Choir Delivers First Virtual Performance of the Year

By Isabella Callow, Mariam Gohar, and Zoe O’Hara

As distance learning continues, so do the choir performances. Despite obvious challenges, choir students worked hard to produce their first virtual concert on October 22.

The show was pre-recorded and easily accessible for the Albany community on YouTube at Albany Vocal Music. The full livestream is still available online and the individual pieces can be found on the same YouTube channel. Since the show was virtual, it was free, but the performance also raised money through donations for the music program.

Senior Chloe Park, member of the Choir Council, reported that students participate in “both virtual rehearsals and small-group in person ones (masks on and social distance of course).”

For virtual practices, “Ms. Stocker will have us sing and record the part of a song we learned in that class,” Park said. “Then, by the next class, she compiles it altogether and plays it for us while we sing, so we have something to sing along to.”

“On my end of the call, it really does feel like a regular choir rehearsal because you can see and hear,” Park said. “It's really amazing when you think about all the work Ms. Stocker has put into making sure our experience stays consistent for us.”

Choir instructor Mary Stocker ended the night with praise for the choir members.

“It has been so amazing and fantastic to see so much spirit and energy and engagement from every single student,” she said.

Albany Groups Advocate for Proposition 15

By Sereene Chaman, Cat Collins, Emma Loenicker, and Lucille Marten

Albany’s Young Democratic Socialists of America and Albany Teachers Association are among many groups advocating for Proposition 15, an initiative that would change the tax system that Proposition 13 implemented, to be decided on November 3rd. If Prop 15 passes, public schools like Albany High would benefit from the substantial increase in funding.

Prop 15 would increase taxes on properties worth over three million dollars and use that money to increase funding for K-12 public schools, community colleges, and local governments. It would also exempt small businesses from the personal property tax. Opponents of Prop 15 include the California Chamber of Commerce, California Retailers Association, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and the California NAACP.

Student advocates believe the proposition will have positive consequences.

“Prop 15 has a very widespread impact; everyone from teachers to social workers to nurses will benefit,” said Ben Gripman, a YDSA member. “Prop 15 would reclaim billions [of dollars] in tax revenue which would be reinvested into schools, public works projects and community service.”

Local organizations such as Albany Teachers Association and YDSA are busy campaigning for Prop 15. The YDSA chapter at AHS, @ydsa.albany on Instagram, has been vocal in their support via social media, where they created a hashtag: #Albfor15. Participants were asked to take a photo wearing red and post it with a second photo of more information on the proposition.

Social science teacher Chris Knight, in his role as co-president of the teacher’s union, also endorsed the tenets of Prop 15 out of “concern as a citizen for badly needed public services.”

Mr. Knight said that social science teacher Miriam Walden, ATA’s political action chair whose pedigree includes 20 years as a community organizer, was the one to introduce him to the merits of this issue.

Ms. Walden has always been an outspoken advocate against the tax system created by Proposition 13.

“Big corporations and trusts that own commercial properties can use Prop 13 to avoid property tax increases,” Ms. Walden said.

Senior Dahlia Wilson, a YDSA member, described Prop 15 as an opportunity to fix financial problems in California schools.

“California has been robbed of billions of dollars a year for schools and social services by a tax system that favors the ultra-wealthy. Prop 15 is our chance to change that,” Wilson said. “I fight for Prop 15 because I don’t want to see schools a decade from now still struggling with oversized classes, high teacher turnover, and even more budget cuts.”

Veteran Teachers Join Albany High School’s Administration

By Maya Caparaz, Kunsel Kalsang, and Amelia Marks

Principal Darren McNally and Assistant Principal Michelle Lau-Seim are two of the newest administrative hires at Albany High School.

Mr. McNally was appointed to the position on May 1, shortly after the emergency transition to virtual school in March. Mr. McNally is a familiar face around the campus. He had worked at AHS as a science teacher, served as MacGregor’s principal, and worked alongside former AHS principal Alexia Ritchie as assistant principal.

“Pretty much my whole time as principal has been with remote learning,” Mr. McNally said. “These are definitely not the circumstances I would want to become principal in, but I’m really excited to have this opportunity and I’m really humbled by the trust put in me by the superintendent and the school board. I really hope to make some positive changes to the school.”

Mr. McNally plans to use his experience at MacGregor and summer school with students struggling academically to support underserved students holistically, after he finishes setting up the complicated administrative systems that allow remote learning to operate smoothly.

Ms. Lau-Seim was assigned her position as an assistant principal of Albany High School over the summer, less than a year after she took on the now terminated position of assistant principal at Ocean View Elementary School. Before working at Ocean View, she taught in the Social Science Department at Albany High School for 17 years.

“I am currently working with tenth and twelfth grade student services,” Ms. Lau-Seim said. “Since Assistant Principal Mr. Pratt and the athletic director, Mr. Tresler, are no longer here, we are currently trying to fill those positions. I am also working with 11th graders as well as filling in for athletic needs.”

Ms. Lau-Seim hopes to make a positive impact in the Albany High community as assistant principal.

“I became an administrator to be a leader at Albany High and work with students, teachers, and the community to find ways I can support them,” Ms. Lau-Seim said. “[I] hope that I can use my experience in the administration role to connect the various groups and individuals to the school.”

Administrative staff have been working hard to carry AHS into the future.

“The whole school district, starting at the top with the district office, has definitely been thinking about how to do a lot more work around equity,” Mr. McNally said. “And I’d like to see us also doing a lot more work at the site level, as well.”

“I can tell you, this was the busiest July I’ve ever spent working in education.”

Leadership Students Organize Virtual Club Rush

By Wendy Chen, Leila Ghuloum, Isabel Hall, Caitlin Watt

To encourage students’ continued engagement in clubs during remote learning, Albany High School’s student leadership organized an online version of the annual Club Rush from October 5 to October 9. Unfortunately, the new format caused a decrease in sign ups for some clubs.

In previous years many students enjoyed the high-energy atmosphere of Club Rush, an event that happens during the first few weeks of school. Clubs set up tables with signs and free food, and students had the chance to walk around, sign up for a wide variety of groups, and meet new people.

During the 2019 Club Rush, students were able to explore numerous clubs at the front of the school, enjoy free food, and sign up for club activities. Photos by Wendy Chen.

This year, due to remote learning, students read about different clubs on a Google document and signed up via Google form. Club leaders saw fewer sign-ups this year than in the past.

According to junior Jared Nakahara, president of the Asian Students Union, “Remote learning has cut down approximately 50 percent of the sign ups we would usually get from normal Club Rush.”

Junior Emma Li, president of Photography Club, agreed, “Remote learning has definitely decreased the number of students who signed up for our club.”

Senior Zoe Ou, vice president of the Albany Student Board, discussed one reason for this decline in sign-ups.

“Publicity opportunities are obviously not quite the same without being at campus,” Ou said.“This year, it's been hard to integrate that ‘hype’ factor that would draw many students.”

Another challenge club leaders face is finding activities that can happen in an online format.

“Over Zoom, it's easiest to create presentations and have discussions on them, so for now, that's our plan,” said senior Hannah Jaffe, president of Feminist Club.

Many club leaders are also planning to focus on community building during this isolating time.

Senior Sophia Del Priore, Albany Student Board Secretary/Treasurer and co-president of BuildOn, said, “club leaders are being more deliberate with adding times during meetings just for community building and fun, like playing an online game.”

Ou expressed how students previously involved in clubs have been eager to continue their meetings over Zoom.

“There are still multiple clubs of various "categories," including the arts and sciences, social justice, and identity, so I would say that club variety is still present this year,” Ou said.

“In general, I feel that returning students, who have already experienced clubs in person, are very motivated to continue clubs because they provide an opportunity to socialize with fellow students during this particularly isolating time.”

Ou also mentioned that club leaders are trying different ways to let more students receive information about clubs.

“Some of the ways we've done that include asking IHS teachers to set aside time for freshmen to browse through the clubs, sending school-wide emails about it, and asking the class presidents to communicate regarding Club Rush to their class specifically,” Ou said. Obviously, without the school atmosphere, we can't reach everybody, but this is how we hope to keep clubs active during remote learning.”

“This year is going to require a lot of creativity and persistence from both club leaders and members,” Del Priore said, “but I think everyone is up to the task and wants to make sure the strong role clubs play in student life continues.”

School Librarian Provides Online Resources for Students

By Giulia Del Priore, Elizabeth Gesinger, and Julie Hansen

The shelves, study spaces, and relaxing areas of Albany High School’s library remain closed during virtual learning, but many of its resources have moved online.

School librarian Mary Ann Scheuer created four Google Classrooms individualized for each grade level to accommodate virtual learning, full of important resources.This new system allows students to quickly log on and view current information.

There is a new COVID-19 safe checkout process for library books. Students search through the online catalog or the library’s profile on Goodreads to select their books. They then fill out and submit a request form and pick their selections up at the AHS library on Fridays between 9 and 4 P.M.

“Students may not browse the shelves or study in the library,” Ms. Scheuer said. During Friday’s pick-up times, “students wear masks and practice social distancing.”

Resources for the book checkout process can be found on the library Google Classrooms and on the library page of the AHS website.

The classrooms also serve as a bulletin board for AHS news, with posts from student leadership about activities like Club Rush and other current events.

If students are experiencing technical issues, Ms.Scheuer created an AHS tech support guide that helps students to sign into AUSD Zoom classes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 - 11 A.M., she hosts library office hours dedicated to helping students with tech problems.

According to Ms. Scheuer, the Google Classrooms have been successful.

“About 80 percent of each grade level has joined,” she said. “Student leadership finds the Google Classroom to be very helpful as a way to share information.”

AUSD Coordinates Tech Resource Distribution for Remote Learning

By Myroslava Fisun, Nat James, Tatiana Lira

Due to the shelter-in-place order resulting from COVID-19, Albany Unified School District students who had previously relied on in-person learning abruptly lost access to both human and technological school resources. However, tech distribution efforts by Albany High School staff have helped many students receive the technology they need during this pandemic.

With school now fully online and all instruction taking place remotely, the need for technology has skyrocketed. Some families discovered that their single home computer now needed to be shared among multiple family members, creating an untenable situation: Required synchronous learning as well as electronic textbooks and web-based homework assignments meant that students needed full-time access to both computers and reliable internet.

This created an urgent dilemma: what can be done for students who do not have sufficient—or any—access to the technology they need to learn from home?

In August, once the decision to continue with remote learning in the fall had been made, AUSD superintendent Frank Wells sent out an email outlining the revised plan for remote learning and reassuring worried families that the district would “ensure all students have consistent access to a Chromebook and internet” through the provision of WiFi hotspots and school-owned laptops.

So far, according to a report from AHS Principal Darren McNally, AHS has distributed approximately 230 Chromebooks. McNally also adds that the check-out process for Chromebooks has not changed much since in-person learning.

AHS staff “intentionally made the process as much like checking out a library book as we could, to make it easier for students,” McNally said.

Much like the Google form students could fill out to request to pick up a book from the library, a Google form has been made for school-owned Chromebook requests as well.

AUSD does not charge fees to students for any of the technology. The district is allowing students to use these computers and WiFi hotspots as long as they need them to access class and complete schoolwork, which means as long as AUSD offers any type of remote learning.

While there remain concerns about adequate access, especially for Albany’s most vulnerable families, these steps help ensure that more students have access to remote learning, an important step towards equity in education during one of the district’s most challenging times.

This Year's Edition of the Cougar News Magazine is out now!

Under the leadership of editor-in-chief Sasha Goldman, The Cougar staff has worked hard to produce stories for this year's senior magazine. We also invited art and photography students to submit their work for publication.

When you open the file with Gmail preview, it will appear as single pages instead of a two-page spread. We recommend downloading and opening with Adobe Reader or Acrobat or to view the magazine spreads.

California Requires Later Start Times as Albany Considers Changes to District Calendar

By Wendy Chen and Isabel Hall

California will be the first state in the country to require later school start times after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring middle schools to start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m beginning in the 2022-23 school year.

According to experts, starting school too early has profound negative effects on students’ health and wellness. If schools push back their start times, experts suggest that students will improve their sleep quality, which may help them learn more efficiently and earn better grades. However, there is also a possibility that students will stay up later when the start time is pushed back.

Some AHS students expressed concern about the change.

“If start times are later, then school is going to go later, which means people are going to spend more time on homework later in the night, which means they’re just waking up later and going to sleep later.” sophomore Lindsey Horisaid. “It doesn’t do anything really--unless they figure out a good way to organize the periods so that school ends at the same time.”

A 2018 Albany High wellness survey shows that 37 percent of students slept less than seven hours a night. This is a concern for students’ mental health. Data from the AHS school board showed that 294 students logged 2869 visits to the mental health facility at AHS in the 2017-18 school year, and out of 302 student visitors last year, 27 had suicidal ideation issues. This could be due to the lack of sleep, according to research showing that teens who sleep longer are healthier and less prone to depression.

The American Association of Pediatrics has supported later start times for years, stating that schools should begin at 8:30 a.m. or later, and teens should get at least 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on a regular basis. California had not done much to address this until the bill was passed.

President of Albany’s Board of Education, Kim Trutane, strongly supports the statewide change.

“I think it was actually very brave of the governor to make the decision to go ahead and sign this bill on the basis of the science,” Trutane said, “because it’s valuing students’ health over all of the difficult logistics that are going to be necessary to make the change.”

Trutane is aware of the later shift for afterschool activities and is confident that by the time fall of 2022 comes around, the district as well as neighboring school districts will be prepared.

Newsom’s primary reason for this change is to increase the amount of sleep teenagers get on weekday nights, but there are multiple arguments still opposing this schedule change, having to do with the community's adjustments to a different afterschool time frame.

Many school boards disagree with the change because extracurricular activities will have to be shifted back and schools that use a bus system as a primary source of transportation may have to adjust their schedules. Also, parents who usually drop their children off at school may have difficulty getting to work on time. Oakland Unified School District opposes the bill, explaining that it is the individual school board’s job to decide what start times work best for them.

Besides changing start times, Trutane also mentioned that the Albany district is considering other changes to improve the working schedule of students. Depending on the recommendations of a district task force and community input, finals week may be moved before the winter break.

“This year we have an academic calendar task force that was told to develop three innovative calendars for the district,” Trutane said, “This is the first time that we’ve had a task force that has student reps and teachers and administrators and parents all on it to try to figure out what’s best for students.”

Wellness Activities Aim to Support Students Before Finals Week

By Jetsun Jungney and Melia Oliver

This year there will be no “dead week” at Albany High. Instead, the week before finals will be called “wellness week,” with three days of planned events January 15-17. With this change, organizers hope to decrease stress culture and improve the overall health of students.

According to a New York Universitystudy, 49 percent of students at high-performing high schools reported feeling a great deal of stress on a daily basis. In addition, 26 percent of students reported symptoms of clinical depression. This level of stress goes on throughout the year.

Each day of wellness week will have a different theme: physical health, mental health, and community health. According to MacGregor High School counselor Diane Peterson, one of the planners behind wellness week, organizers hope to create an atmosphere of education, healing, and collaboration during the week before finals.

“We might have some dress up days, some games, just fun [to show that] we're in this together instead of we’re in this against each other,” Ms. Peterson said.

Leadership advisor Hannah Edber said, “We want students to feel like while school may be a source of stress, it can also be a source of comradery, solidarity, [and] comfort.” She also said that organizers “would love feedback or ideas that people have” to improve the week’s events in the future.

Peterson said that planners have several goals for wellness week.

“[We want] to acknowledge that school is really stressful for kids here, to give kids some tools to deal with stress, but also to remind people that you're not alone in your stress [...] and there are ways we can support each other.”

Seniors Visit District Court for Real World Learning

By Emily Bohr and Sasha Goldman

In response to civic engagement outreach programs, social science teacher Chris Knight’s US Government class attended multiple Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sessions on October 22.

“I want my students to sense that democracy is wide open--it’s theirs. This courthouse is a public facility, and it is our right as citizens to come and watch this happen,” Mr. Knight said. “I wanted them to know that it is a tremendous gift to have this right and to have your voice be heard.”

The field trip is one way that Mr. Knight brings students directly to real life examples of his curriculum. His students have also attended school board meetings with budget proposals for the district.

“In classrooms, you get certain skills--how to analyze information, how to research things, how to present information--but you do not get the skill of walking into a room of elected people and speaking your mind. That is a different skill, and I want my students to have that skill so they will be civically engaged.”

Knight’s students agree about the importance of real world learning.

“If you're just going to read about it, you can envision it in a lot of different ways,” senior Miles Williams said, “but if you can see it in real life, you can see the different sides interacting and hear the questions the judge is asking.”

Mr. Knight’s students also spoke with law clerks and asked questions of a panel of court judges.

“There was this great discussion going on between these federal judges and the students of Albany High School,” Mr. Knight said. “One [student] asked ‘do you think lifetime tenure for judges is still a good idea?’”

Many of Mr. Knight’s students asked critical questions during the panel.

“The question part was my favorite,” Williams said. “I asked what criticisms of the justice system do you have, and they talked about how sometimes when they have a judge above them, they have to listen to that judge and they don't like how the status works. I could tell they had different views, but in general they were respectful. Getting to ask questions and getting to see how they thought about the positions they were in and how they interact made it easier to talk to judges and get used to that environment.”