructor I strive to be. I realize that the learners in my classrooms have jobs, they have families, they have a life beyond the classroom. I create a caring, compassionate classroom where students feel supported. They feel understood. We journey through the course together, and we come out on the other end stronger, better people.
I have many learners who stay in touch with me as they continue their educational careers. I’ve written many letters of recommendations and I’ve even made phone calls on behalf of former students. Some will come to me for advice. It’s not as much about the course content as it is about growing as people and professionals, expanding our network of friends and colleagues.
I believe that caring for the student is paramount in OAESA’s and CUC’s approach. That’s why they are such effective partners.
What advice do you have for students interested in pursuing their Ohio Superintendent Licensure? How can people stand out in this field?
Even if you don’t think you want to be a superintendent, earning your superintendent’s license will make you a better educator. You will have a system’s view of how a school district runs and how decisions are made. It gives you an entirely new perspective.
And for those who are intent on becoming a superintendent—good for you! Teachers impact classrooms of students. Principals impact buildings of students. Superintendents impact entire communities. It is an incredibly special opportunity when you can have an impact on a community’s and a school district’s culture. It really is life-changing work—for you and for those you serve.
Those who stand out in the field are those who have a servant’s heart. They understand that the Superintendent is the biggest servant in the district. We are there to serve our faculty and staff, our students, and our community. When you have this focus, you are committed to providing the very best for the people you care about and care for.
Dr. Kevin Miller, Ed.D. Bio:
Kevin S. Miller, Ed.D. is originally from Grover Hill, located in northwest Ohio’s Paulding County. He is a graduate of Wayne Trace High School. After graduating from Defiance College with a degree in English Education, he returned to his hometown to teach English/Language Arts at Wayne Trace Jr./Sr. High School. He taught from 1983 to 1996 after which he led the jr./sr. high school for six years as principal. In 1992, he was named “Teacher of the Year” by the Wayne Trace Academic Boosters.
After serving for one year as assistant elementary principal at Hicksville Village Schools, Dr. Miller was named the district’s superintendent. He led Hicksville Schools for seven years. During that time, he oversaw the design and construction of a new Pre-K through 12 school building. Under his direction, the Hicksville School System received an academic rating of “Excellent With Distinction”—the Ohio Department of Education’s highest rating. In addition, Hicksville Elementary was named a School of Promise and Hicksville High School twice received the National Pacesetter Award for the district’s implementation of the High Schools That Work school improvement model.
Dr. Miller served as superintendent of Ottawa Hills Schools from 2010 to 2019. The Ottawa Hills School District is considered among the very best in Ohio and the nation. In 2015, Ottawa Hills became the first district in Ohio to earn all A’s on its district and building Local Report Cards issued by the Ohio Department of Education. The district repeated that feat in 2016, ’17, ’18, and ‘19—the only school district in Ohio to do so. During Dr. Miller’s tenure as superintendent, Ottawa Hills received statewide and national recognition by Forbes, US News and World Report, Newsweek, the Washington Post, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
On August 1, 2019, Dr. Miller became the Director of Governmental Relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA). In that position, he lobbied on behalf of public school districts across Ohio and served as a liaison between the Statehouse and Ohio’s superintendents.
For the past ten years, Dr. Miller has also served as an adjunct professor for Concordia University of Chicago, leading courses in the university’s superintendent licensure program.
Dr. Miller was named the superintendent of Licking Heights Schools on June 25, 2022.
Dr. Miller has served on the Executive Boards of the Hicksville Schools Foundation, the Huber Opera House, the Ottawa Hills Schools Foundation (of which he was a founding member), the Lucas County American Cancer Society, and the Ohio Association of Local School Superintendents. Dr. Miller was a founding member and Vice-President of the Coalition of Advocates for Pre-K through 16 Education (CAPE). He has been named to and chaired many statewide committees for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the Ohio Department of Education, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association. For the past three years he has served as President of the Ohio Education Policy Institute and the ABC Political Action Committee. In 2021, Governor DeWine named Dr. Miller to the Ohio Humanities Council.
Throughout his career, he has made presentations at many educational conferences and to various organizations, churches, and schools around the state.
In 2016, Dr. Miller was honored with the Defiance College Alumni Citation for Academic Excellence. He was recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” by the Van Wert County Project You and Me program. In 2019, he was named Ohio’s Superintendent of the Year.
Dr. Miller earned his Master’s Degree from Indiana University and his Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Miller lives in New Albany with his wife, Carla, who is a third-grade instructional assistant at the Columbus Academy. They have four sons. Yale is a junior at the University of Cincinnati. Three sons attend New Albany Schools: Collin (Senior), Breckin (Sophomore), and Sterling (8th Grader).
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