Michele G. Gill, PhD, is recognized with this APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential citation for her dedication, advocacy and actions to transform public education through the application of psychological learning principles.
In 2010, Gill designed and founded a free K-8 charter school in the high-poverty area of Midway in Sanford, Fla. based on cutting edge educational research. Currently, Galileo School is one of the top performing schools in Seminole County and is known for its educational innovations, such as differentiation for all students, and student-selected “creative productivity” learning blocks. Gill continues to serve the school as chairman of the Galileo School Board and chair of the curriculum committee. Her service as board chairperson involves working with the local school district to ensure a cooperative relationship for the benefit of all the district's students, ensuring fidelity to the school mission and vision, leading initiatives to support the school, training teachers in the school mission and vision, and closely supporting the school's principal. Galileo School has been one of the top-ranked schools in Seminole County since its founding.
The Galileo School has become a University of Central Florida (UCF) partnership school and serves as a site for hosting UCF education interns, students’ field experiences and faculty guest lectures. Gill works as a liaison between UCF and Galileo School to promote internships, grants and research efforts that benefit students, and ensures yearly strategic planning efforts, surveys, and data collection to continue to promote a healthy school climate and positive student outcome. The school’s success has led the Seminole County School District to approve a plan to create a second campus in fall 2019.
Gill also serves as the Div. 15 (Educational Psychology) representative on APA’s Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education committee where she is working on a national survey of teachers and their professional development needs, among other projects.