"I have been inspired, renewed and humbled by the 'caterpillar to butterfly' metamorphosis experienced by many of my 'at-risk' students, and I know the joy of facilitating their emergence as literate, thinking human beings," says Marcella Miller, who is a second grade Chapter I language arts teacher at William L. Batcheller School in Winsted. Mrs. Miller has combined her love for literature with her motivational talents in programs such as "People Make the Difference and I Can, You Can, We Can." These programs are primarily designed to permit children to confront and overcome their fears and "life-hurdles" through identification with literary characters who have lived through similar experiences. Mrs. Miller encourages her colleagues to incorporate teaching methods to "support family literacy, to deflect prejudice or bias and to diminish isolation."
1959 Central Connecticut State University, B.A.
