Upper St. Clair Teacher Finalist For National Award

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - The Steve Miller who’s a math teacher and curriculum leader at Upper St. Clair High School doesn’t fly like an eagle like his musician namesake recommends. But there’s little doubt his career is soaring.

Miller recently was named one of four Pennsylvania finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. A National Science Foundation panel of scientists, mathematicians and educators will decide whether he gets the national award.

If Miller does receive it, he’ll receive a $10,000 award from the foundation, a certificate signed by President Trump, a trip to Washington, D.C. for a series of professional development opportunities and recognition events.

Miller was nominated for the award by a former student, Michael Nastac, who graduated from the high school in 2016. Anyone can nominate a teacher for the honor.

“I was deeply honored to be nominated by Michael,” Miller said. “I try hard to provide meaningful learning experiences to all my students, and to know that a student of Michael's caliber found enough value in my classes to consider me worthy of this nomination is very gratifying and humbling.”

Miller has been an Upper St. Clair High School teacher since 2004. Before that, he was a senior software developer and designed, developed and tested software for Carnegie Learning’s Cognitive Tutor program, a nationally-recognized mathematics curriculum.

Photo via Upper St. Clair School District.