Out of grief comes joy for Mid-Del Teacher of the Year winner

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Last month was a heartbreaking one for Brian Muller and his family.

In less than two weeks, Muller lost two family members. His mother passed away on March 13 and his brother died on March 24.

Even during this difficult time, Muller said he found comfort and happiness in his classroom at Parkview Elementary School. Just days after losing his brother, Muller was back in the classroom helping his students prepare for a new school week.

“After the losses that we’ve had in our family, going into the classroom, and seeing my children’s faces smiling and acting silly and having fun, has made every bit of this load that’s been on our family lighter and lighter each and every day,” Muller said.

Later that day, Muller received another bit of good news as he was named the Mid-Del School District Teacher of the Year. He was presented with the honor during an awards banquet March 27 at First Southern Baptist Church.

“From my heart to yours thank you so much,” Muller said after receiving the award. “I appreciate you and I will do my best to honor this school district as much as I can and with all that I have.”

Muller was selected as the winner among five finalists. The finalists included Paulette Hunnicutt (Midwest City Middle School), Ruth Ingerly (Carl Albert High School), Melissa Ritchie (Del City High School), Melissa Smith (Townsend Elementary) and Muller.

LaShonda Broiles, assistant superintendent, introduced each of the finalists at the awards banquet. Christine Harris, 2021-22 Mid-Del Teacher of the Year, announced the winner.

Muller is a fourth-grade teacher at Parkview Elementary School. He has been an educator in the district for 22 years.

Muller said the award is just another sign that he is doing what God called him to do.

“I love my job and love doing what I’m doing. That’s all there is to it. That’s what teaching is all about – loving the kiddos, loving their families, and working together to help the kids do better and help them learn and be successful.”

Muller grew up in Midwest City and wanted to stay in the community to work and raise his family. He and his wife have three children. Two graduated and one is a senior at Del City High School.

“I’m a Mid-Del baby and this is all that I know, and I love,” Muller said. “Some students do not have positive role models in their life and that’s what I strive to be. I strive to be someone that they can count on. Someone they know they can trust and lean on whenever having issues or celebrations.”

Mid-Del Superintendent Rick Cobb applauded Muller and thanked all the teachers for their dedication to helping children.

“Every day I’m driven by knowledge that I’m surrounded by professionals who care about our students,” he said. “And like a lot of our teachers, we have a lot of students who are going through things every day. And our teachers show up, and our support staff show up, and our administrators show up. And they show up because these kids need us.”