Pali Spotlight: Dolphins are Swimming in New Pods

By AUDREY YAEL SMITH | Tideline Staff Writer

The Palisades Charter High School Tideline journalism class is coordinating the submission of a series of pieces the Palisadian-Post is publishing from the school’s periodical. A version of this piece originally appeared in Tideline.

New pods were offered at the start of the 2023-24 school year at Palisades Charter High School, replacing previous options, and aligning with the interests of both students and staff.

Pods, a program unique to Pali, are intended to mimic the way dolphins travel in cooperative pods by dividing Pali freshman into groups based on their interests. Each pod is assigned a year-long elective and an English teacher.

In previous years, pods consisted of one semester of an elective, one semester of sociology and a two-semester English class. However, this year the pod elective was transformed into a year-long class, replacing the previously required one semester of sociology.

The pod options now consist of art, computer technology, create and construct, culinary arts, digital media, entrepreneurship, environmental science, film, law and social justice, music, and performance.

All of the pods either get a full year of Visual and Performing Arts credit, computer and/or tech credit or science credit. Additionally, eight out of the 11 pods are a part of Career and Technical Education pathways that students may complete.

The decision to rework the pods was made by CTE Coordinator Tyler Farrell, Assistant Principal Chris Lee, department chairs, select teachers and the Board of Trustees.

“There was a lot of discussion with feedback from students,” Lee said.

Some of the new pods are old pods that were renamed with slight changes. For example, the law and social justice pod incorporates both the old social justice pod and the old sociology class. Additionally, the make and fabricate pod was rebranded as the create and construct pod.

Sophomore Justin Reinman was in the recently dropped media pod last year.

“The media pod was a lot of fun,” he said. “I used the skills I learned in the media pod—like how to record video interviews—when I tried out for a job.”

However, Reinman admitted that he would have selected the culinary pod if he had been given the option to do so.

“I like the culinary arts pod option a lot because I cook a lot,” he said. “I wish there had been more options last year.”

He added that the school should focus on creating “more opportunities.”

Freshman Mabel Lowe is in the create and construct pod.

“The description was a lot of making physical things and learning about history,” she said. “It’s a fun class for designing, and even coding and designing things that are useful for people.”

According to create and construct pod instructor Matt Golad, there were a multitude of changes made this year.

“Last year was a semester long and this year is two semesters long, so we’ve got new projects,” he said. “They’re going to use different tools like woodworking, routers, saws, the drill press and the lathe to make the ball … The idea is that I’ll reach out to some preschools and Montessori schools, and we can donate it there.”

Lowe added that students have a lot of freedom in the create and construct pod.

“You can be really creative, and you can just make whatever you’re feeling that day,” she said.

Overall, she is glad for the change and the expansion of pod options.

“If there are more choices, people are more likely to be happy about what pod they get because they can customize it more to what they like to do,” she said. “Class sizes will also be smaller so it will be easier to learn things individually.”

Lowe said she believes that Pali should continue revising the pod options in the future.

“The world is changing and people are changing, and new things are coming up and making comebacks,” she said. “People are having new interests, and those should definitely be brought in.”