Clearly, if we don't ... make a difference, if we don't expose kids to a number of opportunities are we creating a situation that won't change? And are we losing any of these kids who may go into the prison system or may tax society in other ways?

When Chuck would get some bubble gum in he would save it until Halloween to give out to the kids, ... In those days, we never had many trick-or-treaters, but when word spread that Chuck had bubble gum, we were swarmed with kids and ran out of candy.

Kids that do well often have more connections than kids who didn't have connections. Sometimes it's just an email mentor to bounce ideas off of.

There are lots of different stories where kids are really thinking about their own lives and interests. The idea is not all kids may become scientists, but all kids will be impacted by science.

The job takes a lot of patience, a working knowledge of special education law, which is highly complicated, and an ability to have a vision for meeting the needs of students whose needs are not usually met in a school setting.

We're very excited to have Bonnie step into this position. On top of her special educational experience, what she brings is a familiarity with the Burlington schools that will ease the transition for everybody.