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Published on 10/07/1996 All articles from this issue

Local resident headmaster at Woodside Priory school

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By Cristy Shauck

Special to the Town Crier

As a young boy, Dr. Frank Cody first visited relatives who lived on Almond Way in Los Altos back when the area was "wide open spaces." Three cousins attended nearby Woodside Priory while he was growing up in Michigan. In 1995, five decades later, he returned to the area as headmaster of the priory.

Cody attended Loyola University, earning bachelor's, master's and master's of divinity degrees, then a Ph.D. in educational administration from Ohio State. He is listed in the 1996 Who's Who of American Education and will be in the 1997 Who's Who in America.

He taught at college preparatory schools in the East and directed the Chapel Sao Paulo, an American overseas school, in Brazil before moving into administration. Later, he became an administrator and associate professor at the University of Detroit for eight years, leaving to become principal of West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1991.

Woodside Priory has a student population of 250; the average number of students per class is 15. While it is a private school, 10 to 11 percent of its budget is set aside for scholarships which go to about 30 percent of the student population. The average grant is about $5,000; the total cost to attend one year is about $12,000. About 15 percent of its population come from Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

Los Altos resident Susan Sullivan, a former bio-chemist and mother of two Woodside Priory students, said she was impressed with Cody.

"He has he own vision of where he wants to take the school," she acknowledged. "They are starting to investigate block scheduling and have made a preliminary step with that this year. It seems to be coming together fairly well."

Daryl Larsen, also of Los Altos, says the new headmaster has brought a sense of camaraderie to the school. "There's a push to involve the parents themselves into the life of the campus to a greater degree," she said. "I have two sons, one in seventh and one in ninth grade. Both are extremely happy at school."

"We now know so much more about how people learn," said Cody, who served on a Carnegie Commission Board in 1994. "Unfortunately, we find that most teachers teach as they were taught. We started the school year with a four-day seminar on some of these new theories, specifically modeling theories."

While teachers will continue assigning research papers, students will also learn how to create a multimedia project, he said, adding that all classrooms have Internet access now.

Busy parents may access the school's Web site to learn about the day's activities. Cody hopes to include more detail on the Internet home page as the year progresses.

"High school education has to be more personalized," Cody said. "Schools need to have smaller classes. Each student should have a personal education plan with an adult advocate."

Patricia Reed, formerly the receptionist at the Town Crier, is Cody's new administrative assistant.