Teaching Photography as a Business at West Park High School
For 20 years, Micah Albert worked as a photojournalist focused on underreported global issues, documenting conflict, environmental challenges, and marginalized communities. His work, including a World Press Photo–winning project on the Dandora dumpsite in Nairobi, Kenya, has been published in outlets such as The New York Times, National
Geographic, and Foreign Policy. Known for gaining access to complex and often restricted environments, he built a career on telling stories with depth, context, and human connection.
In 2022, after many years on the road, Albert shifted his focus toward home, bringing his experience from the field into the classroom at West Park High School in Roseville to mentor and inspire the next generation of photographers.
Being in the classroom was not entirely new to him. For 10 years, he volunteered at a local high school speaking to graduating seniors about his experience covering global affairs, and he always thought he would teach someday. That idea became a reality when West Park invited him to build, from the ground up, a Professional Photography pathway within its Media CTE program.
“I didn’t even know CTE existed for a long time,” Albert said. “When I realized there was a place where my industry experience actually mattered — where I could build something from scratch — I decided to take the job.”
Albert didn’t begin with a traditional curriculum. Instead, he started with the end in mind. “All I know as a CTE teacher is to bring what I have from the industry and reverse engineer it,” he said. “What does the capstone look like? What does a student’s portfolio need to look like? And build the entire process backward.”
The result is a pathway that is technically rigorous, aligned with industry expectations, and focused on helping students make a good living as photographers. That foundation is now being reinforced through support from the Strong Workforce Program, which is shaping the next phase of West Park’s Media CTE offerings.
Integrating Creative Skills with Business Acumen
Within the Photography pathway, students progress through three courses that build on each other — starting with technical foundations in camera operation, composition, and editing; developing skill and style through genre-based projects; and culminating in a capstone experience designed to reflect how creatives work in the real world.
The capstone begins with students pitching ideas to Albert as if they were pitching an editor, refining their focus and identifying gaps in their work before receiving approval to move forward. Once projects are greenlit, students operate under an agency model — rotating through roles such as lead photographer, assistant, and editor — with real deadlines and shared accountability.
West Park is the program’s primary client, with students collaborating across the Media and Graphic Design pathways on school-wide deliverables. They also take on paid work from the broader community, such as the local restaurant scene.
Students work with the same professional-grade equipment and software Albert has used in the field — but technical mastery is only half the equation. He also introduces students to the realities of freelance work, including pitch writing, pricing exercises, client invoicing, estimating quarterly taxes, and how to get their first byline. “There’s no job application for most of what I teach,” Albert said. “So much of it is learning how to get your foot in the door and being technically competent and confident when you do.”
New support from the Strong Workforce Program will allow Albert to go even further. The funding will support West Park’s goal of combining its three Media pathways under a unified Media as a Business pathway — one that pairs creative production with the business skills that students need to market their services, manage clients, and run a small business. It will also support a student-run media enterprise at West Park that generates revenue to sustain its operations, and collaborations to increase dual enrollment courses with Sierra College.
“What excites me most is that this isn’t theoretical for our students. They’re doing real work, with real expectations, and starting to understand how the industry actually functions while using the same equipment used in the field today,” Albert said. “This investment allows us to push that even further to give students access, tools, and opportunities that help close the gap between the classroom and the real world.”
Visit the West Park Photography website to see students’ work in action.