Southern Westchester BOCES has strengthened the already robust academic side of its career and technical education programs at the Center for Career Services, hiring science teacher Anthony Ferdinandi as the school’s first full-time consultant teacher.

Mr. Ferdinandi recently joined Career Services after six years as a science teacher, most recently for the Washingtonville School District in Orange County. He holds a master’s degree in teaching biology, and will now apply his broader expertise to teach lessons that extend to other areas of science as well.

“I will get to be creative designing new lessons,” he said. “That should be a fun challenge.”

This new role will look different from a traditional classroom position, he said. Rather than leading his own classes, Mr. Ferdinandi will provide support for eight different programs at Career Services through which students earn science credit toward graduation at their home schools. His role is to ensure the lessons meet state standards and include sufficient science hours, while working directly with the program instructors to design hands-on activities and develop activities that teach the students science in their area of study.

Mr. Ferdinandi noted how science can show up in unexpected places. He referenced the chemistry involved for Cosmetology students as one example

“I know what makeup is obviously, but I hadn’t really explored the exact science behind how pH can affect hair,” he noted. “I’m getting to learn for myself, which I think is really fun.”

After years of teaching similar lessons multiple times a day, Mr. Ferdinandi said he was eager to explore the creativity of a new position that will challenge him to build different lessons for different programs.

“They choose to be here and be in their programs, so the topics I present to them should be engaging,” he said. “That should make this experience enjoyable for everybody.”