After 24 years of teaching at Cal High, Photography 1 and Advanced Photography teacher Paul Fortayon is leaving Cal to begin a new path in his life.
Fortayon has accepted a vice principal position at Golden View Elementary School in San Ramon. He will start in his new role at the beginning of the second semester in January.
Fortayon learned about this position in October through EdJoin, an educational website for teaching job resources.
“It’s something I was thinking about for a long time and something I wanted to try, and the right spot opened up,” Fortayon said. “It’s not the best time, being in the middle of the year, but it was really hard to pass up.”
Fortayon began as Cal’s photography teacher in 1999 and developed the film program to make it among the most popular electives on campus.
Today, Cal High is one of two schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District with a film photography program where students develop their work in a darkroom.
His photography class has inspired students for more than two decades and left a lasting impact on many of them.
“His class is really fun since he helps us learn the details of photography, while still giving us a good amount of freedom,” sophomore Photo 1 student Rihaan Shah said. “He helps us find the perfect timing and amount of light needed to make the photo look good.”
Duncan Williams, a senior in Advanced Photography, said that Fortayon’s dedication helped him find his own interest in photography as well.
“I’ve been doing [photography] since sophomore year,” Williams said. “He got me into taking pictures in the first place. I took it for an art credit, but I really ended up enjoying it.”
Initially, Fortayon was drawn to a teaching career in this field after developing a passion in his own photography class when he was at San Ramon Valley High in Danville.
“I really liked the vibe and the environment where kids are able to produce art that they’re really excited about,” Fortayon said.
Fortayon believes that the main difference between his role at Cal and new position at Golden View will be the age difference between elementary and high school students. He also thinks being an administrator will be drastically different from being a teacher.
Although Cal and Golden View are very different schools, Fortayon is looking forward to the new experience and the possibilities it creates.
“I’m excited about a new opportunity to work with younger kids that are excited about learning for the sake of learning,” Fortayon said.
Fortayon acknowledges the likelihood of encountering problems with the transition, but he said he is ready and excited to face them.
“Change is really really difficult,” Fortayon said. “But sometimes you just got to go for it and know it’s not going to be a smooth ride.”
Although Principal Demetrius Ball said he is not surprised about Fortayon’s new opportunity, he noted that his presence will be missed on campus.
“Since I got here, Mr. Fortayon has expressed an interest in learning more about admin […] He’s always curious,” Ball said. “So I figured that he would eventually want to make that move, and when the opportunity came up, I fully supported him.”
His students do as well, but that doesn’t mean they’re not sad to see him go.
“I’m really happy for him,” Williams said. “Getting to do something you like is always good.”
Sophomore Kayla Lam, who is enrolled in Fortayon’s Photos 1 class, agrees with William and knows finding a replacement will be tough.
“I don’t know how they are going to find a teacher to replace him,” Lam said. “It’s going to be a huge change.”
Ball acknowledges that it will be tough for students to adjust to Fortayon’s absence. The school is still looking to hire a replacement.
“It’s going to be a challenge for the students because he will be leaving at some point in the school year,” Ball said. “Continuing with the rest of the school year at Cal, whether it’s going to be a long-term sub or we’re going to be able to hire someone to take a position full-time moving forward, it’s going to be a challenge.”
Greg Fortayon, who is Paul Fortayon’s younger brother and a life science and English teacher at Cal, is excited for his brother to have this opportunity, and he is interested to see what this will bring to him.
“It’s definitely gonna be difficult to find a replacement for him,” Greg Fortayon said. “He built up the program to make it as popular as it is now.”
