Archie Williams’ Communications Academy (ComAcad), one of the school’s three academies, has been an integral part of the school community for 45 years, since its inception in 1980. However, the program saw a decrease in total enrollment during the 2023-24 school year, forcing ComAcad to run with only seniors and disrupting the usual two-year cohort structure. The same pattern happened this year: an insufficient number of applicants signed up for ComAcad, driving Archie Williams’ Principal Jacob Gran to shut down the academy.
ComAcad has operated as a two-year program for upperclassmen designed to provide a specialized curriculum in the liberal arts, more specifically on all forms of media and filmmaking. The academy alternates between years of courses: Year A covers Advanced Placement (AP) Language & Composition, U.S. History, and Digital Communications. The second year, Year B, encompasses Humanities, World Literature, American Government, Economics, and Digital Communications.
In past years, ComAcad has had 30 juniors and 30 seniors. Currently, however, there are only seniors, according to ComAcad Digital Communications teacher Greg Doherty.
“Currently, all the ComAcad students are seniors because last year was the first year that there weren’t enough sign-ups for a whole new class,” Doherty said.
ComAcad social studies teacher Francie Salle believes that the lack of ComAcad student sign-ups correlates to the decreasing art community in Marin.
“The demographics of Marin County have changed, and when I first started teaching here, I taught a lot of people whose parents were creatives, people in the arts,” Salle said.
Home prices in Marin have increased by 98 percent in the last decade. Due to this increase in the cost of housing, Salle believes that fewer artists can afford to live in the county.
“As the community has gotten more expensive, there are fewer people who make a living in the arts, so they are less likely to have children who want to make a living in the arts,” Salle said.
ComAcad senior Max Warner believes that many students may feel discouraged from joining ComAcad as they worry that art classes are not rigorous enough for college admissions.
“A lot of kids worry that they should be taking more APs than fun classes, but I feel like if people liked art, they would still join fun programs,” Max said.
In contrast to Archie Williams’ two other academies, SEA-DISC and Team, ComAcad provided students with the unique opportunity to explore liberal arts and film. Senior ComAcad student Madi Levi admires the friendships she built in the program and the creative freedom she received.
“ComAcad lets me be myself and lets me experience what a community is and what real and great friendships are like,” Madi said.
ComAcad’s Original Shorts event is set to take place May 29 to 30, the academy’s final gathering. With the end of this long-standing academy, the opportunities provided have made it a unique experience at Archie Williams and have helped students form lasting friendships. The 2025-2026 school year will be the first school year in four decades without ComAcad, and students interested in the art of filmmaking and alternative arts will need to find other ways to explore their interests.
