A recent Slippery Rock University graduate is already making a difference and nurturing the minds of students at North Hills Middle School in Ross Township. Raylynn Miller, ’25, who graduated with her degree in middle-level mathematics education in December, is working as a certified classroom assistant, supporting many different classrooms in numerous subjects.
Miller’s desire to teach started at a remarkably young age.
“It really all started in first grade,” said Miller, a native of Berlin (Berlin Brothers Valley HS). “I remember my teacher, while managing a classroom full of chaotic kids, took the time to listen to me sing the ABCs. Her taking the time to do that had a huge impact on me. Then in sixth grade, I was lucky to have a math teacher who focused on how important math is in the real world and I realized that I wanted to teach math.”
Coming from a small high school, Miller realized that a smaller college with a strong feeling of community would be best for her. Her father pointed out that SRU has the sort of community she was looking for, as well as having a proud history as a teachers college. Upon enrolling, Miller was pleased to find that she could specialize in middle-level math rather than getting a broader secondary math education degree.
“The middle school years are so important developmentally,” Miller said. “It’s a very important time to help kids to learn how to enjoy school. Middle school is a totally different realm from high school, so being able to specialize in teaching middle school helped me to prepare to teach that specific age group.”
On top of the specialized degree that she pursued, Miller also took advantage of opportunities that SRU offers education majors to get classroom experience prior to student teaching.
“I did my first field experience in the second semester of my freshman year and that let me get a taste of what it was like in the classroom,” Miller said.
That taste helped Miller with her own work in the classroom. Because she had enough credits, Miller served as a substitute during her time at SRU, working in classroom during breaks from her own schooling. Then, she finally served as a student teacher at North Hills Middle School, earning one of three Student Teacher of the Semester awards at SRU.
“We had to be nominated by our supervisors and then we had to film ourselves teaching a lesson and explain the choices that we made. There were so many amazing student teachers in my class, so getting picked was a really heartfelt moment for me,” Miller explained. “Everyone has moments of doubt, but getting picked for that award showed me that someone saw potential in me.”
Miller credits the strong mentorship of SRU faculty members like Linda Wagner-Pine, instructor, and Samantha Fecich, assistant professor of curriculum, instruction, and educational leadership. While classroom experience alone cannot fully prepare people to teach, students like Miller are provided a Rock-Solid foundation at SRU that allows them to flourish in their careers just as Miller is doing.
More information about secondary education programs at SRU is available on the program webpage.
