Assistant Principal Gregory Miller, the grade 11 administrator, will serve as a principal intern at Whitman during the 2023-2024 school year as part of the final stage of MCPS’ Leadership Development Program, Principal Robert Dodd wrote in emails to staff and parents yesterday. As part of a six-week practicum, Miller will be Whitman’s acting principal in December and January. 

Starting in July, Miller will assume his new role and begin to take additional leadership responsibilities under the coaching of Dodd, who will remain at Whitman. During Miller’s six-week practicum in December and January, Dodd will take a temporary absence from Whitman to assist a principal intern at another MCPS school. After the practicum, Dodd and Miller will revert to their current roles of principal and assistant principal, respectively.

“[Dodd] will still be principal during my internship, and he will be there as phenomenal support and a mentor for my career,” Miller said. “I want to continue to create spaces that were made for students to feel welcomed, valued, and able to thrive here.”

The principal internship is one of three qualified steps that educators must complete to become a MCPS principal. Working as an assistant principal for two years constitutes the two initial phases; the third phase involves participating in a principal internship for a year, according to the MCPS Leadership Development Program website.

To participate in the internship, Miller interviewed with officials from MCPS’ Central Office and Child Protective Services, and shared samples of his work in the school system over the past years, he said.

Students like junior Caroline Higgins believe that Miller is well-equipped to take on his principal intern role and eventually become an MCPS principal.

“Mr. Miller already does a great job as Assistant Principal and his other various responsibilities to Whitman,” Higgins said. “I’m excited to see what he can accomplish as a principal.” 

Miller came to Whitman as an assistant principal and the Class of 2024 administrator at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. He teaches one course per semester in the Leadership Academy for Social Justice (LASJ), a program that he has played a role in expanding during his time at the school. 

Dodd will remain principal of Whitman for the duration of the 2023-2024 school year — including the time of his temporary absence while Miller is acting principal. Throughout the year, Dodd plans to work with Miller to learn skills such as effectively communicating with parents and students as a school principal.

“[The internship] is all about preparing for frontline experiences of being a principal,” Dodd said. “I will observe his lead to debrief and reflect with him.” 

Miller realized that he wanted to eventually become principal during his second year as an assistant principal, he said. Since then, he’s been pursuing a path towards this goal, and has reached the final stage of the school district’s leadership pipeline for administrators.

“I’m spending time growing my toolkit, trying to learn different aspects of the role and meeting the needs of the diverse individuals I encounter daily,” Miller said. “To become a principal, I realized that it takes time to grow and learn and I’ve been very fortunate to do so.”