TAMPA, Fla. — This week’s A+ Teacher is Orange Grove Middle Magnet School of the Arts’ orchestra director. Darlene Miceli has been teaching there for 15 years.
She’s in her 24th year teaching.
“Mrs. Miceli is an outstanding teacher. Definitely A+,” said Michael Miranda, the school’s principal.
Her student, Lucia Tran, nominated her to be an A+ Teacher.
“She’s given me a lot of opportunities here and orchestra is just one of my favorite reasons of being here at Orange Grove,” said Tran.
Miceli says she has always loved music and enjoys teaching her students how to play instruments.
“I love how you can see what they’re doing and fix their progress and help to foster that creativity with the string instruments. They just speak to me,” she said. “I show them how to hold the instrument, how to start things off and then it clicks one day and it’s just magic.
“And from then on out, it just fosters itself and creates that and they light up just as much as I do, and that’s why I teach.”
Miceli hopes her students will find a passion for music and an appreciation for the arts. She also works to teach them life lessons.
“Stability, structure, enjoyment, passion for something. Something that they can look forward to everyday and become themselves and learn who they truly are through that music,” said Miceli.