Oak View principal set to retire




Millie Andress

Millie Andress


By Daniel Wolowicz
danielw@theacorn.com

Longtime high school educator Millie Andress plans to retire at the end of this year—sort of.


Andress, the Oak Park Unified School District’s director of alternative education, is the principal of both Oak View and Oak Park Independent high schools. Andress will end her 37-year career this June and take her love for education to North Carolina where she plans to retire, but still teach college classes that train future teachers.


"I’m a traditionalist when it comes to education and discipline," Andress said. "When kids from my schools are going out into the real world for a field trip or wherever else they might go, I tell them, ‘You’re representing mom, apple pie, Chevrolet and me.’ It’s my way of reminding them to be good."


Andress believes in being "fair but firm" and says a clearly defined set of rules tempered with consistency in discipline is the cornerstone of her teaching philosophy.


"She’s a wonderful principal," said Tony Knight, superintendent of Oak Park Unified School District. "She is 100 percent dedicated to the students and the staff. I just haven’t seen very many people who care about the students to the same level as she does."


School officials have not yet found a replacement for Andress, but plan to hire a new director before the next school year.


As the principal of a continuation high school, Andress deals with at-risk teens who’ve been turned away from other schools because of various of problems. She said helping students during difficult times is one of the most rewarding parts of her job.


"When the kids come to me, the first thing I tell them is to get their heads out of the sand and look around at what’s going on," Andress said. "There’s a lot of ambivalence that comes naturally at this age, and we have to help show them the right way to go and how to take responsibility for their choices."


The continuation high school offers smaller class sizes to better meet the needs of students. With 32 graduating students this June, it will have the largest graduating class ever at the Oak Park school.


Andress was one of 25 teachers hired by Thousand Oaks High School in 1968. In 1985, she became a counselor at Newbury Park High School and moved back to Thousand Oaks three years later as assistant principal. By 1988, Andress returned to Newbury Park as assistant principal and then became principal of Oak Park High School in 1996.


In 1998 she took over at Oak View and later helped start the district’s independent study program.


"I started the independent school in 2000 because there were a couple of families with a number of extremely gifted children," Andress said. "The parents wanted to home school their kids so I created the independent school to make it an easier process."


The independent school offers an alternative to the traditional school schedule and is available to students between kindergarten and 12th grade. Students meet once a week with credentialed teachers to review their work from the week before.


"It offers a pathway to students who, for whatever reason, don’t fit into the traditional box," Andress said.


The program helps students such as professional actors or those involved in extensive sports training, as well as those who simply prefer to create their own schedule. The independent school started with six students and now has nearly 120 students enrolled in the program. It will soon receive full accredication.


Andress said one of the biggest changes she has seen during her nearly 40 years working in high schools is the ever-increasing list of requirements needed for college admission.


"Getting into college now is like getting hired as a CEO somewhere." Andress said.


Over the years, Andress has also seen an increase in drug and alcohol use by high school students. She attributes the rise in teen drug use to a higher number of "latchkey kids" and the increased availability of designer drugs.


Problems aside, Andress said she loves her job. It has given her a chance to see hundreds of at-risk teens go on to have very successful careers.


"A lot of working with these kids deals with getting them to believe that they can do whatever they dream of if they work hard enough," Andress said.


Andress admitted that if it wasn’t for the recent statewide cutbacks in education, she would stay fin Oak Park or another year. She said that a number of her colleagues are tired of the financial cuts made to schools and are opting to retire earlier rather than later.


"I’ve seen cutbacks four or five times over my career," she said. "But this last one is too much. I would really like to see a time when school administrators don’t have to worry about how they’re going to get the money to buy books, but instead spend their time figuring out how they are best going to use them."


Although Andress will be missed, her departure may prompt other teachers to follow in her footsteps.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *