The end of the 2024-25 school year marks the end of three beloved teachers’ careers at Archie Williams as they retire. Their contribution to the Archie Williams community is immeasurable, and students and staff alike will miss them.
Michael Wing
Dr. Michael Wing, known to students as “Doc,” began teaching at what was Sir Francis Drake High School in 1998 and is retiring after 27 years teaching at Archie Williams. Doc grew up in Newton, MA, where he participated in his school’s drama program and fostered an interest in science and the arts. Doc’s own high school experience was different from the atmosphere of Archie Williams.
“My own high school, Newton North, was very different from ours; it was huge, [and] each graduating class was about a thousand students, which is the size of our whole school. It was a tough place, and big fights were frequent; the students would form a tight ring around the fighters so that no adults could get in there to break it up. It seems incredible to say that now, but that’s how it was,” Doc said.
After attending college at the University of Chicago and getting a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Doc decided to pursue education further and earn his PhD in earth sciences, which earned him the nickname “Doc.”
“The reason people call me Doc is because I have a PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is a department of the University of California, San Diego. I had a good five years there getting my PhD. I also had a fellowship with the U.S. Navy,” Doc said.
Before becoming a teacher, Doc was an academic researcher and an environmental consultant, but he never found satisfaction in those roles, which led him to pursue a career in teaching. Doc’s first experience teaching was at the college level, but then he decided to start teaching high school. He first taught as a student teacher at Novato High School for a year and then came to Sir Francis Drake in 1998, where he has taught ever since.
Over his years at Archie Williams, Doc has taught integrated science, a course that freshmen and sophomores used to take, combining biology, earth sciences, environmental sciences, and a bit of chemistry and physics. In addition to integrated science, he has taught chemistry, physics, and biology. Doc was also part of the small learning community, Revolution of Core Knowledge (ROCK), that not only included academic classes but electives as well. It was at Sir Francis Drake until the school retired the program in 2020.
“Most of the time that I have taught here is in the ROCK program…it was like a small learning community on steroids; it was four sections of your day. We did all kinds of great stuff there that nobody does anymore. We went on tons of field trips, we did tons of things outside of school,” Doc said
Doc finds teaching very rewarding and enjoys the connection he is able to build with students.
“My favorite part of teaching here is the daily interaction with students. Our students are just really nice. They treat me really well, especially this year. I just feel appreciated,” Doc said.
After 27 years of teaching at Archie Williams, Doc is going to pursue one of his other passions: sailing. He will also continue learning through classes at the College of Marin.
“I already crewed on the square-rigged sailing ship the Matthew Turner, so in retirement I’m going to do more of that and maybe sail on some other tall ships too. I’m in the process of getting my 100-ton captain’s license. I am also going to take math, physics, and art classes at College of Marin until I run out of them,” Doc said.
Tahia Rosenthal-Cox
Tahia Rosenthal-Cox will retire from teaching French at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. She began teaching in the Tamalpais Unified High School District (TUHSD) in 1996. Born and raised on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, Rosenthal-Cox completed all her schooling, from elementary school through high school graduation, in Tahiti.
During school, she developed a love for language, with her favorite subjects being English and Spanish, and she also participated in dance.
“I did a lot of Tahitian dancing…I was in a professional group and we would compete and perform,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
After graduating from high school, Rosenthal-Cox moved to the U.S. to attend college.
“I had the opportunity to come to college in the States instead of going to France. My sisters went to France, and I had the opportunity to come here, so I went to the University of the Pacific in Stockton. I majored in English,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
After graduating from college, Rosenthal-Cox returned to Tahiti and secured a position as a public relations agent for the Department of Culture. She also worked in this capacity for a cruise line until she decided to change her career.
“I got a call from my high school principal who said, ‘I need an English teacher. Are you interested?’ I’m like, ‘yes,’ so that’s how I started teaching,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
She then moved back to the U.S. and interviewed for a teaching position at Redwood High School, where she began teaching in 1996. After a maternity leave, the district transferred her to Sir Francis Drake and began teaching there in 1999, where she has been ever since.
Since teaching at Archie Williams, she taught French every year but one, when she taught English to sophomores. Teaching French has enabled her to pursue her passion for language.
“I love the instruction of the French language; the grammar, the vocabulary, and it changes all the time. It’s never the same, and I always change the way I teach it from different perspectives based on the different students. It never gets old,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
Although she loves her subject, Rosenthal-Cox finds that students are her favorite part of being a teacher.
“I would say students [are my favorite part of teaching]. They make my day, [and] they make me want to come here every day just to know that I have an impact on their lives. They are really nice people, nice human beings; they uplift me. They keep me on my toes,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
Since coming to Archie Williams, Rosenthal-Cox has enjoyed the community Archie Williams offers.
“The environment at Archie has always been like a family…the students and the staff have always been very welcoming. And it’s a smaller school, so it’s a very down-to-earth atmosphere where there’s a lot of respect among everyone,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
In her retirement, Rosenthal-Cox hopes to stay busy with a variety of activities.
“I’m going to travel. I am going to continue learning Spanish and start Italian. I want to do volunteering also… and hike more,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
Although she is sad to leave Archie Williams, Rosenthal-Cox is excited for the next chapter of her life
“It’s sad. It was hard for me to decide to take that step because I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. But now I’m looking forward to what’s waiting for me,” Rosenthal-Cox said.
Cathy Sarkisian
After 23 years of teaching at Archie Williams, English teacher Cathy Sarkisian is retiring. Sarkisian grew up in eastern Pennsylvania amongst cornfields and steel production plants. While growing up, she found a love for both English and the arts. She was involved in choir, musicals, and dance, along with art classes.
In addition to the artistic and academic parts of high school, she enjoyed many of the social activities as well.
“I enjoyed high school. I wasn’t part of any one group; I had friends in different classes. I loved going to the football games, basketball games, and dances,” Sarkisian said.
After graduating from high school, Sarkisian attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, and majored in English. After that, she continued to further pursue education and got her Master’s degree in English from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Sarkisian found that teaching was her calling after graduating from college.
“I think it was a natural thing to want to teach English. I worked for a newspaper for a summer, had my own column, but the pay was terrible. So I started teaching that fall, my first year out of college,” Sarkisian said.
After spending 10 years teaching, Sarkisian decided to take 10 years off to raise her three daughters. After this pause in her teaching career, Sarkisian moved to California and began teaching at Sir Francis Drake in 2002, where she has taught ever since. While at Archie Williams, Sarkisian has taught a variety of English courses, including Contemporary Literature and Essay Exposition, American Literature, AP Literature, and English in the Small Learning Community DaVinci, which had a focus on the humanities and craftsmanship.
Over her many years of teaching, Sarkisian has found that students are the most rewarding part of her job.
“I’ve taught in three different schools, and [my favorite part of teaching] is always the students. I think teenagers have a lot more open-mindedness than adults do…it is exciting to be around them, [and] I consider it a privilege to be around teenagers,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian plans to pursue more work in writing and the arts during her retirement through her studio in San Rafael, Studio Fourth Street.
“I would like to do some writing when I retire, probably plays or musicals rather than novels or poetry… Mainly, I will stay involved in the arts. I’ve opened a studio in San Rafael for workshops, readings, rehearsals, and performances, and hope to have a lot of Archie students and staff stop by,” Sarkisian said.
Although the Archie Williams community is sad to see these teachers leave, their immense impact on their students and the entire school is notable. In their retirement, all are off to continue to do fulfilling work and have rich experiences.
