by Danielle Frawley

Allan Miller and his family moved from Alaska to Shelburne earlier this summer and Miller's first day as Shelburne Community School's (SCS) new middle school principal was Monday, July 12. Miller has a broad background that includes an extensive career in education and teaching in Alaska. He also holds a pilot's license (and almost had a career as an astronaut), and was a ski coach for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.

Miller hails from the east; he grew up in Rochester, N. Y. and attended Dartmouth College, earning a degree in psychology and Russian. Miller said he originally wanted to be a doctor, but quickly discovered it was not the right field for him. He had a heart-breaking experience with a young cancer patient and decided that although he still wanted to work with children, it would be in a different arena - teaching.

At Dartmouth, Miller was a cross-country ski racer and his coach was from Anchorage, Ala. The coach was also a friend, and upon graduation from college, Miller applied to every school district in Alaska. Ultimately, Miller received a phone call from a school in the tiny town of Yakutat. Miller explained that the town has a population of 250 people living 200 miles from anyone else.

It was in this tiny town, Miller said he "fell in love with teaching." At such a small school, a science teacher was not simply a science teacher, but was part of an educational community that delved into whatever tasks needed to be done. Miller would continue to work in the Alaskan state school system for the next 25 years as a teacher, and later as assistant principal.

While Miller was living in Alaska, he also travelled for skiing and had the good fortune to meet his wife Joan at a chance encounter in a grocery store in Idaho. They discovered that they had grown up 10 miles from each other in northern New York. The couple married in 1986 and settled on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

In between his time teaching, Miller was a ski coach during the 1998 Olympics in Japan. He and Joan nearly travelled together to Japan with the U.S. Olympic team-Miller would join the team as a coach and Joan as a competitor. Unfortunately, Joan contracted the flu right before the Olympic tryouts and came in sixth, but only the top five skiers earned a berth on the U.S. ski team.

Additionally, Miller was in the final group of 12 people chosen out of five thousand candidates by NASA to become astronauts. He was bumped at the last minute because of budget cuts; NASA chose only nine astronauts. Miller also was a consultant for the National Science Foundation and did hands-on research in Antarctica that made connections to U.S. classrooms.
A few years ago, Joan and Allan decided they wanted to come back east. The couple had been to Vermont for skiing in years past, their families are still here, and so they thought that this would be a good fit.

"We're excited to be a part of the Shelburne community," said Miller. Joan and Allen have three children who will attend SCS in the fall: Xander, 11, will be in the sixth grade, Mackenzie, nine, will be in the third grade, and Sasha, five, will enter kindergarten in the fall.

Miller said that when he and his wife decided to move, their number one priority was a good school system for their children. Miller says they looked at SCS and CVU and their hope is to stay long enough to see his youngest daughter graduate from CVU.

Currently, Miller is simply trying to get to know the community and the school. So far, he is extremely impressed with how involved the parents and the teachers are in the education of Shelburne's youth.

The question Miller is asking himself is, "What role can I play to make SCS a better place?" Miller said he wants to maintain what SCS is already and to be fiscally responsible while doing so.

Those who put Miller in place are excited to see what he will accomplish. Superintendent of the Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU) Elaine Pinckney said, "I am delighted to have Allen [as co-principal]. It was really clear that Allen was the best match for SCS and the Shelburne community. His breadth of experience will be wonderful for Shelburne and for the CSSU."
SCS Co-Principal Allegra Miller is also happy at the prospect of working with Allan.

"He is a very kid-centered person," said Allegra. "I think it will be great."

As Miller becomes accustomed to Shelburne, he asks parents of SCS children to come and chat with him. "I hope folks will come and talk to me whether they have good things or awful things to say," said Miller. His door is open Monday through Friday.

"Every child deserves a good education," said Miller. "That is the key to the future."