MILO — Virgil R. Valente, an instructor at Penquis Valley High School in Milo, has been named to receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching.

The award carries with it an expense-paid trip for Valente and his wife, Janet, to Washington, D.C., during the week of Oct. 15.

While in Washington, Valente will attend an awards ceremony with winners from other states, a major reception and several short conferences and workshops that will give him time to share experiences and to gain from the knowledge and experiences of others.

The award carries with it a grant of $7,500 from the National Science Foundation to the school where Valente teaches. The funds are to be spent under Valente’s direction over the next two years “to supplement but not replace other resources used for improving the science and mathematics program,” according to NSF officials.

The Presidential Awards program is managed by the Special Projects Division of the National Science Teachers Association, under contract to the NSF.

Valente is a 1962 graduate of the University of Maine, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and his master’s degree in 1964.

His teaching experiences include 1961-1964, teaching assistant at the chemistry department at the University of Maine; 1964-1968 at Milo High School; and since 1968, he has taught at Penquis Valley High School.

He is a member of the Maine Science Teachers Association, National Science Teachers Association, New England Association of Chemistry Teachers, the Maine Teachers’ Association and the National Education Association.

His publications include a 1966 article in the Journal of Organic Chemistry and Science Experiments on File.

He is a member of the Charter Commission for Milo, the Milo Industrial Commission, and is an active member of the Park Street United Methodist Church.

Valente is married to the former Janet Susi of Pittsfield. The couple have two children, Stephanie, a student at Eastern Maine Technical College in Bangor, and Mary, a junior at Penquis Valley.