“ Such a joyful time at the RDW Elementary School! Thank you to the RDW PTA for putting on a week long Santa shop and gifting books and the love of reading to all of our RDW students!  We even had a very special visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause! “ All of the students LOVED the Christmas Fun and Spirit!” 

Mrs. Maria Miller has been chosen to receive the 2023 Administrator Appreciation Award from the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association (PSCA). This rare distinction “acknowledges administrators who demonstrate an understanding and support of, commitment to and belief in the role of school counselors and comprehensive, developmental school counseling programs.”
Miller will be formally recognized at the PSCA annual conference on December 7th at Kalahari Resorts and Conference Center.
She has been an avid supporter of the school counseling program at RDW since they started working together in June of 2012. She is the reason the program has received national and state recognition; and she is a true champion of the school’s comprehensive school counseling program.
Miller was born and raised in Waymart and has lived there her whole life. She graduated from Western Wayne School District in 1986. She then attended Marywood University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Early Childhood (1990) and Master’s Degree in Early Childhood (1992). Later, she received her Principal Certification in 1997 from The University of Scranton.
Miller has worked at R.D. Wilson for the past 33 years. She was a classroom teacher for 10 years, serving students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Fourth Grade before entering her current role as principal. Miller is a champion of her community and has devoted her career to bettering the lives of the students and families in this area that she calls home.

Mrs. Miller spear-headed the efforts to bring the PROSPER Program to the Western Wayne School District. Based out of Penn State, this program trains local teams to lead family-based and school-based prevention program efforts on the ground in their communities.
In addition to her many roles at school, Miller is Waymart Historical Society: Vice President; has her RAMP-Certification: Principal of a RAMP-Certified school (2019-2024), currently supporting the counselor in applying for Re-RAMP and the PA Black Diamond Program award.
Also, R.D. Wilson received the Adequate Yearly Progress PDE achievement recognition every year from 2002 until 2011 (when PA stopped awarding this to schools) under Miller’s leadership.
Miller is thrilled to represent Western Wayne at the awards ceremony to receive her great honor in early December.

The students at RDW have been working hard to make Autumn inspired artwork! Students across grade level have used the changing seasons and weather,  as inspiration for paintings, drawings, and collages! They have observed the environment around them and utilized a variety of techniques to create beautiful seasonal art!

Nationwide, buddy benches are used at playgrounds as a place where students can go when they have no one to play with. When other students notice someone sitting on the buddy bench, they are encouraged to ask that student to join them. The RDW buddy bench was established by a group of kindness club students years ago. The bench has since been worn down, and the current group of kindness club students decided that it needed a facelift. Their goal was for it to represent Wildcat PRIDE and inclusion. We are very proud of their work, and they certainly captured what it means to be a student here at Western Wayne.

The RDW PTA bought one flower for each student to take home to a parent for Mother’s Day weekend!
(children had the option to purchase additional flowers if they wanted)