New Haven social studies teacher named Connecticut's teacher of the year for 2025 by Crystal Elescano, Staff writer. Updated Oct 16, 2024 4:03 p.m.
Social Studies teacher Julia Miller, center, was presented with the 2025 Connecticut Teacher of the Year award at the Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven on October 16, 2024.
Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media
NEW HAVEN — When Makayla Kidd started as a freshman at Metropolitan Business Academy, she didn't expect her social studies teacher, Julia Miller, to have such a lasting impact on her life.
Now a senior, Kidd shared how Miller treated her with kindness and understood that there was more to life than just school. She said she appreciates how Miller encouraged her creativity and let her express her thoughts freely.
Kidd is just one of many students who have benefited from Miller’s support over her 18 years of teaching.
This is one of the reasons why Miller was named the 2025 Connecticut Teacher of the Year and honored as New Haven’s Teacher of the Year in August.
The statewide honor was announced during a surprise assembly Wednesday morning at the school.
“Teaching is so deeply a part of myself and my identity, it is who I am, my love for my students, our schools,” Miller said. “The power of teaching fills me with such a sense of purpose and possibility. Growing up in New Haven Public Schools myself and seeing all the possibilities that a diverse, vibrant education can hold juxtaposed with all the inequities that can also exist in public education, is what drove me to want to pursue a career in education in the first place."
Miller co-created and co-teaches the senior capstone course Youth Justice in Practice and teaches in the school's academy of law, leadership and political science.
She plays a key role in developing the district's next generation of teachers by helping create the "Grow Your Own" and working with district leaders to launch the education and leadership pathway that several high schools are piloting, according to the release. She also leads an after-school program for aspiring teachers and teaches Intro to Public Education through Quinnipiac University for dual-credit and co-wrote the Seminar in Education course for Southern Connecticut State University.
“Educators are the backbone of our education system,” State Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker said.
The Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program began in 1952 to honor and recognize teacher excellence, according to Russell-Tucker. The program is sponsored by the Department of Education in partnership with a Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council.
“Each year, all these names of these wonderful teachers from across the state get recommended to their superintendent,” she said. “They go through this really comprehensive process.”
Finalists have the committee visit their schools, where the members observe the teachers’ classes, interview colleagues, administrators and students, as well as support staff, parents, and local board of education members. After this, the committee meets and selects The Connecticut Teacher of the Year, according to the Department of Education.
“I want to underscore that someone like Ms. Miller focuses not just on academics, but on the whole child,” Mayor Justin Elicker said.
Elicker praised Miller for supporting students not only academically but also in personal development, highlighting the importance of self-awareness. He said Miller teaches students the value of understanding and expressing their feelings, which helps them connect meaningfully with their peers.
He also emphasized that, given the challenges facing New Haven Public Schools, his team is actively advocating for increased support and funding for the district. Last week, he submitted a proposal to the Board of Alders to raise funding by $8.5 million.
He stressed the importance of this funding in providing resources and opportunities not only for students but also for teachers, enabling them to effectively prepare students for life after graduation like Miller has done.
Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers said Miller shows what student-centered teaching can look like and the potential social studies classrooms and public schools have to bring about larger change.
“She's New Haven Public School grad, she's a New Haven resident, she's a New Haven public school parent, she's a New Haven Union member,” said Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. “She chose to plant her roots here."
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