I received a letter today from a student at Cooper City High School in Florida. She is in a Computer class that prepares students for college. She wants to know about this school, Analy. What classes do I teach? What activities Analy offers? electives, college credit, dual enrollment, standardized tests?
Dear Angela,
I hardly know where to begin. I have taught at least two computer skills classes at Analy High School since I began teaching here about ten years ago. My class consisted of one semester of projects relating to learning Microsoft Office. I assume that many of them were similar to the projects in the class that you are taking now. In the second semester I taught a variety of programs that helped students learn web page building, including Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash.
I use the past tense because this year the Computer Skills program was dropped, not for lack of interest but because of lack of funding. California has been going though major budget cuts and it is affecting the schools severely. Unfortunately for the next several years it looks like more of the same with a projected cut of 17 billion dollars more in k-12 through community college funding next year. The sources of the problem are many. But our governor and legislature bear a large percentage of the blame. Also it appears that tax payers are not willing to pay for an educational system that used to be the envy of the world until 1978. I will end my grandstanding and try to answer the rest of your questions.
Analy High School is located about 60 miles north of San Francisco, in Sonoma County, a place known for the best wines in the United States, along with our neighbor Napa County. Our town Sebastopol has about 7000 inhabitants, it is one of the more wealthy communities in the area and gives great support to the arts. We have several art galleries and a theater in this small town. Analy has about 1300 students. We have a small agriculture program and an active FFA. Our arts program is superior to most of the others in the area: an excellent school band, school ochestra, regular school theater and excellent art teachers. Our funds for the arts are supplemented by school bond. Some of our students take college classes at nearby Santa Rosa Junior College. Our school ranks high in academic standing.
Our students must take a number of state tests. There is the STAR test for all students which helps ranks the schools in terms of academic standards. Up until this year all Seniors had to pass a high school exit exam, but the state dropped this requirement due to budget cuts. There are also the usual array of Advanced Placement Exams.
My credentials are in English, Social Studies and Art. I also have a Masters in Education with a specialty in Educational Technology. I have been teaching for 22 years and ten of those years in this district. Having all these credentials has made my teaching career varied but difficult. One year I will teach Freshman English, the next World History, the next Junior English and so on. This year I teach two Freshman English classes, two Sophomore English classes and one Sophomore World History class. My hobbies are playing guitar and several other instruments as well as singing. Also I do some classical painting sometimes in the summers. Like you I love to travel and was lucky enough last summer to go to Russia, Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
You asked about colleges. The University of California systems has some of the top schools in the world, equivalent to the Eastern Ivy League schools. Also there is a large system of state schools with many varied programs. Our community colleges are also excellent but all the state funded schools are suffering from the severe budget cuts in the state. There are too many private schools to name, but you must know of Stanford University, one of the top schools in the United States.
Feel free to write anytime. I am happy to answer your questions.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Lynch
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