Miller Elementary Team Update

Miller Team Call-Out Meeting: Thursday, March 22

Miller Elementary is located near downtown Lafayette. There are approximately 420 students enrolled in grades K-4 with a full time faculty of 20 classroom teachers, 3 special education resource teachers, several paraprofessionals, an Instructional Coach, Counselor, ELL teacher, and a Speech and Language Pathologist. Support staff includes an art teacher, music teacher, physical education teacher, library assistant, school nurse, secretary, attendance clerk and custodial staff.

Miller operates a school-wide Title I program, with all students eligible for Title 1 services, which allows for flexible small group approach to reading and/or mathematic intervention. In addition, 84% of students are eligible for free lunch (which means their family income is $15,171 or less) compared to the 40% in Lafayette as a whole. The curriculum at Miller Elementary School is anchored in a program integrating rigorous state standards into the educational experiences of every child. The teachers strive to increase student achievement in all content areas by linking state standards, systematic performance assessments with ongoing data analysis, instructional decision-making based on research-verified best practices, and professional development grounded in the ongoing review of research.

Thomas Miller Elementary School has a number of community partnerships. Trinity UMC strives to be one of these community partners that support the teachers and staff, and through them, the students. Supporting our local elementary school (Trinity is in Miller’s district) is just one way that we seek to grow stronger
relationships with our community.

Pam Delaplane leads this ministry. Our Miller outreach initiative is part of our Ready Set Grow Program, advancing our goal to connect to our community. Over the past year, she has met with the principal to see where we can support the teachers, and has helped coordinate opportunities to support the teachers, and through them, the students and their families.

In 2017 and early 2018, we:

• Invited the Miller School community to our Back to School Bash in August 2017
• Helped some teachers prepare their rooms for the start of school
• Collected needed materials and uniform items. Delivered 58 items to the school, including clothes, backpacks, freezer bags, Kleenex boxes, and hand sanitizer.
• Gave all regular classroom teachers a set of handmade notecards that the teachers use to make a special impact on students and/or families as appropriate.
• Collected winter items through our giving tree at Christmas. We continued to collect items through January. 209 items were delivered to the school, including hats, coats, gloves, underwear, belts, and t-shirts.

Miller has very much appreciated our generous offerings of support. 

On Thursday, March 22 at 6 pm in the Parlor Conference Room, come to the Miller Ministry Team call-out meeting. The team will be discussing upcoming opportunities to serve Miller and make plans for the spring and summer. Some possible opportunities expressed by the principal include:

• Bringing goodies to the teachers and staff during Teacher Appreciation Week, professional development, and other special occasions.
• Provide listeners for student readers with a possible summer reading program and/or kindergarten camp. (Note: background checks are required if volunteers are in the building when students are
• present.)
• Help teachers set up their rooms before school begins in the fall
• Continue with support for needed items throughout the year

Ways to Get Involved with Miller Ministry Team

1. Attend the Miller Ministry Team meeting on March 22 at 6 pm in the Parlor Conference Room
2. Go to the school with Pam (must get a background check if attending while students are  in the building)
3. Donate supplies and baked goods upon request
4. Donate money to provide items as needed throughout the year and provide scholarships for background checks.