This article was originally published in an Oracle print issue in May of 2023.
Within the past month, administration has announced several changes to the Oracle for the upcoming school year. These changes include removing our Introduction to Journalism course, replacing our current advisor, and putting our publication on the path to becoming a Career Technical Education course centered around Manufacturing and Product Design.
The Oracle has been around for over 24 years in its current structure. We believe these sudden changes are happening at an unnecessarily fast pace, without ample time to create a thought-out plan for the CTE course and Oracle as a whole.
As a student-run publication, our leadership begins planning for the upcoming year months in advance. We were informed of our adviser’s reassignment and the Publication Design pathway that is set to replace Intro to Journalism less than two months before school is set to end. This — paired with the unclear plans — has left our editors confused and unsure of what to do, and how to prepare. The little that we understand about the plan has been acquired through our own investigations. This should not be the case.
The Oracle recognizes that administrators must make difficult decisions in regard to courses and have the authority to do so. However, because the Oracle is a student-run class, it is integral for student journalists to be a part of the decision-making process.
The Oracle wants to work with administration and the district to maintain a thriving journalism program, and to receive regular consultation and communication, rather than being forced to adapt to predetermined changes.
To do this, we believe that administration should work with Oracle staff and advisers to develop a Production Design I curriculum that comprehensively teaches students the basics of literary journalism.
In other words, while the Publication Design I class will create Yearbook as its final product, the class must also prepare them to join the Oracle and have opportunities to interact and work with the Oracle production class in a way similar to our current structure. Currently, the Intro to Journalism class joins us as writers every other cycle. A cycle is approximately six weeks, the amount of time it takes to create a print issue of the Oracle.
Furthermore, we call on administration to ensure the success of our program by publicizing the CTE pathway. Intro to Journalism has been a class at MVHS for many years. A lack of communication and publicization paired with this sudden change concerns us because students who may be interested in joining the journalism program, may not know how to proceed in this unprecedented territory.
If potential journalism students are not informed of how to join the program, the flow of students will stop and journalism at MVHS will eventually collapse.
Students signed up for Intro to Journalism initially only received an email from administration informing them that the class would not be an option next year, and that if they would like to pick another elective, to contact Assistant Principal Heather Morelli. There was no mention of the Publication Design pathway.
According to Superintendent Dr. Nellie Meyer, families have since received individual calls from Morelli with comprehensive information about the new CTE pathway. While this is a step in the right direction, we believe more can — and should — be done to support the journalism program.
In addition to being included in discussions surrounding the journalism curriculum, student journalists should also be included in conversations about changes in Oracle advisers in the future.
Current Drama teacher Pancho Morris was assigned to be Oracle adviser with personal doubts about his lack of experience in journalism, according to the article from the Mountain View Voice.
When the role was up for grabs after past adviser Amy Beare retired from the position, a team of students was created to evaluate possible candidates to become the new adviser. This process not only ensured that our adviser was someone who would love and care about Oracle, but also one that students in the Oracle believed would be beneficial to the program.
A stable adviser and ensuring the flow of staff are essential to the success of the Oracle.
It is not too late for the administration to work with the Oracle staff to preserve the well-being of our publication, and allow it to flourish. Protect student journalism.
