Tory Taylor gets her education, her way

By Robin Shepherd, Special to the Town Crier

If Tory Taylor had gone the conventional route, she would be midway through her senior year at Los Altos High School. But thanks to alternatives offered by area high schools and colleges, 17-year-old Taylor is now midway through her second year of college.

Taylor enrolled at Los Altos High School in the fall of 2000. “Tory was bright, above average, tenacious and resilient,” said Los Altos High School Assistant Principal Cristy Dawson, who served as a counselor at the school during Taylor’s time there.

But something went wrong. Disgruntled with what she viewed as inflexible teaching methods and curricular requirements, Taylor began to rebel against the system. In class she became outspoken, regularly challenging teachers.

School officials say Taylor defied school rules and aggravated teachers by questioning their teaching and not doing assignments.

“I love to give kids options, but no matter what school you’re in, there are always kids who aren’t happy or don’t fit in,” Dawson said. “We work hard to reach these kids.”

By October of her sophomore year, Taylor wanted out.

“I went to the administration and said I wanted to transfer to Mountain View High School,” Taylor said. “I had heard it was completely different, that teachers were more understanding, flexible and less structured, less narrowly focused on getting into top colleges.”

Taylor was referred to the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District office, where she talked to Brigitte Sarraf, associate superintendent of educational services and a former Los Altos High School principal. Sarraf informed Taylor that Mountain View High School was at full capacity in the fall of 2001, making a midyear transfer there impossible, and suggested the district’s alternative schools.

“A handful of kids test out of our high schools early every year, and Tory was one of them,” Sarraf said. “I approved the transfer and asked Tory to wait for semester break or the new year to start afresh.”

But Taylor did not want to wait. She immediately self-enrolled in the Mountain View-Los Altos Adult School, an alternative program within the school district that serves more than 10,000 students annually and offers a traditional high school diploma program.

In two months Taylor completed the six-month self-study program, including classes in science, math, history and English. By January of 2002, she had earned enough credits to enter Mountain View High School as a second semester sophomore.

“This is a high-performing school, so we can stretch most bright kids,” said Patricia Hyland, principal of Mountain View High School. “The vast majority of students find the public education system works very well. For those who are motivated to learn but don’t fit in, they must discover their ‘voice’ and avail themselves of alternative opportunities.”

By Hyland’s estimates, more than 200 of the district’s high school students are enrolled in district alternative education programs. In her view, alternatives such as middle college suit students who are “emotionally in one place and chronologically in another.”

In her first few months at Mountain View and already hungry for the college experience, Taylor took the California High School Proficiency Examination and was awarded a Certificate of Proficiency, which by state law is equivalent to a high school diploma. Her CHSPE certificate enabled Taylor to apply to Foothill College, where she began classes the following fall.

Taylor lives in Los Altos with her grandmother, and her mother lives nearby. She says her decisions about education are her own, with virtually no involvement from her family. She began working outside the home at 14. Since then, she has paid for some of her living expenses by taking on part-time jobs, including baby-sitting, making pizzas at Papa Murphy’s, and serving up lattes at Starbucks.

“Foothill is a very welcoming environment,” Taylor said. “Donne Davis, an outreach coordinator, worked with me when I started at Foothill. She had a lot of experience with younger-than-average applicants.”

Taylor signed up for 19 units, seven units more than the requirement for full-time students. She tested and became eligible to skip some entry-level prerequisites in math and English.

“It’s so diverse at Foothill, I have never felt awkward,” Taylor said. “For the most part, people there haven’t been aware of my age. The women’s history class was something I wouldn’t have been able to take in high school, and my English classes offer more latitude to write creatively.”

On getting into college early, Taylor said, “You have to be motivated to get somewhere and have the incentive to push yourself through. … The middle college concept is terrific, but some people drop out because they aren’t committed to it. It’s not a way to escape high school.”

“My general sense is that about one-third to one-half (of younger students) seem really ready for college, while the others need better preparation in English composition and self-discipline in their studies,” said Georgia Platts, a Foothill faculty member.

“Tory made insightful comments, she performed well on exams and she wrote excellent papers,” Platts said. “She always seemed to go that extra mile.”

Taylor’s 3.5 grade point average has earned her a spot in the Foothill College Honors Institute. Now in her last quarter at Foothill, she is on the move again.

With more than enough academic units to transfer, Taylor applied to Sonoma State University for the spring semester of 2004. With limited spaces for midyear transfers, Sonoma State gives priority to students from its six-county area, which does not include Santa Clara County, so Taylor’s application was declined. Taylor appealed to the university’s director of admissions, Gustavo Flores, and then to its president, Ruben Armiñana. Armiñana suggested that Flores review Taylor’s application again. This time Flores sent her a letter of acceptance.

“Ms. Taylor clearly wanted to be part of our campus,” Flores said. “Her knowledge of Sonoma State’s offerings and her college planning were beyond her years. She made a very valid appeal, so we opted to make an exception in her case.”

Asked why she chose Sonoma State, Taylor replied, “Sonoma has a good economics program, and I plan to enter a work-study program there too. It’s a nice, friendly campus, with new buildings and spacious dorms. I’m really looking forward to studying there.”

Taylor is less certain on the subject of career plans. “I may go into real estate, but I’m not sure. I still have time to decide about that.” At the tender age of 17, she certainly does.