Although it’s late October in the school season, Michael Malione is starting his third week teaching math at Piedmont High School. Malione, who is primarily a stay-at-home parent and has previously taught science and math around the Bay Area, upon learning that PHS had three sections of math in need of a teacher, stepped up to the challenge.
He learned about the openings from Angela Temple, a fellow parent and substitute teacher at PHS, who mentioned that there were three sections that didn’t have a math teacher. Malione applied for the job on Sept. 10 and was called in by the school district to interview one week later.
“I’m still primarily a stay-at-home parent, but this opportunity to be involved with the education and to take my skills and apply them where there was a need was just too compelling for me to pass up,” said Malione.
Malione is now teaching Integrated Math 1 to 9th graders in fourth and sixth periods. He didn’t deny that catching up in the third month of school was taxing and noted the extra hours put in to get up to speed with the curriculum.
“The first week I definitely had many sleepless nights or nights where I would get three hours of sleep,” said Malione. “It’s starting to normalize and I’m feeling now that in a week or two, I’m going to be completely in the thick of it, ready to just keep pulling on.”
Malione tips his hat off to many in the faculty and administration who helped pave his way into the classroom. “I’ve had a lot of great help from the staff,” said Malione. “The school has really delivered in making sure I have what I need.”
He recently moved to Piedmont from Crocker Highlands this past January and has a daughter in the second grade at Wildwood Elementary School. Malione has already been involved in the community as a parent and board member with Piedmont Advanced Learners Program Support (ALPS), a parent group that supports students with advanced learning skills.
Malione’s teaching and tutoring experience is extensive and runs the gambit from elementary school to adult learning levels. He was a former adjunct faculty member at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He taught physics, math and computer animation classes there for adults from 2007 to 2013. He then taught science to elementary students at The Academy, a private school in Berkeley, in 2014.
“I do have extensive private tutoring experience with high school students having done this part-time for more than seven years,” said Malione. “Academic subjects that I’ve tutored include all levels of mathematics, statistics, chemistry, physics, and computer science.”
Most recently, in addition to his work as a stay-at-home dad, he was a private STEM tutor and occasional substitute teaching at the Marin Academy in San Rafael and The College Preparatory School in Oakland.
Malione received his Bachelor’s from Harvard University in physics and chemistry and his Master’s from Stanford University in electrical engineering with a focus in applied math and statistics.
Although Integrated Math 1 — featuring topics in algebra, geometry, and statistics — is a standard-paced course, Malione hopes to see his students eagerly engaging with the subject and knows he has a direct hand in that. “If they’re just a little more inspired or a little more comfortable with math as a result of going through my class, I will feel that I have done my part to push them the right way,” said Malione.
As a board member on the Piedmont ALPS, Malione said he is in tune to differentiation — tailored instruction that meets students’ diverse needs, something PUSD emphasizes — and he will work to ensure each student learns at the appropriate level. “I’m going to pay special attention to differentiation in my classroom and make sure that I do all I can on that front,” said Malione.
In recent school years, PUSD has struggled to fill teacher vacancies particularly in the subjects of math, science, world languages, and special education. As such, the District has sent letters out to the community asking parents for their assistance in finding reputable teachers, reaching out to local schools, like St. Mary’s Teacher College, to pipeline student teachers to PUSD, and relying on substitute teachers.
According to PHS administrator Darlene Low, the remaining vacant math position has now been filled, although the new teacher has not started yet. Principal Adam Littlefield will be making an announcement this week.