a community engagement initiative of Waverly Community Unit District #6
While Tony Miller only recently moved into the role of Waverly’s Director of Maintenance, he’s familiar with the school district and the community. A recently retired pastor, Tony has worked for the school district for over a decade as a paraprofessional, bus driver, and substitute teacher before becoming its Director of Maintenance.
Privileged Responsibility
Tony worked the 2021-22 school year as a full-time special education teacher at the high school. While he has spent his life educating others through the church, he shares that teaching in a classroom is a different experience.
“It’s totally different,” says Tony. “As a pastor, I have twenty minutes to an hour of here’s what this says, and here’s how we’re supposed to live by it. In a classroom, it’s continuous, different stuff, different questions. In special ed, I’d have to brush up on Algebra, which I haven’t taken in forty years.”
When reflecting on his time in the district, Tony says, “It’s a privilege, but it’s also a huge responsibility. What you share with them could impact their life. Especially coming from a pastoral point of view, I have to watch what I say, but I also want to ensure I instill good values as I talk to kids.”
When asked what he loves most about his job, Tony doesn’t hesitate. His answer is simple – Everything. He credits the community and its people as the source of his pride, sharing that he’s known many of the kids since they were in preschool.
Tony’s passion for Waverly’s youth is evident and infectious. “The kids are great. My wife jokes that I know every kid in the town, and I do. So there’s nowhere I go where kids don’t yell out, “ Hey, Mr. Miller.”
My wife jokes that I know every kid in the town, and I do.
