Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/635847
"He's taking a risk by teaching," Wojcicki says of Franco. "But he's always wanted to do things that aren't traditional, because they are important to him." Credentialing's 2002 Teacher of the Year. A former writer for the Los Angeles Times and other publications, she has run the school's journalism program since 1984, taking it from a tiny one-paper operation to one of the largest and best programs in the nation. Her recently published book, Moonshots in Education (with a forward by Franco), explores blended, project-based learning. With husband Stanley Wojcicki, former chair of Stanford University 's physics department, she raised three accomplished daughters: Anne is co-founder of 23andMe, a personal genetics company; Susan is CEO of YouTube; Janet is assistant professor of pediatrics at UC San Francisco. "Woji," as she is nicknamed, inspired Franco to teach in Palo Alto and at UCLA, which he attended for a year before dropping out to pursue acting. His teaching style is modeled on the way Wojcicki taught her journalism class when Franco worked at the school newspaper. "She ran her class in a style that was project-based, where students were the editors of the paper," recalls Franco with admira- tion. "We ran everything. After I went to college and then graduate school and began teaching, I made all my classes project-based. I treat my students like adults and give them the power to create. I 'm guiding them, rather than dictating or lecturing." When he first told Wojcicki he wanted to teach at his alma mater, she told him to get a teaching credential. Franco says he didn't have time to enroll in a teacher prep program and also make movies. So Wojcicki came up with a creative solution: She offered to be the teacher of record, which means she is responsi- ble for the procedural operations of the class, while he teaches. When the course was first announced on social media, more than 500 Palo Alto teens competed for 40 available slots, submit- ting essays on why they should be accepted. Those who didn't make it were allowed to enroll free in an online film course offered by Cinequest — a San Jose nonprofit that has partnered with the district's Paly Media Arts Booster program. "I'm learning a lot," says Sadie Fearon, a senior at Gunn High School. "He's obviously very thorough when he goes through our work, and he gives us very good advice." Eva Stoneburner, also a Gunn senior, says Franco's insights have influenced her to watch movies in a whole new light. Now she is looking beyond storyline to cinematography. "I was incredibly surprised to get into this program," says The cover of Metamor- phosis, the book by Betsy Franco. Media Teachers in the Headlines 28 cta.org