This is my 25^th year of teaching. During that time, I have taught earth science, biology, AP biology and forensic science and have taught at both the middle and high school level. I am currently teaching at Belgrade High School. Belgrade is the only school in the state which opened as a Class C school and moved up to Class AA. Belgrade is a small town with big growth and is often thought of as a suburb of Bozeman. Because of this, the housing development in Belgrade is booming and therefore so is our school population. We currently have approximately 1000 students enrolled which is up from the approximately 850 when I started at the high school in 2008. There is also a shift in our demographics as a result of this growth. Belgrade was originally an agricultural community with many of our students coming from ranches and farms. That is no longer true. Most of our students are children of blue-collar workers, many of whom live in Belgrade and travel to Bozeman for work. Of our 1000 students, only 12% of them are non-white students. The student population is extremely transient with many students coming in and leaving before the end of the school year. It is extremely expensive to live in the Gallatin Valley so many families come here and find it difficult to make a living so move elsewhere. 18% of our students at the high school are on free and reduced lunch. However, our administration believes the number of students who would qualify for free and reduced is much higher than that percentage indicates. They just don’t apply for it.

I am currently the chairman of the science department as well as serving on the emergency planning committee and the professional development committee at my school. Last year we started the process of standards based instruction so as the department chair, I have been tasked with guiding my department through that process. We are currently meeting once a week during our PLC time to align our common classes. On the professional development committee, I have worked really hard to bring worthwhile and applicable PD to our district. I serve on the MT Science Teachers Association board as the biology representative. I am also the state director for the National Association of Biology Teachers Outstanding Biology Teacher award. In this position, I have the pleasure of coordinating the application process for nominees as well as working with the committee to determine the awardee. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to recognize outstanding teaching in our state. In addition, I am the MT coach for the Murdock Trust Partners in Science grant. In this position, I recruit high school science teachers to apply for the Partners in Science grant and then mentor them as they move through the grant process.

I am passionate about science and science teaching. I believe students should leave school understanding basic scientific principles and the nature of science. After doing four summers of research in a proteomics lab, it completely changed how I teach science. I wanted all students to be able to understand how the process of science works and the importance of good science. Because I hold these values so close, I wanted to help give other teachers the resources and skills to help their students as well. I have definitely led a privileged life. I’ve never had to wonder where I will sleep and from where my next meal is coming. The longer I teach, the more I hear from students they don’t have breakfast or lunch or money to buy it. I have students asking me for extensions on their assignments because they had to leave their house the previous night and are now couch surfing. My heart breaks for those students, they shouldn’t have to deal with that. The more I have learned about the inequities in my students’ lives, the more I have tried to create a stable and safe place for them in my classroom. I believe students who are given educational opportunities will have a greater chance to overcome their hardships. I always tell students “they can take away your job and your home, but they can never take away your education so stick with it, I will be here for you.” If this is happening at the high school level, I know it is happening at the elementary level so if I can help teachers to provide educational opportunities for their students, I have done my job. I definitely have a bias against people who say they can’t do it or I don’t have time for it. I struggle when I hear teachers say I don’t understand science so I don’t devote much time to it. I know part of that comes from the administration putting more emphasis on math and ELA standards, but science is important and is still a required core subject so it should be taught. It is frustrating to me when I see it is almost an afterthought at the elementary level.

I have informally discussed this project with our curriculum director, the elementary teachers and admin for years, but never formally thought about how to go about it. This project will give me the tools to work with those involved in an equitable manner in order to assist elementary teachers in the teaching of science in a way that will work for them for the betterment of all their students.

I know elementary science teachers have very little training in science concepts when earning their degree which may account for the uncomfortable feeling some of them have mentioned. I also know there is a funding disparity at our elementary schools so depending on what school these teachers teach at, determines their access to materials.