Scott Miller in his WCDSB office, located on 51 Ardelt Ave, Kitchener. Photo by WRDSB.
When Scott Miller decided he’d pursue a career in education, he did so believing it to be a good opportunity to make a difference in the lives of youths and students.
Miller wanted to find ways for students to “encounter success and be successful with the belief that once you find success and once you’re successful, you want to keep doing that,” he said. “In addition to working with the many staff and wonderful people I get to work with them and sanction conditions for them as well and the roles that they have.”
Miller currently is the Associate Director of Business Services for the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) and has worked at the WRDSB for 30 years. He held previous positions include Special Education and Mental Health Director and Associate Director, responsible for Education Services in the board.
Miller was a student himself in the board, having attended Forest Hill and Queensmount Public Schools and Forest Heights Collegiate Institute.
Miller noted how the teachers in his life when he was growing up were a huge influence. In particular, his high school volleyball coach, who instilled in him to never give up, look to achieve, want more, and what it means to be a part of a team and how teams can do incredible things when they come together.
In terms of leadership for his jobs, Miller believed he’s always had a vision for what leadership is.
“For me, leadership is the ability to bring people together. To allow people to either see or use their strengths, to help support them and in addition to where there are areas of need. Just like how I would reflect on myself, to see where I would identify areas of need, and I would go and find a way.”
Miller said he’s always striving for feedback from people and having honest relationships with them to relay that, and using said feedback to improve as a leader. One example of that is when he answered to the voices of upset parents over class reorganization.
“I believe ultimately what leadership is all about is providing safe conditions, where people show up and be themselves and feel a sense of belonging and that they feel true meaning and value in their work,” he said.
Bobbie Chatha the WRDSB Superintendent of Student Achievement and Well-Being, one of Miller’s previous positions, mentioned her positive experience working with Miller.
“It’s a pleasure working with him. He’s very kind and friendly and always a great source to lean on and ask for advice,” said Chatha. “He’s been around working at the board since he was an education assistant and worked his way up to associate director.”
Chatha mentioned how Miller has exemplified what it means to be a leader by being a people person. She said Miller always takes time to listen to peoples’ needs, has a collaborative approach and how he finds out information from key players for certain situations and then makes decisions based on that.
Regarding her current position, Chatha talked about how Miller had a major impact in special education needs while serving in that job.
“He introduced a highlight for the system to show how important it was for us to ensure that these students’ needs were met and were always at the forefront. And that’s at every level.”
Chatha also touched on Miller being instrumental in a shift in literacy and the direction they were headed.
“He was always behind the scenes supporting from a senior team level and encouraging us to continue with the work. Even when there were not many people that were following along with the direction or had some concerns about the direction, he was always championing the work that we were doing,” she said.
Chatha added that Miller has valuable insight, experience, and knowledge from his lengthy time with the board. “There’s something to be said about people that have grown up in the system and what they can bring to the system, and I think that we don’t want to discount that when it comes to Scott Miller,” said Chatha.
Some of the biggest changes Miller has seen since he went through the education system has been paying attention to student voices. He described how school staff take the time to listen to students’ experiences in school and develop learning opportunities for students to be successful.
Miller noted how one-dimensional evaluation was during his school days, using just exams and tests. He said with multi-media, schools now are providing more opportunities to various problem-solving skills; allowing for more open-ended learning opportunities that allows students to take those ideas as far as they’re able to, making it easier for students to engage.
Regarding his future, Miller mentioned his privilege being given numerous opportunities in the board, across numerous levels.
“I’ve always aspired to be in a place with an education where I believe I can make the biggest difference and I currently sit in an organization, in a place that gives me the privilege to do that,” said Miller.
Miller said he wants to continue making the WRDSB a welcoming environment.
“What I would hope is for us, as an organization, is that our students, our staff, our families, and our communities, that the WRDSB serves, will be able to show up to our schools, will be able to feel welcomed.”
