It is no surprise that schools go through a variety of changes in the courses available for students, and Coral Gables Senior High School is no stranger to these new alterations. This year, the school has experienced a loss in the CAF&DM academy. The Film program and Social Media class have been cut as electives and are no longer available to students.
Previously taught by Ms. Quevedo and Ms. Nieves, the Film and Social Media classes were cut following a reduction in school funding. As of now, the IB Film class and TV Production are the only classes available and are under the control of Ms. Camacho. Since IB Film is the only course available, students who took Social Media last year and were hoping to see Film on their schedule this year, were switched to TV Production which led to a dramatic increase in the class size.
However, many students do not seem to be pleased with the decision to cut the Film program. Gables junior Tyler Tolon, found out about the situation when his counselor called him around mid-summer to confirm his schedule. “At first I was angry,” said Tolon, “I took a whole year of Social Media only for Film to get cut [in the end].” Tolon later accepted his fate and the fate of the late Film program after having been placed in TV Production.
Although Tyler Tolon was told over the summer, the decision to cut the Film program was apparently made long before then. Ms. Zuniga, the head of the CAF&DM academy and the advisor for the school yearbook, was notified of the decision towards the end of the 2012-2013 school year by Assistant Principal Diaz.
When asked about the reasons behind the decision, Ms. Zuniga cited the lack of necessary funding and also added, “[When you’re getting rid of a class] It would be easier to cut a class that doesn’t produce a record for the school.” At the time, Ms. Zuniga was referring to the school’s major active productions, such as Highlights (Newspaper), Cavaleon (Yearbook), Catharsis (Literary Magazine), CavsConnect (Online News Publication), and Gables Live (TV Production), who compete on a local, state, and national level.
On the subject of IB Film, questions have been raised concerning the possibility that IB Film might be cut from Gables as well. When queried, Ms. Van Wyk-Lamb, Coral Gables High School’s IB Coordinator, explained that IB Film and normal Film were two separate entities. While the normal Film program was under the CAF&DM academy, IB Film is supported by the IB program. As a result, students taking IB Film have the class for two years until it culminates into a large test, which later determines a whole sixth of the points they need to receive their IB Diplomas. Yet the amount of students taking IB Film has fallen slightly since it was first made available in the 2011/2012 school year. Ms. Van Wyk-Lamb replied on that subject, “We are making every effort to preserve the IB Film Strain.”
Even though Gables is determined to keep TV Production and IB Film available for students, CAF&DM’s Film program and Social Media class have succumbed to budget cuts prior to the beginning of the 2013/2014 school year. With an uncertain future ahead, CAF&DM must unfortunately carry on without the unity of those students that are gifted in cinema.
