Cell phone rules? Freshman teams? Chopping existing classes? Over the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion about changes being considered that would dramatically alter the Analy experience. However, in the midst of that, there are a lot of rumors and speculation going around. So, I sat down with Analy Principal Chuck Wade and Superintendent Chris Meredith to find out what is actually under scrutiny.
Starting with something new designed to improve the experience for next year’s freshman: introducing the new 9th Grade Success Teams, a collaborative effort across subjects to improve the freshman learning experience. Wade explains that freshman year is the “make or break year,” meaning in many cases, how students perform in their first year of high school has huge ramifications for the three years after and even beyond. So, Analy is working to give extra support to 9th graders, hoping to get new students to be as successful as possible.
Meredith describes it as an “onboarding experience” that would revolve around “high level collaboration” between teachers. Effectively, Math 1, English 9, and Freshman Biology teachers will be working together to align the classroom procedures and structure so it bridges the gap between subjects. Various processes like how assignments are turned in or how group work is conducted will be the same in each of the classrooms within each of the 9th grade teams. The ultimate goal: to prepare students who are coming to Analy from many different schools and experiences to be successful in the rest of high school and their lives.
Building off of that, Wade and Meredith hope for more interdepartmental collaboration between teachers in the future. As Wade says, currently their goal is to “make it possible” for teachers of different subjects to align curriculum or classroom procedures. Next year, with the 9th Grade Success Teams, teachers that teach freshmen classes will get to work on this, but Wade and Meredith hope this can be expanded beyond 9th grade in the future. They want to build community, and connect students and teachers no matter what classes they are in.
Continuing with the theme of community, Wade and Meredith are concerned with how often cell phones are used during instructional time. Smartphones have become ubiquitous on the campus, being used at all hours of the day. At its current state, the school is at the minimum regulation of phones as required by California law. Meredith and Wade, along with other administrators and teachers, are proposing the idea of increasing the regulation to better serve students and abide by law. Wade explains that he “finds it really concerning” and wants to make a “safe space for all – students and teachers alike”. Meredith adds on to this, stating that one of his priorities is to build “more of a community” while also giving the “best service to our students”. In January, Wade, along with other principals and teachers, presented the school board with a plan to ban cell phones during the entire school day, including at break and lunch. Depending on the feedback they receive from families, teachers, board members and other stake holders, these rules may be implemented next year.
An additional concern articulated by students and parents is the shift from Advanced Placement (AP) classes to Career Technical Education (CTE) classes. Many AP students have told me they feel that the AP classes are getting less attention than they used to, with more energy being devoted to CTE and other classes. However, Meredith and Wade see it differently. Meredith says classes are determined by student interest, reminding us “It’s not a battle of the two”, meaning that CTE and AP are not competing with each other. Wade adds on to that, noting that there has been “increases in AP offerings and scores” since he’s been at the school.
As we head further into the 2025-26 school year, the administrators here are already thinking about next year. Stay tuned to updates from the school if you are interested in anything that may be changing in 2027. Although there are still a lot of decisions left to make, Wade and Meredith are actively working to make next year better than before.
