Leah Mueller's Observation At Delta Middle School

Leah Mueller traces her interest in singing back to fourth grade, when she started taking voice lessons. That same year, Mueller was a student at Boalsburg Elementary in David Rockower’s class. Today, she and Rockower are colleagues at Delta Middle School, where Mueller teaches music and theatre. Unlike most schools, including those within the district, Delta Middle offers a curricular theatre program. “We are very fortunate,” said Mueller. “If theatre were available during the school day for all students, it would allow most students to experience the joy of theatre, even those who wouldn’t necessarily try it outside of school.” For Mueller, theatre has proven an integral part of her education, identity, and now even her career. A 2008 State High alumna, she reflects on her SCASD experience: “My best memories are from high school when I had the opportunity to sing in many choirs and perform with the State High Thespians,” said Mueller. …show more content…
“The moment I first decided I wanted to be a music teacher was during a rehearsal for a musical at Mount Nittany Middle School,” she said. “We were putting on a production of The Music Man Jr., and I remember watching my peers rehearsing a number and I thought of how proud I was of them. That thought blossomed into, ‘If I’m this proud of what we’ve accomplished, think of how proud our music teacher must be!’” After graduation, Mueller studied music education at Penn State, after which she obtained an MA in theatre studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in