“Everybody Teaches, Everybody Learns”

The Communications Academy (ComAcad) at Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, CA is a two-year program for Juniors and Seniors which provides an opportunity for motivated students to combine their academic and artistic interests in an integrated, project-based program. A rigorous curriculum in Social Studies and English provides the core content, which is explored thematically.

Advanced-level arts instruction includes drama, digital video production and digital audio production. These artistic and technological craft areas are used as communications tools to create public presentations each quarter. In addition, students gain real-world skills using industry standard equipment.

First and foremost, ComAcad is about learning. Students must take responsibility for their education and seriously pursue a variety of personal and intellectual skills. Peer teaching is a key element of the program. Seniors are expected to pass their knowledge and skills to incoming juniors. One of the mottoes of ComAcad is, “Everybody Teaches, Everybody Learns”.

While quarterly exhibitions do shape the program, ComAcad is committed to a “learning cycle” that puts great emphasis on study, planning, performing, evaluating, and conserving. Being part of the ComAcad learning community takes a special commitment. Since only three of the four periods are offered during the school day, students are expected to regularly spend time after school working with staff , attending workshops, rehearsing, producing, and editing projects.

Mission Statement

The Communications Academy seeks to build a community of self-directed learners…

…who specialize in communication, collaboration, and creative problem solving…

…and demonstrate learning through integrated media performance-based exhibitions.

Like the other Academies at Drake — junior-senior academies Engineering and SeaDisc (Environmental Studies), and freshman-sophomore academies Mobius and ROCK — ComAcad is part of the Drake Integrated Studies Curriculum (DISC), which is coordinated by Jolie Jacobs. (Past coordinators have included Patty Vance, Misty Shore and Carolyn Shearer.)

Past staff members have included: co-founder Steve Kuever (Video Production), co-founder Michelle Swanson (Social Studies), Theron Cosgrave (Social Studies), Lisa Chipkin (Drama), Kyle Burrows (Video Assistant), Becky Hausamann (English, Drama), Kevin Kline (English), Eva Frank (Social Studies), Peter Parish (Stage Productions), and Jonah Tabb (Video Assistant).

ComAcad is generously funded by the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) and the Drake Fund