The Archie Williams Communications Academy (ComAcad) has been a popular program at Archie Williams since its inception in 1980, but in recent years its enrollment has drastically decreased. The ComAcad program strives to aid students in developing important film-making skills and furthering their communication skills within group settings, as well as creating a reliable community within Archie Williams. With a low turnout of new students following 2024 admissions, ComAcad finds itself uncertain how much longer the program can continue.

ComAcad offers English, social studies and digital communications classes and focuses on teaching students the basics of filmmaking. Students are able to create real-world products that they proudly display to a real audience multiple times throughout the year, showcasing projects to the community. The combination of the skills within the curriculum and hands-on experience supplies students with everything they need in order to thrive when it comes to filmmaking.

Archie Williams social studies teacher Francie Salle and English teacher Greg Doherty lead the upperclassmen academy, which welcomes both juniors and seniors. This year Doherty is teaching both English and Digital Communications, a course that focuses on teaching students the art of filmmaking. Every other year, ComAcad offers an AP English course.

ComAcad currently only contains seniors due to a lack of interest in the program from the class of 2026. In order for the program to continue, ComAcad will need to be able to draw enough of next year’s senior and junior classes in order to keep the program running. With an apparent lack of interest from rising seniors, ComAcad is hoping for a big group of rising juniors in order to keep the program alive.

Salle has been a part of ComAcad for 15 years and believes that ComAcad is an integral part of Archie Williams culture. Throughout her time in the program, Salle has noticed that the community is strong and supportive, creating a safe learning environment for all students.

“ComAcad has definitely made students more enthusiastic about learning, creating a safe place for every student. It’s been a place where a lot of kids feel like they don’t fit in with others and have been able to find their community,” Salle said

Salle believes that if ComAcad were to disappear, students interested in filmmaking would lose their opportunity to pursue it at Archie Williams, and the program’s strong sense of community would no longer be there for students who might need it.

“It would be a shame for [ComAcad] not to keep going because we serve a need. It’s a program that a lot of kids feel has changed their lives in high school, so I would hate for that resource to be taken away,” Salle said.

Doherty has been involved with the academy for over 20 years and also considers it invaluable, believing that it provides students with life skills that no other class at Archie Williams provides. Doherty worries that if the program comes to a close, students will lose opportunities to grow and make meaningful connections with others, which might make it hard for some students to be able to find a group of people that they fit in with. 

“ComAcad has been a community for a lot of people, and it has provided vocational skills for a lot of people. So as a community, it’s been a place where a lot of the most creative and artistic kids have found a place to really express their creativity. It’s been a place where a lot of the kids who haven’t been that enthusiastic about other aspects of school have found a love of learning,” Doherty said.

The decline in interest in ComAcad is not unique to Archie Williams. High schools across the country are also experiencing a downward trend in enthusiasm for the arts. The Teen Magazine highlights the favoritism colleges show towards students who are particularly invested in math and engineering. The magazine also indicates that colleges overlook students involved in the arts, compared to those who are dedicated to more academically inclined classes.

Archie Williams college counselor Kyle Kassebaum concurs that a part of the decrease in interest in ComAcad might stem from the rising emphasis on math and science classes. While he believes this may be a driving factor, Kassebaum also hopes to dispel the misconception that ComAcad is not difficult academically. 

“If you take ComAcad, you can still have an incredibly rigorous schedule with AP classes… AP U.S. History and AP Economics are the two [classes] that become a little more complicated to be able to take, but they are still doable,” Kassebaum said.

Kassebaum understands the pressure that students feel when trying to build their college resume, but he does not want students to overlook ComAcad when they are deciding the kinds of classes they want to pursue. When advising students, Kassebaum reminds them that the industry is always looking for actors, editors, and sound engineers, so students who want to follow that path can have as much success as others.

“The world needs people that are really good at acting and producing films. We also need good sound engineering, and I’ve had students come out of that program who have gone on to major in sound engineering in college. They have also gone on to do other things, sort of within the arts. And for those students that are really interested in design and film and whatever it is in the visual and performing arts, I think it’s a really good opportunity to get a portfolio put together,” Kassebaum said. 

Students in ComAcad develop filmmaking skills during their two years in the program and can maintain these skills for the rest of their lives. For many students in the program, though, the best part of ComAcad is not filmmaking, it is the community and the bond that they all share with each other.

Senior Ford Cocciolo is in their second year of the ComAcad program and was initially drawn to the program due to the close-knit community. Salle convinced them to sign up, saying they would be a great fit for the program. Ford believes that ComAcad is more family than a school program, with meaningful connections they hope to keep for the rest of their lives.

“My favorite part of the program is the people. I’ve gotten to know everyone really well, having classes with them three times a week. It’s just a very welcoming and friendly place. Everyone needs a place like this, where they feel like they belong,” Ford said.

Senior Ace Child appreciates all the skills she has learned over her two years at ComAcad. Ace believes these skills would prove to be useful if she wanted to pursue a career in filmmaking, adequately preparing her for life after graduation.

“[In ComAcad] you’ll be doing photography and filmmaking, which can get you a baseline on how to create film. You’ll get the technical skills and understand how to use a film camera. You’ll get the basics of filmmaking and then the opportunity to do so,” Ace said.

Ace has also learned task management, keeping on schedule and meeting deadlines, and other abilities that she will use for the rest of her life. Working in a group setting has helped Ace work cooperatively with her peers, furthering her strength of working with others.

“I think the communication skills that content has offered by forcing you to be in groups all the time is really useful. I mean, I’ve learned a lot of task management because it’s like the entire process of making a film. It’s really helped me be able to work with other people in a professional setting,” Ace said

Both of these students in ComAcad have had meaningful experiences throughout their tenure in the program, and they would be disheartened to see it end. With science and math classes drawing most of the interest from students, ComAcad community members feel frustrated that Archie Williams might forget ComAcad.

Archie Williams principal Jacob Gran has recently approved the plan to continue to offer ComAcad to juniors and seniors next year. If at least 25 students sign up, ComAcad will continue to run. With course sign-ups underway, and since all the current students in ComAcad will have graduated, this would be an entirely new group rather than a mix of people who had done the program for a year, as in the past. Students and teachers of ComAcad would be devastated if this resource would be taken away from future ComAcad students. They know how much this program has positively affected them, and they hope others can experience the warmth of the ComAcad community.