Christopher Myers: Endorses Myra Powers for Milford School Board

As a retired educator who served Milford students 41 years, and who April and I were in class with, Myra possesses experiential wisdom in child development, community leadership, and strategic thrift that make her the unparalleled champion of civic education running this cycle. When she was an MEVSD instructor, Myra was named Milford-Miami Township Educator of the Year for good reason! She will continue to elevate education for all Milford’s children. Please lend your voice to her effort, get involved, and contribute at www.MyraForMilford.com!  And vote MYRA POWERS November 7th!

Now, let’s look at the fuller heroine behind the epic signage!

The greatest lesson a college preparatory public traditional high school can teach a student is how to collect, use, and create the best resources available to them — and to TRY. Myra is an example of how no other area district does more with less than Milford. I am incredibly proud to be a soldier in Myra’s army of former students supporting her for school board: As my teacher at Miami Elementary, Myra helped transform our school into the most forward-thinking and cutting-edge primary environment in the district. She prepared us to both lead and to take college-level courses in high school. Myra’s introduction to enrichment learning helped prepare me to pass both AP American History and AP English with credit, thus saving me between $8,000 and $15,000 (2023 USD) of required coursework to complete my bachelor’s at Ohio’s oldest university.

So many students are just blowing in the wind. With a world that increasingly values transactive financialization toward school life — which does muddy our collective action — Myra is a role model who prioritizes the deeper human meaning and value from personal involvement; where students develop and lend talents to community culture. Through my young growth’s darkest moments, Myra was an energetic, memorable, motivating educator telling me YOU CAN IF YOU TRY!  Ms. Powers imparted a strong difference for me through the emphasis on meaning. In her classroom (literally a closet in 1998) Myra taught my first poetry, world studies, and advanced reading lessons with highly creative projects (we still have The Rats of NIMH trilogy on our bookshelf)! For Myra, education molds from a welcoming, creative human culture, instilling psychological safety, proactively overcoming life’s bait, and enculturing an understanding of civility so that students have the capacity to navigate complex problems throughout their growth as well.

While Myra continues to be a testament to involvement, teachers are allowed to have personal lives, too. Edith Martin served on our Board in the 1990s, Myra is an Edith!  Her candidacy offers rock-solid, unmistakable civic value to our beloved Milford brand. This lady has dedicated her life to serving Milford (in 1998, Myra made me do a report on natural resources and the economy…by designing a talking website, in the 4th grade). Myra is the choice of longtime community members for School Board because she is one of our own, an “ordinary” Appalachian hero, and we love her for it.

Use the economic power that you have earned in Milford to help this great advocate win BIG! Myra needs everyone who cares to execute three action items: