Ms. Price animatedly instructs her sixth period drama students, explaining the importance of storytelling.
Meaghan Woody, Staff Writer
Taking the place of Ms. Whyte, Ms. Price is the new English and drama teacher at Santa Rosa High School. Some students may already know her from past years at Rancho Cotate, Casa Grande, El Molino and Montgomery. This is her seventh year teaching. She is teaching freshman and sophmore English and drama.
Ms. Price grew up in Los Angeles and graduated young at 17. She then went off to Denmark for a year and a half. During the midst of that time she also visited the Czech Republic and Germany. She knows some Danish, but claims it is extremely hard.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Price also has lots of experience working at bookstores. At age 15, she got a job at Barnes and Noble. When she came back from Europe, she continued working there. “They just kept rehiring me.” When she moved to Northern California for college, she worked at North Lights Books, a local independent book store in Cotati.
Ms. Price has a Bachelor’s degree in English and theatre arts, and has a credential in high school English. As of now, she is working on her Masters in theatre production. She is going to South Oregon College in Ashland, Oregon for her fourth year of Waldorf training.
Lately, she has been working on her final project for a Waldorf Credential, a play written and directed by her. The play is based off a fairytale, it is called “The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily” and is set to open at the end of February. Two students from SRHS are cast in it.
The most drastic change Ms. Price has experienced coming to SRHS is the fact that we are the only school she’s been to that doesn’t have block schedules. With more periods in the day, there are fewer things to get done.
“It feels like such a fast-paced day.” Aside from the changes, Ms. Price feels the students here are very bright and creative, self-motivated, and care about their education. “The kids here, I don’t have to motivate them so much. They can motivate themselves.”
Ms. Price’s plan for the school year is to honor Ms. Whyte by helping students read and write better. She also wants to ensure all of the students are prepared for the CAHSEE in March.
“All the students we have need to pass the CAHSEE.” She wishes Ms. Whyte a speedy recovery and hopes she is taking this time to take care of herself. She feels for the students who are attached to her. Price knows she can’t fill Whyte’s shoes, but she’ll do the best she can.
“I can only be Ms. Price, not Ms. Whyte,” she says.