Lukas Weber, Tetsuo Israels, Annika Cornwell, Tannistha Baral, Saira Sankar
Albany High School has welcomed several new teachers this year, bringing experience from different schools and careers.
Cristiana Franzetti is the new choir teacher at Albany High School, leading choir classes and clubs across all grades, including middle schoolers.
Franzetti grew up in Orange County and has been teaching at schools across California for the past thirteen years; she moved to the Bay Area just a few weeks ago. Teaching wasn’t always her plan; she initially pursued performance, then later found her passion for teaching after running a camp for high school students. Franzetti says, “I realized that I really loved showing people the passion for music and seeing them grow and flourish, and that was more important to me than performing.”
When asked about what stands out to her about Albany High School so far, Franzetti says, “The students are really passionate, and they really love the choir program. They’re very dedicated and want to continue their growth, which I think is very special.”
Bridget Miller is a new elective teacher at Albany High School who brings more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare field to her Emergency Medical Services (EMS) class. She teaches sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Miller says, “A lot of teachers who teach medical programs have not actually been in the healthcare field. So they can only give you the book. I can give you real-life experiences.”
She continues, “I’ve actually done all the stuff that I’m actually talking about to my students. I’m telling you exactly what I did to do it because I’ve done it already. I’ve lived it, done it.”
Miller says she came to Albany after seeing a need for the EMS academy. She also explained how the school feels like “more of a family- based kind of environment.” She adds, “It seems like we’re all working together for one goal, which is the students.”
Maya Brodkey has joined Albany High School after teaching in Oakland and Humboldt County. She brings her love for teaching to Albany High School as an English 1 and English 2 teacher. Brodkey has had a lot of experience in teaching. She has been an instructor for more than 10 years.
Brodkey says she enjoys teaching because of her love for her students. She says, “I like how creative students are. It’s really fun to get to teach and be around people who are thinking really creatively and are sometimes really weird.”
Brodkey says she was impressed by Albany High School during her interview. She says, “Going into the interview, I was like, oh, these people care about teaching and care about building a strong school community. And that’s been true in the couple of weeks that I’ve been here.”
Ryan Soe has joined Albany High School after teaching for six years at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley. Soe says he wanted to try out teaching at the high school level after teaching middle school for so many years.
Soe teaches freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in biology and chemistry. When asked what brought him to AHS, Soe says, “I heard good things from the teachers here; mainly that’s what drew me.”
One of Soe’s favorite things about teaching is seeing students learn new things. He says, “I just like seeing students realize something new, and seeing that appreciation, and seeing them understand how science relates to their lives around them”
