Bianca Silver’s path to teaching at Columbia High School
A former teacher with a significant career as a geochemist in the corporate world, Dr. Bianca Silver began longing to return to the classroom and contribute to the South Orange/ Maplewood community. “
I felt something was missing,” says Silver.
As fate would have it, an opportunity came while bringing her preschooler to the South Orange Country Day School. “Director Annemarie Maini spoke to me about the school district’s need for STEM teachers. She said I might be a good fit and asked if I’d consider it,” says Silver. Maini was also president of the South Orange-Maplewood School District Board of Education, so she had a good idea of what the district needed.
This conversation led to a meeting with the STEM supervisor, Corrina Parsio. By the fall of 2018, Silver was teaching at Columbia High School. Parsio says, “The value [Silver] brings from her real-world experiences both enriches her classes and empowers her students, especially her female students, to see themselves in the STEM field as a future career choice.”
Silver’s academic odyssey began at Stuyvesant High School, one of New York City’s most competitive public schools. She earned a prestigious athlete-scholar Morehead-Cain Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in geology. Silver went on to earn two master’s degrees and finally a PhD from Princeton University, solidifying her expertise in environmental science.
By 2008 Silver was restless while working on her dissertation. When the opportunity to return to her former junior high school to replace her former teacher arose, she took it. “I was so happy to teach and enjoyed the classroom experience,” says Silver.
For a while, she tackled her doctoral thesis and a new career.
However, balancing the two endeavors proved overwhelming, so she paused her teaching aspirations temporarily and was able to complete her doctorate. Silver transitioned into the corporate world, accepting a job as a senior research geologist at ExxonMobil, focusing on petroleum geochemistry. For nine years, she worked on environmental projects and traveled extensively.
However, when the company asked her to move to Houston, Silver made a tough choice to leave the company. She wanted to start a family and needed a job that allowed her to stay closer to home.
This led her to Arcadis, an environmental consulting firm in Jersey City. Silver focused on solving toxic environmental problems as a geochemist in the Site Evaluation and Remediation Group. She conducted data analyses and published papers on mining geochemistry and remediation knowledge, technology, and innovation.
Eventually, the birth of her children brought new priorities.
Silver moved to freelance status at Arcadis as her family grew and relocated to South Orange when her oldest child entered kindergarten. She also taught yoga at Yoga Playhouse in South Orange. “I’d been teaching yoga since grad school and enjoy teaching kids, so yoga classes for kids at Yoga Playhouse was perfect,” says Silver. [Yoga Playhouse has since closed.] This was when she heard about the opportunity to teach for the school district.
Silver, whose PhD is in environmental science, was initially hired to teach biology. “I thought I was interviewing to teach geoscience, but the district was hiring me to teach biology. When I got the call from human resources in July, I realized I’d have to work fast to qualify to teach biology,” says Silver.
She quickly adapted to the subject, studying for and passing the Praxis exam during the summer for her new teaching role. She has become a beloved member of the Columbia High School faculty.
In short order, Silver expanded into teaching environmental science.
Says STEM Supervisor Parsio, “Working with Dr. Silver is inspiring. Her extensive experience working for a large oil company allows her to bring the environmental science curriculum to life, connecting theoretical concepts to practical applications.”
CHS AP Biology and Environmental Science teacher Amy Biasucci says, “I co-taught with Dr. Silver for one semester and experienced firsthand [Silver’s] attention to detail in planning, delivering, and evaluating lessons. She is always looking for the most relevant and challenging ways to teach a topic. This year, Dr. Silver took on the AP Environmental Science course, which had just a handful of students.”
The class explores the interrelationships of the natural world and teaches students to identify human and man-made environmental problems. Although the course had low student enrollment, Biasucci says Silver tripled the number of signups for the class in one year. Unfortunately, not all the interest can be met due to district budget constraints.
Silver’s teaching schedule is demanding. However, she thrives in this environment, finding immense satisfaction in student interactions. Her students get just as much out of their relationships. Matthew Moloney says, “We aren’t just learning what type of rock is found deep in mines, we are learning how it feels … because she spent time in South African mines.”
During the pandemic, she faced the challenge of continuing her students’ science research projects. One project involved a team of students attempting to create a genetically efficient lettuce. The students needed access to the school’s growing cabinet (a large box for growing seeds that allows students to grow under controlled conditions) to complete their research. But with schools locked, things looked grim for a project they had spent years planning. Silver worked behind the scenes to get permission to transport the equipment to a student’s home, which allowed them to complete their 3-year research project.
Silver’s students were inspired and wanted resources beyond those they had on hand. They raised funds through GoFundMe campaigns to purchase microbiology materials, ensuring their projects could proceed despite the constraints imposed by remote learning.
Today, Silver teaches both AP Environmental Science and Anatomy and Physiology (honors section). She is working to make the latter a dual enrollment class with Seton Hall University. She also mentors students involved in science research, guiding them through projects that range from robotics to studying the circulatory system.
Student Chloe Barter, also CHS valedictorian of the class of 2024, says Silver “exemplifies how principles of environmental science can be applied outside of the classroom. It is truly an honor to be taught by someone with real-world experience in the field, something typically reserved for college and graduate school students.”
When Silver sees an opportunity to help her students learn, “I jump through hoops to make things happen,” she says. She takes pride in knowing the children with whom her own kids play will one day be her students. This deep connection to her community fuels her passion for teaching and her desire to inspire the next generation of scientists. Reflecting on her journey, Silver expresses gratitude for the path that led her to Columbia High School. “I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says.
Adrianna Donat, freelance writer and outdoor aficionado, enjoyed exploring the winding – and sometimes muddy – career path of Columbia High School’s beloved environmental science teacher, Dr. Bianca Silver.
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