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Pentagon names new school system chief

Shirley Miles — the daughter of a retired Army sergeant major and sister of an Army general — has been named director of the Defense Department’s worldwide school system.

Miles has served as the Department of Defense Education Activity’s associate director for education and principal deputy director since she joined the school system in June 2007.

Before joining DoDEA, Miles was superintendent of Tempe Union High School, a 14,000-student high school district in Tempe, Ariz. She began her education career in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she taught history, economics and law for the Air Academy School District. She later served as an assistant principal and high school principal in Denver. She also served as the human resources director for the Academy District in Colorado Springs.

Miles was an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, training educators in school supervision and evaluation, multicultural education, and teaching other courses for school principals.

Miles earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Denver in 2001, and earned a masters degree in public administration from the University of Colorado in 1990.

“I am honored to have been selected for this position, and I’m looking forward to leading this great organization as we continue to focus on high student achievement and preparing our students for success inside and outside of the classroom,” Miles said in a statement announcing her appointment.

Members of Miles’ family have served continuously in the military since 1947. Two of her brothers graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. One brother, Brig. Gen. Lloyd Miles, is the deputy commanding general of Fort Benning and the assistant commandant of the Army Infantry School there.

Born in Panama, Miles moved seven times during her elementary, middle and high school years. She graduated from Fountain-Fort. Carson High School in Fort Carson, Colo.

In announcing Miles’ appointment, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu cited her 30 years of experience in education and in the private sector, and said her appointment “ensures a seamless transition during challenging times.” At the same time the school system is teaching children of military members, many of whom have deployed to war, it is also dealing with shifts in student populations due to changes in force structure, and the added mission of reaching out to local civilian school districts.

“She is well prepared to take this excellent school system into the future by focusing on continuous improvement and developing new approaches to ensure educational success for military students around the world — both inside and outside the gate,” Chu said.

“Her exceptional experience as DoDEA’s associate director for education, in addition to her own life experience as a child and sister of military members, will serve as important foundations for her relationship with military families, who value education for their children as one of their primary life concerns,” he said.