See inside: BRIGHTENING CAMPUS pg 5 | PEDAL TO THE METAL pg 10 | LANA DEL REY REVIEW pg 12
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Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 · Volume 60 · Issue 7 · May 5, 2023
Students in Chinese 3 make lanterns to celebrate Lunar New Year. Chinese 3 will be phased out in the 2026-27 school year due to declining enrollment. (Photos by David Lin)
District to reduce language offerings By Erin Loh and Nicole Kim In response to declining enrollment, the district plans to discontinue one language option at each FUHSD site, according to an email from FUHSD on April 14. At HHS, based on district recommendation, Chinese will begin phasing out in the 2024-25 school year. However, at the board meeting on April 28, Board of Trustee Stanley Kou said the plan to discontinue Chinese is not final, and the district is still taking community input. Discontinued languages will be phased out over the course of four school years, according to the same email. Level 1 courses will be the first to no longer be offered, followed by levels 2 through AP in each subsequent year. All students currently enrolled in language classes will be able to finish their learning paths, including students who start their language paths at feeder middle schools, according to the email. “We are having declining enrollment, so over the next five years, that would be 2,000 students [lost],” Superintendent Graham Clark said in a phone interview. “We offer four languages at all five schools at five levels. If you multiply it out, that’s 20 different courses per school. In the long run, that’s not sustainable.” When deciding which language to discontinue at each school site, Clark said the district took into account a variety of factors, including how many students sign up for that particular language, how many sections of that language are offered and which courses are overstaffed. Overstaffed courses
are those that do not meet the required 32:1 student-to-teacher ratio, Clark said. Teachers whose programs are discontinued will be transferred to a different site, Clark said. Furthermore, Clark said FUHSD’s four language offerings present more options for students than they would have at many other similarly-sized school districts. Incoming students who hope to pursue a language not offered at their school site may be able to transfer to a different site or earn language credits at community college; however, details for such pathways have not yet been finalized. “If we had the same amount of students who want to take the same amount of courses, it’d be easy,” Clark said. “People generally love the school that they work at, and the idea of moving to another school is emotionally rough on teachers. We try to avoid it at all costs.” Chinese teacher Vivian Ju said over the years, Chinese has shared the lowest enrollment with another language program at HHS, meaning Chinese should not be discontinued on the basis of low enrollment. In addition, Ju said the Chinese program has maintained a steady enrollment of around 214 students over the past several years without having issues of overstaffing. “Numbers speak volumes,” Ju said. “The fact that our numbers have been consistent over the last five years means that we can sustain ourselves. In my opinion, closing a program that is thriving and desired by the community is not the best service to the community.”
Ju, who has been teaching at HHS for around 10 years, said she was shocked when the district told her that the Chinese program would be phased out. While Ju said she acknowledges the difficulty of the district’s decision, she wishes the district had discussed this with teachers beforehand. Teachers are represented at the district by the Fremont Education Association, which is led by union president Jason Heskett. Heskett said he has been meeting with language teachers to discuss their concerns, then poses those concerns to the district. “The district can determine that they want to cut a program, and we [teachers] have very little power,” Heskett said. “It specifically says that in the contract. When something like this is announced, it’s [the union’s] job to talk to the teacher — ‘What are our next steps?’ ‘What are our next options?’” Ju said she is grateful to those advocating for the Chinese program, especially the world language teachers and department lead Muriel Von Stein. Still, Ju said hearing the news has taken an emotional toll on her. “I have to say I cried, but in front of the students, I had to act normal,” Ju said. “It was a lonely journey. Every day in the classroom, I had to force myself not to break down into tears while looking at all the lovely decorations Ms. Bai and I have put up over the years.” Heskett said the reality of declining enrollment is difficult for the union because there seems to be few alternative solutions to reducing courses.
Roy Rocklin: ‘We will miss him’
“It’s something that puts the association in the worst place, because we really don’t have any negotiating power over this,” Heskett said. “I think our world language
teachers feel a little bit helpless. They’re losing their programs, and it’s emotional for them.”
See Languages, Page 2
Vivian Ju helps students with vocabulary. Ju said rather than just a job, teaching is her passion. (Photo by David Lin)
Clothing ban prohibits ‘Cookies’ on campus By Nicole Pimenta Innecco and Lindsey Steel Administration enacted a ban on the clothing brand “Cookies” due to the brand’s increasing presence on campus, according to an email sent by dean Maria Trejo on March 28. Students wearing “Cookies” items on campus will receive disciplinary action, principal Greg Giglio said. “I think people are pretty aware that [the brand] is directly related to marijuana and marijuana dispensaries, so just like Budweiser or Coors or Marlboro, that kind of
stuff is not allowed,” Giglio said. “We don’t want to allow people to wear stuff that promotes drugs and alcohol.” In fact, according to the Cookies website, founder Gilbert Milam said he hoped to “create something unique that would help bridge the gap between streetwear, urban lifestyle, marijuana, hip-hop music and a multi-cultural society.” After issuing multiple warnings to students throughout the semester for wearing the brand, Trejo said increased intervention was necessary.
See ‘CookieS,’ Page 2
FUHSD staff reflect on board member’s contributions By Nicole Pimenta Innecco Throughout his time working at the district, Board member Roy Rocklin was an inspiration, board clerk Jeff Moe said. Rocklin passed away on March 19 at 69 years old due to skin cancer, and continued to work even during his last days at the hospital, Moe said. After pursuing higher education and a career in analytical chemistry, Rocklin taught physics and chemistry at Lynbrook High School for 10 years
before being elected to the Board of Trustees. Director of leadership development Josh Maisel said he met Rocklin in 2008 when they were both teachers at LHS. Maisel said Rocklin was an engaged member of the community, and unafraid to speak his mind as a board member. Rocklin was also interested in supporting students’ educational endeavors, and was heavily involved in the district’s AVID program, Maisel said.
See Rocklin tribute, Page 2
Solorio said she had received detention in previous years for wearing a “Cookies” sweatshirt. (Photo by Nicole Pimenta Innecco) PAGE DESIGN BY DAVID LIN AND EVELYN WANG