2015 PAEMST Secondary Science Awardee

Michael Towne

Secondary Science Presidential Award Recipient

“Winning the Presidential Award validates my professional experiences and I share it with several groups. First, I share it with the teachers who mentored and inspired me over the past decade and a half. Second, I share it with the administrators with whom I shared a vision for education. Finally, I share it with my students and their families, who trusted me with their education. This award is a tangible representation of success for them. I am proud to represent their efforts, as well as my own.”

Michael Towne currently teaches Geometry, Symbolic Logic, and Engineering to 10th grade students in the inaugural year of Orange Vista High School. Previously, he taught Advanced Placement Physics and Engineering at Citrus Hill High School for nine years, where his students’ results garnered national attention. Prior to teaching physics he taught elementary and middle school. He also teaches graduate level courses in science pedagogy at the University of California, Riverside.

Michael served as the District Math Instructional Coach for Val Verde Unified School District for a year where he developed mathematics and science pedagogy trainings for teachers. He also presents pedagogy and discourse strategies at conferences around the country designed to develop classroom strategies to provide equitable access to science and mathematics for all students. His students have won local, regional, and state awards for applied science and engineering projects they designed and built. Mr. Towne’s current students are taking an innovative Symbolic Logic course in conjunction with Stanford University.

Michael received a B.S. in physics from the University of California, Riverside and a M.A. in education from the California State University, San Bernardino. He holds multiple and single subject credentials with authorizations in mathematics, physics, and earth science.