Deaf Education teacher Dana Miles has been named Washington State’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: League of Education Voters Foundation
It is always a pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. One of these is Dana Miles, a secondary teacher who has been named the 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year.
As an educator, Dana is a “jack of all trades.” She teaches English, Applied Bi-lingual Language Arts (BLA), Work Experience, Special Education, Consumer Math, and Homeroom Advisory to grades 9 –12 at the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD) in Vancouver, Washington. In her classroom, Dana works on helping her students become bi-lingual in American Sign Language and English, and to become career proficient and life ready. When developing curriculum, Dana employs real-world scenarios—such as resume writing, finding independent housing, and navigating transportation system—to help her students become confident adults and achieve work success so they can live independently. She works tirelessly to equip her students for the real world by teaching them to advocate for themselves, and she strives to build a more inclusive society by expanding community partnerships and work opportunities.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Dana is also a member of a statewide transition committee with the outreach team of the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth. The team develops learning materials for deaf and hard of hearing students across the state. Dana says she was inspired to become a teacher in the program as a result of her own experiences as a second-generation deaf educator. Her parents were both deaf educators, and they were careful to provide her with a language-rich environment in American Sign Language and English.
Dana is, herself, a former student of the high school where she now teaches. She graduated from WSD in 1993. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and English from Gallaudet University in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in Deaf Education from the same university in 2000. Gallaudet University, founded in 1864, is a private, federally-chartered university located in Washington, DC. The institution provides quality education for deaf and hard of hearing students.
