Miller resigns as NV high school principal

Nodaway Valley High School Principal Gerry Miller announced last week he is leaving the school district at the conclusion of the school year.

Miller has served Nodaway Valley since 2020 and also once served as middle school principal and activities director. He is leaving to take a position with the Iowa Department of Education’s special education division in the Green Hills AEA region. His resignation was announced to school staff, then the school board accepted it during their Wednesday, March 12 meeting.

The position Miller has accepted used to be something that was under the purview of the AEA, but now it is with the Department of Education.

“My background was in special education before ever becoming a school administrator, so this is the best of both worlds for me, still working with in an administrative type role, but now solely specified to special education serving multiple school districts across the Green Hills AEA region,” Miller said. “It’s nothing but expanding my portfolio, hoping to aid in my professional experiences to more masses than just Nodaway Valley.”

In his career, Miller has tried to follow his father’s advice of leaving a place better than he found it when he arrived. He said the students who have graduated from Nodaway Valley and have gone on to have successful careers are a testament to the teamwork shown by the quality teachers who Nodaway Valley has been able to hire before and during his tenure. Right now, the high school is fully staffed.

From an activities standpoint, Miller is proud of bringing about more equal opportunities for students by starting a yearly play and a yearly musical. Previously, those activities were alternated from year to year. Miller said it isn’t fair that students can be in football for all four years but not be in a musical all four years.

“I’m most proud of the people who have walked across the stage [to graduate] in the last three or four years and the people this school has helped produce,” he said. “That’s why we do this job. Anybody who wants to be a high school principal looks at it and asks if [kids] have reached their ultimate goal of graduation and becoming productive citizens outside of that. Things like that are what I look at.”

Miller said he and his family plan to remain in the Greenfield community, where his wife, Nicole, is the vocal music instructor for the middle school and high school. Their children are Luke, Lucy, Leah and Leo.