By Kate B., Anea E., Tilde E., Marcelo G., Sinead H., Jacob N., Jinny U., Grade 9
Dr. Leigh Miller will be the new Deputy Head of School at Munich International School beginning in August 2023.
Dr. Miller currently works at the International School Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile as a schoolwide learning coach. She is returning to MIS after working here as a grade 2 teacher and literacy coordinator from 2006 to 2008. She has also previously worked at schools in Hungary, the United States and Vietnam.
Dr. Miller said she is looking forward to rejoining the MIS community and her new role here.
“If you’re always spending time in areas that make you feel fulfilled, you will feel happy as an adult and you will feel happy as a student,” Dr. Miller said.
Miller replaces current DHoS Oliver Hartwright, who is moving on to a position as Head of School of the Lyceum Alpinum in Zuoz, Switzerland next school year.
We, the 9th grade journalism class, had the honor of interviewing Miller about her return to MIS.
Dr. Miller spoke very enthusiastically about her visions for the future of MIS.
“Supporting the school’s goals in a future-aligned curriculum” is the first thing she brought up. She wants to give students opportunities for their futures, along with “connecting with professionals outside of campus to support your learning.”
This is something she said she believes is important because it creates more real-world connections for students to have a better understanding of why they are learning and why the things they are learning are relevant.
Another goal Dr. Miller has for the school is to create a culture of excellent pedagogy. She wants to support teachers to make them feel more excited and motivated to continue learning and to always get better at what they do.
MIS Head of School Timothy Thomas and a collective of teachers, students and parents interviewed four candidates for the DHoS position.
“I really appreciate everyone who participated in the selection process,” Mr. Thomas said. “Everyone provided us with feedback that helped us think about each of the candidates. It was a long discussion in the end, using all the data from all of the people who saw all of the candidates, and it was really helpful that it was not just me making the choice.”
At each of the interviews, the interviewee was tasked with making a presentation about what the school would look like if they could completely redesign it. Mr. Thomas said that Dr. Miller’s presentation reflected the school’s learning beliefs.
“Her presentation was absolutely inspirational and innovative,” Mr. Thomas said.
Thomas said he looks forward to working with Dr. Miller.
“I really liked that [Dr. Miller] took every question and took it from a student perspective,” Mr. Thomas said. “She would pause and say, ‘If I were a student, I would see it this way,’ and it was really nice to see her constantly going back to that. In the end, the school exists because of students.”
Student Council Representative David C., Grade 9, was one of the students involved in the candidate selection process.
“She has a warm and caring personality,” David C. said. “She comes across as someone you can trust and rely on. She seems committed and excited about anything she approaches.”
Dr. Miller said that, to her, happiness is being in a community where you can give the most of yourself, have positive impacts on others and spend your time wisely.
“When people talk about well-being and wellness it comes down to feeling secure and confident in yourself and like you belong in your community,” Dr. Miller said. “That is something I am going to work towards – to help others to feel that.”
Dr. Miller said she wants to show care to teachers and students, portray her passion through different ways of teaching and to build connections with the community at MIS.
“Not everyone loves school so if I can spend time every day to make sure everyone finds purpose and meaning at school, that is really important,” Dr. Miller said.
During her visit to apply for this position, she said she reconnected with some of the people she once worked with about 15 years ago and enjoyed meeting new teachers and staff as well.
“The reason driving me back is this job,” Dr. Miller said. “I am really excited for this role, and it is just a benefit it is in a place I find so beautiful. I loved the time when I lived there. I love the environment. I love the culture. I am looking forward to moving back. I never saw this coming.”
She said she is looking forward returning to the warm and welcoming culture of Bavaria and specifically to eating her first bratwurst and käsepätzle in years.
Dr. Miller has travelled around the world with her job and tries to learn the language of every country she lives in. So, as she readies to pack her bags for Munich, she is preparing for other changes as well.
“I am sad to let my Spanish go,” she said. “But I just switched my Duolingo to German.”