BY MATTHEW STONE

Staff Writer

A national organization charged with promoting science education and science teachers has named two Mainers to top leadership positions.

Page Keeley, a Jefferson resident, recently began her term as president of the National Science Teachers Association after being elected to the top post of the 57,000-member organization.

Brunswick resident Francis Eberle will soon move to the Washington, D.C., area to become the association's executive director.

Both currently work for the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance in Augusta. Keeley is the group's senior program director and Eberle is its executive director.

Keeley, who became the group's president on June 1, said she is excited to be the organization's first president from a northern New England state. In her role, she said, she is a spokeswoman for science educators in the United States.

"You are an advocate and a spokesperson for quality science education. Our role is to promote science and to promote STEM," Keeley said, citing an initiative to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

Keeley, who taught science in Whitefield and Farmingdale before joining the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, will remain in Maine during her one-year term as president and keep her current position.

Eberle, whose official start date at NSTA is September 1, said his job largely involves advocacy for legislation related to science education.

"The task at hand is really to raise awareness of the importance of science," he said. "The second is to really develop a system of support for the teaching of science."

Eberle's responsibilities will include overseeing conferences and professional development opportunities sponsored by the organization. The NSTA, which is based in Arlington, Va., also runs a publishing house.

Keeley said she will focus on highlighting the importance of science in education. As schools across the country have focused on meeting math and English standards detailed in the federal No Child Left Behind Act, some have dropped science classes, Keeley and Eberle said.

"It's had some very, very harmful effects on science education," Keeley said of the legislation President George W. Bush signed into law in 2002.

Science education is not important only for those planning careers in engineering and scientific research, Keeley said. Every American needs a backing in science to achieve a basic threshold of scientific literacy.

"It's the area where students develop some of the best critical thinking skills," Keeley said. "To take science out of the curriculum is just irresponsible."

Eberle, who has taught science in Freeport, Litchfield, Topsham and Woolwich, said he plans to use his position to call for better working conditions for science teachers at the K-12 and university levels, ultimately in hopes of attracting more teachers to the field. Science teachers often do not have access to adequate equipment or classroom space, he said.

"The culture in the school is one fairly large factor in why teachers stay or leave," Eberle said.

Eberle and Keeley are joining the NSTA as the organization finalizes plans to inaugurate the John Glenn Center for Science Education, which will allow the group to offer additional training opportunities and better coordinate the group's advocacy efforts, they said.

"It will be an extraordinary opportunity for NSTA to be a national leader in science education," Keeley said.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com