High School Ambassador Candidates
Carmen Foschino
East Meadow, NY
Years of experience: 20-30
Current grade levels taught: 10, 11, 12
Teaching and Chemistry Interests
Chemistry has been at the very core of everything I do for the past 19 years. I have taught regents chemistry, honors chemistry, AP chemistry, college chemistry, and non-regents chemistry and general science. Although they all have an individual goal, the thread of each is the same: chemistry is part of our everyday lives. This is evident in my classroom and the clubs I advise – STEM and pre-Med. I hope to get this message by connecting lessons/activities to something my students can relate to. If students leave my class/club confident they can relate to chemistry, I have been successful.
Why I Want to Serve
When students walk into chemistry for the first time, it’s always with trepidation because of the reputation of this course: it’s hard, you’ll never get it, mom and dad failed it, etc. My goal is to remove this negative connotation. I want students to walk away from chemistry feeling successful, not overwhelmed; interested, not turned off. I want to reach out to others and spread this same message. Chemistry is fun; chemistry is part of our everyday lives. What can we do to make all, or at least most students feel positive about this subject matter? I want to be this person that brings us all together, that shares how we go about achieving these successes or working through our failures. By bridging this gap, we have a very good chance of changing the way this class is observed.
Although chemistry is taught across the country, we’re not all following the same guidelines. I’d like to bring educators together to share their experiences. Are success rates better in some states then others? This shared information can benefit all educators, new as well as seasoned. There are so many resources we may not all be aware of; bringing the ideas together of other educators, we can learn from each other for the benefit of the wonderful students that walk through our halls, sit through our lessons. Students can walk away successful and having connected with the content. For these reasons, I’d like to serve as High School Ambassador.
Roxanne Spencer
Tinton Falls, NJ
Years of experience: 15-20
Current grade levels taught: 9, 10, 11, 12
Teaching and Chemistry Interests
I transitioned to high school teaching after 15 years managing intellectual property strategy, joining a new STEM school. Over the past decade, I have taught all levels of chemistry (college-prep, honors, AP, and organic), AP Physics 2 and Forensic Sciences, and mentored science research students. I’ve facilitated experiential learning courses like "Entrepreneurship" and "Climate Action" where students explore science in various real world contexts. As the Science Competition Team advisor, I guide students' preparation for competitions like Science Olympiad and USNCO qualifying exams. I also sponsor our ChemClub chapter, where students learn chemistry concepts and present during National Chemistry Week.
Why I Want to Serve
I believe that administrators and non-science teachers may not fully comprehend the unique challenges that chemistry teachers face and it is the responsibility of the members of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) to support each other.
Chemistry is a complex subject requiring students to connect particle views to macroscopic properties, and students need ample opportunities to explore these domains to grasp the concepts. Hands-on practical work is a key component of this learning, and requires teachers to be confident and comfortable advocating for safe facilities and class sizes.
I am committed to making science education both accessible and relevant. Over the past decade, I've developed an approach that incorporates real-world applications into my lessons, making chemistry's complex concepts more accessible to diverse learners. For example, I authored a lesson plan using copper reclamation from circuit boards to demonstrate electrolytic reduction processes to help students connect electrochemistry to an evolving issue in the world around them.
I believe in integrating student choice and performance-based tasks to prepare scientifically literate students for informed decision-making and creative problem-solving. In today's AI-driven world where information is readily generated, we must focus on teaching higher-order thinking skills that prepare students to apply and synthesize knowledge.
As High School Ambassador, I would advocate for resources that support student learning and empower chemistry teachers to adapt to evolving educational landscapes.
Haley Vito
Watkinsville, GA
Years of experience: 10-15
Current grade levels taught: 10, 11, 12
Teaching and Chemistry Interests
My major focus has been incorporating project and phenomenon based learning into my classroom. Chemistry has such a wide range of topics that we can utilize to improve student understanding. I have been creating more hands-on and interactive lessons, highlighting a specific career that utilizes chemistry. I have also been interested in improving student understanding through various methods of instruction and reflection. Having a study method that works for yourself is half the battle in chemistry. Differentiating as much as I do makes my students feel comfortable trying new things and asking for help.
Why I Want to Serve
Primarily, I would like to become more involved in chemistry education and education in general and this seems like a great place to start. I would like to work more with teachers from outside of my little area of the world and be able to help others improve their instructional design and student understanding since instructional design has become a major focus for me. I have recently been trying to change my teaching method so students have a better chance of understanding the material and would love to take what I have learned and spread that knowledge to others who could use it in their own classroom. This has been very rewarding because I am seeing a difference in not just my students’ understanding but also their willingness to try even if they fail. Coming from a very different background from the one in which I teach has also given me a different perspective of the variety of students we serve on a daily basis. This is something I feel passionate about as well and believe that I could help other teachers better support students from a variety of backgrounds.