Education has no higher purpose than preparing students to lead personally fulfilling, productive, and responsible lives. Science and Health education should help students to develop the understandings and habits of mind they need to be compassionate human beings that are able to think for themselves and make meaningful and healthy choices about their daily lives. Since we can not foretell what the future has in store for individual humans, it is essential that every person should have the necessary science, health, and technological knowledge and skills that enable them to make informed decisions about future global, national, regional, and personal problems. As scientific literacy and technological skills become more important, all students must be held to high standards of performance in these areas.

I am proud to be the Director of Science and Health for the Malden Public Schools in this era that increasingly emphasizes the importance of having a scientifically literate society. Together with the district's teachers of Science and Health, the school district's administrators, and the local School Committee, we will endeavor to bring coordination, consistency, coherence, and relevance to the Science and Health instruction and content presented to Malden's students so that the vision of a scientifically literate populace becomes the reality here in Malden.

I am entering my 40th year as a Science educator. For the past twenty-five years I have had administrative responsibility in the area of Science. Prior to coming to Malden in March of 2004, I had served four years as the K-12 Science Coordinator and Chemical Hygiene Officer for the Suffield Public Schools in Connecticut. Before that, I had spent 30 serving the Agawam (MA) Public Schools as a Science teacher at various grade levels and as their 7-12 Science Coordinator.

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and a Master of Arts degree in Science Teaching from American International College in Springfield, MA. I also have been a Doctoral (Ed. D.) candidate in Educational Policy, Research, and Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

I have worked as a consultant in the areas of Frameworks development and revision, and assessment item development for both the Massachusetts and Connecticut Departments of Education. I also have given numerous professional development workshops encompassing curriculum development, effective instructional strategies, and alternate assessment methods for the National Science Teachers Association, Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers, Connecticut Association of Science Teachers, and both the Massachusetts and Connecticut Associations of Science Supervisors.

Since the 2005-6 school year at the elementary level, the Grade 3 - 5 Science students of the Malden Public Schools have been enhancing their learning by means of a modular textbook program that will be used to reinforce the kit-based Science program that has been in place scince 1999. This addition allows them to "read to learn" Science and will be very beneficial as they prepare for the Grade 5 MCAS in Science & Technology/Engineering. This modular textbook addition which is aligned with the National Science Standards, the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks, and the K - 8 Malden Science Curriculum will also be used to provide connections with other academic disciplines so that Science becomes more integrated.

Our goal at the secondary level is to continue to enhance our offerings so that appropriate, applicable, and meaningful options are available to all of our students. To this end, we have added an Advanced Placement Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses, a Physical Geology course, four new half year courses (Conceptual Physics, Conceptual Chemistry, Weather and Climate, and Survey of Biology, and re-organized our course sequence . These options will insure that every Malden High School graduate will have had exposure to all three domains of Science during their High School careers. In doing so, it is hoped that our students will be adequately prepared for Science competency in Science to fulfill the Massachusetts reqirement for graduation and for whatever career and life path the choose to follow in the future.