By Mary Owen
A Gates man is at the helm at Oregon Connections Academy, Oregon’s leading tuition-free virtual public school.
Todd Miller stepped down as principal at Gates Elementary School to take over as principal of ORCA, based in Scio. He replaces Jerry Wilks, who retired after 41 years in education.
Miller’s experience encompasses elementary and middle school special education, three years as assistant principal at Mill City Middle School, and a year as principal at Gates.
“I see a bright future for Oregon Connections Academy, and I am honored to lead this talented team,” he said. Miller grew up in Gates on the family ranch. After college, he quickly realized that education was his passion.
“ORCA has a strong foundation of individualized instruction to meet the varied needs of all students,” he said. “As a special education teacher, I spend my career focusing on student-centered education. ”
Miller’s initial goals are to meet the staff, familiarize himself with virtual education practices and assess the school’s strengths and needs.
“Although ORCA students have outperformed state averages on standardized testing, there is always room for improvement,” he said.
ORCA currently serves more than 2,500 students. The school offers Oregon-certified teachers, a standards-aligned curriculum, state-of-the-art technology tools, an extensive selection of electives and clubs, and community experiences to create an individualized alternative to the brick-and-mortar classroom. The academy started in 2005 and operates under a charter from the Scio School District.
“This school fills such a needed niche, and has proven successful for students in grades K through 12,” Miller said. “The more I learn about the school, the more I am amazed. The individualized education each ORCA student receives was one of the many reasons I made the transition.”
Miller said virtual education has been increasing as an option.
“Yet we must continue to increase awareness for virtual schooling,” he said. “There are still many parents and students who do not know that ORCA is a free public charter school for Oregon students. We serve students who need flexible learning schedules, are at-risk of failing within their current school, have learning disabilities, are excelled and need a challenge, have medical needs, and a variety of other reasons.”
Miller said the students and families ORCA serves have been highly supportive of the school and enrollment is growing.
“Our goal is to expand schooling options for all students, including virtual education such as ORCA,” he said. “We had over 150 field trips last year, and we hope to build upon this.”
ORCA graduated 150 students on June 25 at the Salem Conference Center, including Bryant Cornwell from Stayton and Cassandra Vaughn from Sublimity.
“We are very excited about this year’s graduating class,” Wilks said. “These are some of the best and brightest students from every corner of our state. ”
Miller doesn’t foresee virtual schooling replacing traditional schools in the near future, but he does see its popularity increasing.
“ORCA is an option for students who are searching for a technology-based schooling to meet their academic needs,” he said. “Virtual schooling is one of the many needed options for Oregon students if we hope to educate all students to the best of our ability.”
