Retirement Blog

A story for every student contact day during my last year and a weekly musical interlude!

We started moving toward one-to-one Chromebooks several years ago. We started with carts in classrooms of 20 to 25 each. I sometimes have moments of OCD and I like everything neatly done. My interns and I set up the carts in the rooms. We started Read more
One of the hallmarks of my business classes was bringing them real-world situations. I told a lot of stories about me and my friends and so I had a series of law stories based on Lakewood. This was not my idea. Rob Shurich before did Read more
The Beach Boys' song Graduation Day is fitting for the last week of the school year. https://youtu.be/ujPojOwEgn8 Another good song: Graduation by Vitamin C https://youtu.be/tz_NxOF7RB4 My wish for the kids by Lee Ann Womack https://youtu.be/RV-Z1YwaOiw Read more
Sometimes we need to serve as monitors for our students. I had a teacher that refused to use my nickname in high school and his reasoning always made sense. He felt that it was important to honor the student and using their name instead of Read more
If you know my daughter, please don't tell her I wrote this story about her in high school. All children lie to their parents a little. No matter how virtuous they are there is a fib here and there. My child is no different. We Read more
People need refuge on occasion. I am an introvert at heart and can spend hours just in quiet or with my music. I know my facade is as an extrovert but that is what I do to teach and be in the world. I have Read more
We are in our last week of instruction. This is a time I reflect on what went well and what needs changing for next year. This year I don't have to plan for next year so I will take time to reflect on thirty years. Read more
Another story about Amanda from my elementary days. It was my first week of teaching and I had the principal come into my classroom and ask if I wanted a gifted student. I don't know of any teacher that doesn't want to work with the Read more
These 2 songs were important during my years of high school. We always looked to be free and so we sang Freebird a lot. The other one for this week is the song played by every high school student sing its release in 1972. https://youtu.be/37ALmuMSHEI Read more
I saved some of the juicy things for last because I didn't want to get in trouble. These are two stories that happened in this last quarter. Kids are entertaining me to the end and I appreciate it.  The first story was a simple comment Read more
The is nothing more sacred to a teacher than the opportunity to use the restroom. We hold it dear and do not want anything disturbing our routines. When I got to Rangeview I was in my early 40s and was one of the younger people Read more
This is a quick story but still one of my favorites. Nate was a teacher in Social Studies. He had a weird sense of humor and if you put us both in the same room we were dangerous. Standardized State Testing is a horrible waste Read more
We have very short speeches during graduation. The reason is that the event is about the graduates and not the adults. In APS we have a special reason for not letting school board members speak. It is not because of all of them but one Read more
I saved this story because it is one that still embarrasses me. With our upper baseball field, we were not able to have a fence around it and so we struggled to keep people off of the field. We were lucky and had people in Read more
When I look at my last year of high school for the second time, I get nostalgic about my life. I tend to remember the things from my first trip through high school. It was not the joyous romp that is often portrayed. My memory Read more

My Thirty-Year Educational Crusade

I am retiring at the end of the 2022-2023 year. This blog will be a retrospective and a celebration of the things I have been a part of for the last 30 years. This is in no way intended to be melancholy or a journal of grievances. It is a celebration of the joy a teacher sees, hears, and feels over the time of a career. I will try not to preach and hope to encourage teachers and students to enjoy the time they have together. I can speak from experience that they are memories that will last a lifetime. These are my recollections and come from my perspective and I do not imply the thoughts or deeds of anyone else. As with any retrospective, I might have things a little off but I hope to offend no one or group as I undertake this adventure.

Teaching is a calling that demands a great deal from those that undertake the role of a teacher. The important thing to remember is that it is critical to look around and take all of it in as you pass through the lives of thousands of students. If someone takes on that role with anything less than the belief that it is a crusade, they do a disservice to their students and themselves. If I give the impression that this is a sacred path to walk, I will have been successful. I said in an interview in 1994 that “I go home every night exhausted but I can’t wait to get up and get to school the next day.” I have the same philosophy and beliefs today. I regularly tell students that I don’t need an alarm clock because I wake up before it goes off so that I can get to work.

I plan on having a great deal of fun with this and I encourage you to come back often and follow the escapades that I have been a party to for 30 years. I hope it will bring you laughs, tears, and joy. I want to share with everyone the value of this profession. I hear complaints and frustration with the world outside of education and I understand and sometimes have the same feelings. If I focused on these feelings I would not have enjoyed the 30-year ride. Life may not be fair but I do believe it is balanced. Your outlook is determined by the side of the ledger you choose to focus on. I choose to focus on the great, the laughter, and even the sadness that comes with working with students.

The last 30 years have been my crusade and the only fear I have is that I will not be able to continue the crusade after retiring. The time has come to move into a different phase of my crusade and let those behind me pick up the mantle and go forward. Just to be clear, over the 177 class days that I will post, I will name names and places! I will not embarrass anyone but I think t is important to the story that people know how important they have been to me. There are a few people that are worth mentioning specifically because they have had a huge impact as mentors and students. I will not list everyone because of space but I do want to mention a few people that have been inspirations above and beyond. I was recently asked in an in-service about what inspires me and without hesitation, I said that it was my students. In about year 3 of teaching, I discovered that if I was attentive that I could learn as much from students as they learned from me.

A short list of students and teachers that have inspired my journey. Please remember that this is not comprehensive and if I put the full list, it would be thousands of people long. Teachers and Educators in no particular order: Barb Smith, Cheryl Lico, Katherine Kelley, Debbie Backus, Debbie Gerkin, Susan DeCamp, Cathy Stanforth, Mrs. Truman, Mary Lou Midcap, Dorothy Carter, Marc Stine, Tammy Strouse, Sandy Scott, Ingrid Franklin, Rob Shurich, Mike Hamilton, Phil Underland, Jim Gochenour, James Laguana, Gwynn Moore, and Lisa Grosz. Students in no particular order: Lucas N, Leann W, Andres Q, Cassie M, Nabil D, Katie L, Adobe A, Sam N, Michelle H, Nathan B, Zach S,  Selena G, Chris K, and thousands more.  The most important inspiration as a teacher is my wife Dawn and as a student my daughter Kaila. Dawn has been teaching longer than I have and I can only hope to have half the compassion and love for students that she does. Kaila moved out of our house to go to the University of Wyoming and never came back. After graduation, she found a home at UW and has been an advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and has become a forceful educator in her own right.

Click here to join me on my journey.

CS Hero Poster_Mills

2022 Aspirations in Computing Educator Award Winner

A thirty-year veteran of the Aurora Public Schools in Colorado. Randy has taught from 1st grade to postsecondary students. 20 Years at Rangeview has been highlighted by being a leading force for Computer Science and STEM. Randy has coached CyberPatriot teams for 12 years and taken 2 teams to the National Finals. Randy assisted with the PLTW development of the Cybersecurity course. Serving on the initial Advisory group and becoming a Master Teacher and teaching core training in 2018. Randy was awarded the National Computer Science Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022. Brought a Cybersecurity class to Rangeview five years ago and created a Technology Intern program for training students to move into internships in the industry. Randy has coordinated and taught a STEM camp at Rangeview for 8 years highlighted by cybersecurity classes. Randy has spent his career working to bring underrepresented populations into the Computer Science field.

2021 - 2022 PLTW National Computer Science Teacher of the Year

PLTW recognizes outstanding teachers who inspire, engage, and empower their students by creating transformative learning experiences in their classrooms through PLTW programs

Aurora, Colorado – Rangeview High School teacher Randy Mills has earned the 2021-22 PLTW National Computer Science Teacher of the Year award, which recognizes educators who demonstrate a strong record of delivering an inspiring and empowering student experience, expanding access to PLTW programs, and transforming teaching. Randy was chosen from nominations received from across the U.S.

PLTW is honoring Randy for his work in the PLTW Computer Science pathway. Randy has been a teacher at Rangeview High School for twenty years and teaches Cybersecurity, Computer Science Essentials, and Introduction to Engineering Design. Randy Is also a Master Teacher for PLTW in Computer Science Essentials and Cybersecurity.

“Rangeview High School is proud of Randy Mills and his dedication to our students,” said RyAnn Nelson-Jaiyesimi “Randy is inspiring and we feel honored to have him as a teacher at Rangeview.”

Randy helped develop the Cybersecurity course and serves as one of the original Master Teachers for the course. He has been an advocate for underrepresented populations and has a passion for extending Computer Science and STEM to all students equally.

“Teachers and educational leaders perform one of the most critical functions in our society, and we are proud to work with these outstanding educators who are leaders in their classrooms and across the PLTW network,” said Dr. Vince Bertram, PLTW President and CEO. “Congratulations and thank you for your partnership in a shared commitment to empower our students to thrive in our evolving world even amidst the most challenging and unprecedented of times.”

Computer Science / Cybersecurity Programs & Competitions 2021-2022