2002 Northern Mariana Islands Teacher of the Year
Ms. Miller-Retwaiut teaches reading to students in grades 3 through 6 and has twelve years of teaching experience.

What are your beliefs about teaching?
"I believe that different children learn in different ways. There is no one method or magic bullet that will meet the needs of all students."

How are your beliefs incorporated in your teaching style?
"I try to provide different activities in visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities. I try to provide opportunities for students to read by themselves, informally with friends and in a structured group situation. I also try to provide a variety of settings from hard chairs and a table, to couch, rocking chair, carpet and beanbags."

What is your greatest teaching accomplishment?
"My greatest teaching accomplishment has been getting some reluctant readers excited about reading."

What's the most critical issue facing educators today and what do you think can be done to resolve this issue?
"One critical issue facing educators today is the need for an accountability system that does not affix blame and initiate action from the outside in and from the top down. I think this issue could be resolved by having schools develop a continuous school improvement process that includes all stakeholders. This process would focus on establishing what students should know and be able to do, developing strong assessment systems with multiple and authentic measures of student achievement, creating performance standards and increasing understanding of the conditions that contribute to or inhibit student achievement."

Inspirational thought:
"Teachers are very visible role models. The way in which we approach our teaching has more influence on future generations than our words."