Maria Orton

Maria Orton earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as her master's degree in Education from Pitt. She has spent most of her career working for Pittsburgh Public Schools. It is her belief that each student should be awarded the same opportunity to succeed as any other student. She remarks that it is her job to provide each student with the resources they need to succeed in her class, and to encourage each student to reach their full potential. She considers herself a cheerleader for her students, convincing them that just because learning science is hard, that they can learn, they can master, and that they can excel, but it requires work. She stresses that students will only be successful if they put forth the effort and participate actively in all classroom activities. One of her favorites things to remind her students is that progress is good, she never expects perfection on the first try, we need to learn from our mistakes. In her free time, she enjoys going to the pool, doing crafts, and spending time with her daughter.