Longtime OHS fixture retires

One face commonly seen around the halls of OHS will not be here next year. That is because after nearly 34 years of being involved in schools, Assistant Principal Jeff Miller will be retiring.

Mr. Miller first started his teaching career in 1983 after deciding to take a pay cut from being an electrician, and do something that meant a lot to him. In 1985, he was hired at Albert Lea, he said, “It was a big achievement, because it was difficult to teach at any of the schools in the Big 9.” While in Albert Lea, Mr. Miller taught classes in areas like construction and electrics. He also coached both the boys and girls basketball teams. In the early 90’s, he started a metals apprenticeship program, which was a first of its kind. Eventually, he ended up coming to Owatonna in 1998.

While in Owatonna, Mr. Miller taught technical education classes for 10 years before being laid off in the 2008 recession. After being laid off, he worked for a short time at Riverland Community College in Albert Lea, where he worked on their training and development team. A spot in Owatonna opened up for a role as a Dean of Students, which Mr. Miller gladly accepted. From there he would eventually become an Assistant Principal. Miller has done many things to make OHS a better place for the students. In 2015, this hard work and dedication was recognized when he received an award for administrator of the year.

One of the reasons Miller chose Owatonna included that, “It opened the door for me, being able to do more things with curriculum, and also having the support of the community meant a lot.” One of his favorite memories from Owatonna was when he first came here going to a district wide meeting and having the teachers give the superintendent a standing ovation. He commented, “That was just something that blew me away, how the teachers could get along so well with everyone. Right then I knew this was a special place.” One of the biggest highlights for Mr. Miller is when he goes to places in town and can see his former students and how successful they have become.

After finishing out the rest of the school year, Mr. Miller is not planning to stop working. He will be helping his son-in-law with his business cutting lawns and removing snow, while also helping others with his construction background. In addition, he will be taking some time to enjoy his new boat. Mr. Miller would like to thank all of the fantastic people he has met throughout his career.

The students here at OHS would like to thank Mr. Miller for all he has done for OHS, from the daily administrator challenges to helping make this a fun place to learn. OHS would also like to wish Mr. Miller well on the adventures that he find outside of the doors of OHS.