Francis Howell North Opens New Science Classrooms

After 22 years teaching science at Francis Howell North High School, chemistry teacher Donna Malkmus had grown accustomed to her classroom.

"I was pretty entrenched," she said.

Malkmus is one of a few science teachers who moved into a new wing of the school that officially opened Tuesday. The new wing has four new science lab rooms, two storage rooms, a classroom and student restrooms.

When the school was built in 1986, it was a middle school and did not have proper lab space for high school science classes. Teachers made due, but the improvements paid for with part of the $78.5-million bond issue solve concerns about student safety.

Malkmus said the new rooms now have the space needed for students to safely use Bunsen burners. Her new classroom has bigger desks, a bank of computers along one wall, tall ceilings and roomier lab stations. She said there's also room for her to help each student individually.

"I can move up and down the aisles," she said.

Students will find that Malkmus' large cardboard periodic table made the trek to her new room. Many of the squares on the periodic table have been claimed and decorated by previous students who earned A's both semesters in AP Chemistry class. It's a goal to which many students aspire.

Superintendent Pam Sloan, who was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, said she's so glad the students have the appropriate amount of room needed.

"They'll be able to get kids much more engaged," Sloan said.

Francis Howell North principal Darlene Jones said the new classrooms are critical to being able to offer higher level science courses such as AP Biology.

"Now we've got the ability to handle the course," she said.

Jones said the older science classrooms will continue to be used by science teachers who before this year didn't have their own classroom but had to travel from room to room with materials on a cart. One of the newly vacated classes will be used for special education physical science classes. In the past, those teachers scheduled time in the lab classrooms when the classroom teacher had planning time.

Tuesday, the science teachers were still moving into the new classrooms and waiting for their Smart Boards and phones to be set up. Most have spent the summer at school preparing for the move.

Laura Montgomery will teach the new AP Biology class when the 2011-12 school year begins next week. One wall of her room is lined with wooden shelves on which her aquariums will sit.

Montgomery said her new classroom is brighter, bigger and has hot water. But she said her favorite thing about the new science wing is the location of the new bathroom.

"It's only a few feet from my door," she said.