However, Ms. Mahoney does admit she
would be thrilled if her job was eliminated.
“I would throw a party,” she said. “If they
found a cure or a reason for the development
of autism and I no longer had to help kids
figure out what so many of us take for granted,
I would be thrilled. And because the number
of children with autism is on the rise — 1
in every 68 children will develop a form of
it — the need for special education teachers
is paramount to the kids’ success. But it is
important for your readers to know that my
kiddos are ‘getting it.’ When they come in the
door and are able to verbally tell me they’re
frustrated, instead of yelling or crying, they
are making their own pathways to success and
I know it’s going to be a good day for them.
And in my world a good day is a great day.”
HANDS-ON WORK IN THE LAB
Bethel Park High School (BPHS) science
teacher Barbara Eisel, who’s been teaching
science and biology for the past 18 years,
used her former career as a clinical biologist
to introduce new ideas about science
and biology applications to her students.
“Before I became a teacher, I was a medical
technologist in a lab,” said Mrs. Eisel. “I’ve
been fortunate to stay connected with some
of my colleagues and they were happy to
oblige when I told them about my idea.”
Last year, Mrs. Eisel organized a week of
lab activities for her students with help from
the UPMC Cancer Institute. They studied
why certain types of breast cancer were
more aggressive than others. “It was quite
amazing,” said Mrs. Eisel. “The folks from
UPMC brought absolutely everything the
students needed to conduct the tests, from
specialized pads and chemicals to scopes and
testing tissue. The kids were so excited and
engaged. We had nearly 400 participants.
I can’t say enough about the success of the
project and how terrific the employees from
UPMC Cancer Institute were. They also
brought special mice for the kids to dissect as
part of the project and were able to explain
everything to the students in terms they could
understand.”
When prepping for this year’s classes,
Mrs. Eisel took it upon herself to research
and write a proposal for a grant an engineer
friend mentioned to her. “I wanted to expand
upon what we did last year and knew we
would need funds for the project beyond
what we’re given from the district,” said Mrs.
Eisel. “Luckily, my proposal was selected
and I received $5,000 in grant money for
Innovative Classroom projects from PPG
Industries. The grant money will be used
to purchase equipment such as microfuges,
kits and pipettes to complete the lab on
DNA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and
electrophoresis.” The project will center on
genetically modified organisms, or GMO,
which is something the students can relate
to in their everyday life. “I’m having each
student bring in their favorite snack food,”
said Mrs. Eisel. “Then, we’re going to grind it
up and use the new equipment and chemicals
to conduct tests on the food and see if we
can find any genetic modifications. It should
really be something they enjoy.”
In addition to purchasing lab equipment,
Mrs. Eisel is purchasing eight Fitbits to be
used in her anatomy and physiology classes.
“Teaching kids about their bodies and how
everything works is always fun for them. I’m
going to have them set simple goals they can
achieve and track with the data collected by
the Fitbits once it’s downloading onto the
Fitbits website. From there, the students can
see how the Fitbits monitor their heart rate,
blood pressure, calories burned, hydration,
sleeping patterns... all kinds of neat things.
“The grant money I was able to obtain from
PPG Industries means a lot. It has opened
the door for the kids to be able to personalize
their learning. And I feel if I can help my
students understand how what we learn truly
affects them, it will have a long-term effect.”
BIG DATA…BIG WORLD
Another project at BPHS has been
propelled to a new level and revolves around
the analysis of information. It has brought
together two unlikely teaching platforms
to show students what types of careers may
be available to them after graduation. Lee
Cristofano, the high school’s 23-year teaching
veteran in physics, and Emily Smoller, who
has taught marketing for t H \