Chemistry teacher has right stuff

Snohomish educator wrote national guide

By ERIC STEVICK

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — His pocket calendar is dotted with speaking engagements from Anchorage to Phoenix and fellow high school chemistry teachers from across the nation now heed his advice.

He has helped write the national advanced placement chemistry test, a rigorous exam taken by thousands of the nation’s top students who receive college credit if they pass and the attention of admissions officers at prestigious universities.

Bill Bond is in his element teaching the science he loves behind and beyond the maraschino-cherry red door and brick-enclosed walls of Room S-105 at Snohomish High School.

Bond is also the primary author of the recently released third edition of the "Teachers Guide — AP Chemistry," the Bible for America’s high school instructors teaching college-level chemistry.

All of which is a little hard for the small-town teacher to comprehend. He is an instructor who prefers the traditional chalkboard to a shiny white board and uses terms like "doggone it" and "fiddly-diddle." He’ll pay for the donuts for the 6:30 a.m. lab each Wednesday unless someone shows up late. In that case, the tab for all 24 students falls on the tardy one the following week.

Bond, the son of a teacher, knows chemistry frightens the math-shy, develops deductive reasoning and makes many students "think in a way they have never thought before."

In short, it takes many students out of their comfort zone.

"Sometimes in science it’s okay to be confused for a while," he said. "I just love seeing the wheels turn. I love seeing how their minds work."

Bond, who has spent the past 22 years teaching science at SHS, never sought national prominence in his field.

His profession found him.

It happened over a sack lunch with fellow SHS science teachers on a late April morning in 1996. A consultant for the College Board, a nonprofit organization that prepares students for higher education, called that day to say she wanted Bond to join the test development committee for the advanced placement chemistry exam.

The reason, in part, was the success of his AP students: Roughly 85 to 90 percent pass the national exam each year. His program was being monitored.

Soon thereafter, Bond was flown to Princeton University where he sat across the table from top chemistry professors from UCLA, the University of Alberta and Brandeis University, along with a teacher from a Chicago suburb and another from the exclusive private school where media mogul Ted Turner graduated.

"Very humbling," Bond remembers thinking, marveling at the intelligence and teaching skills of his new colleagues.

It has been a whirlwind of work and opportunity since then.

In the past four years:

  • He has helped prepare the national AP chemistry curriculum and write the exam.

  • He has been published as a contributing writer in a national science magazine after assisting a University of Washington professor with research. The title: "Dynamic Surface Tension and Adhesion Detection for the Rapid Analysis of Surfactants in Flowing Aqueous Liquids."

  • He was one of six U.S. math and science teachers to receive the 1999 Siemens Award for educational excellence in a ceremony at Georgia Tech.

  • He wrote much of the AP chemistry teacher’s guide that was published last month. On the first page are three lines that read, "By William B. Bond, Snohomish High School, Snohomish, Washington."

    It is the second and third lines that please Bond the most.

    "That’s a reflection on my school district, on my state, on small towns in general but especially on public schools," he said.

    In some circles, Bond’s AP chemistry class is described as the toughest course on campus. Homework is due every day. Study groups often band together in the cafeteria and, more days than not, students trickle into Room S-105 after school to work on labs.

    For all his students’ labors, there is the understanding that Bond will be in their corner if they put forth the time and effort.

    Lexi Allen, an SHS senior, was reticent about taking AP chemistry last year. Her natural strengths lean toward the humanities rather than the sciences. At times, she said, it seemed like she lived in the chemistry classroom last year.

    "It taught me a lot about what I am capable of," Allen said. "Every day he would tell us we were bright and he loved to work with us and he would do everything he could to help us succeed. And he did."

    Casey Riffel, another SHS senior who took Bond’s class last year, compared observations about AP chemistry classes with other students at Stanford University, where he took courses last summer. Riffel discovered that students from other schools hadn’t done half the labs he had.

    Bond, who teaches three other chemistry classes and an astronomy course, doesn’t make a big deal about his achievements to his students. It doesn’t and shouldn’t matter to them, he said.

    It is a philosophy reflected on the front door of his classroom where one finds a quote from Calvin Coolidge: "No person was ever honored for what he received," it reads. "Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

    "I would like the kids to think of me not as a teacher who has received a bunch of awards," Bond said. "I would like for them to think of me as someone who has helped them learn."

    Talk to us

    > Give us your news tips.

    > Send us a letter to the editor.

    > More Herald contact information.

  • More in Local News

    Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

    Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

    Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
    Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

    Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

    Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

    Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

    Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    ‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

    Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

    Lynnwood councilor Joshua Binda speaks during a Lynnwood City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Does the Lynnwood Council VP live in Lynnwood? It’s hard to say.

    Josh Binda’s residency has been called into question following an eviction and FEC filings listing an Everett address. He insists he lives in Lynnwood.

    Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

    Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

    People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

    The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

    The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

    The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

    The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
    Northshore School District bond improvements underway

    The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

    An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

    The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

    A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
    Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

    The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

    Aaron Kennedy / The Herald
The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide.
    Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

    The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

    Support local journalism

    If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.