By Scott MacKeen
Contributor
6/12/08

(previous)
“We have all benefited greatly from their presence and passion,” said Lovely. “They’ve given us excellence and a great deal of positive experience.”
Lovely also applauded retirees Kevin Dunne and Margaret Smith, who were not present at the ceremony but received equal praise for their work.
Dunne has been a guidance counselor at the high school since 1999 and Gormley described him as “conscientious, organized and extremely hard working.” Smith is retiring as a high school consumer studies teacher after having worked in Milton schools for over 35 years.
Gormley commended retiree Caggiano, who taught elementary students in town for nearly 20 years and helped to develop the grade three English portion of the French Immersion program. King, a preschool teacher since 1988, was described by Gormley as having a “strong commitment and deep sensitivity toward preschool students.”
Cadigan, retiring after nearly 30 years in the school system, has taught physical education, coached the golf and ski teams, and served as mentor to beginning teachers. Ahearn will retire after 15 years of teaching foreign language at the high school. She has also volunteered with the American Association of Teachers of French and the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association.
At the event, Pierce Middle School students and string quartet members Amelie Carpenter, Brendan Hayward, Caeleigh MacNeil and Elizabeth Mahon treated retirees to a presentation of classical music.
Math and Science Initiative
A new program that seeks to increase student participation in AP math and science courses will be introduced in the high school next year.
The Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative (MMSI), as it is called, is an Advanced Placement training and incentive program designed to enhance school programs that have had a positive impact on math and science education. MMSI Director Mort Orlov, who outlined the program goals and initiatives to members at the committee meeting, says that the MMSI will help improve student college readiness through increased AP participation and performance, with incentives for teachers and students who participate.
“This isn’t just something where someone writes out a check and we come back a year later to check up,” he said. “This is an active collaboration with students, teachers and parents to allow for greater student access (to AP courses).”
The program will provide extensive training for AP and pre-AP teachers, establish AP lead teachers, promote additional student preparation and provide performance-based financial incentives for students and teachers. College prep sessions will be made available for high school students on weekends and will be hosted by local universities like BU and MIT, if the funds remain available.
The MMSI is funded by a $13.2 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative that will cover the six-year statewide initiative. Partnered with the Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, Massachusetts was one of seven states awarded a grant following a highly competitive application process, says Orlov. Milton High is one of 10 schools across the state to be involved.
“We’re proud of this partnership here in Milton,” Orlov added, saying that the high school is one of the top performing schools in the state. Assistant Superintendent Mary Gormley agreed, saying that AP teacher training is something that has greatly benefited teacher performance in the past.
“Our teachers go to these week-long AP training classes over the summer,” said Gormley. “Teachers who have participated in this have grown and really improved from the experience. It’s the highest kind of professional development (for a teacher).”
Orlov says that the national program, first introduced to students in Texas schools back in 1996, has demonstrated a significant increase in college AP qualifying scores and given minority students more opportunities for inclusion in the Advanced Placement program.
“We saw a big jump in the first year of the program, and have seen steady growth since,” he told school officials.
He described the program’s intent to make AP courses more available to all students, especially for underachieving students who often fall behind in college prep.
“There is an outreach there,” he said. “We’re looking for more inclusion and there’s still room to grow and get better.”