LAAE Students

Information about the students who work in LAAE, including team leaders with team pictures and descriptions.

LAAE Advisors

Information about the current LAAE advisors/teachers.

LAAE Alumni

The alumni section is dedicated to former LAAE students that have contributed a great deal of time and effort towards the program's success.

Booster Club

The Booster Club consists of mostly parents who are interested in the welfare of LAAE and its approach towards hands-on learning.

Advisory Committee

An advisory committee meeting takes place once every year and brings alumni, prominent people, and advisors together to discuss the various things that will go on within LAAE for the next year.





  

 

Robert Franz began teaching at Los Altos High School in 1979 and founded the Los Altos Academy of Engineering in 1989. As a Computer Science and Robotics teacher, Robert Franz found a passion for teaching young students about technology. He saw an opportunity to expand his Robotics class with grants and the help of local universities. Robert Franz was able to develop the Robotics class into the Los Altos Academy of Engineering.

 

As the current head advisor, Robert Franz has led the Los Altos Academy of Engineering to many achievements. From the first competition in the Phoenix Solar Electric 500 to the current 1st place winning traditions in the Winston Solar Challenge and Build Your Dream Vehicle competitions, Franz has developed the Los Altos Academy of Engineering into a unique, educational, and career preparatory program to promote alternative energy.

 

Robert Franz has also co-founded Innovative Schools Advancing Air Quality (ISAAQ). He is the present chairman of ISAAQ and leads a group of teachers to raise awareness about alternative fuel vehicles. He believes in reaching young students not just from Los Altos High School but from other schools as well. Franz has successfully developed ISAAQ into a regional organization consisting of teachers from all over Southern California. 

 

Prior to teaching Computer Science and Robotics/Engineering, Franz served as chairman of the school’s AB551 Staff Development Project, a program focusing on higher order thinking skills and the utilization of technology, for three years. From 1979 to 1982, he taught Special Education as a Resource Specialist with primary involvement in math. In 1981, Franz was appointed chairman of the Special Education Department. He then served as District Mentor for Technology from 1983 to 1990.

 

Robert Franz earned a Bachelor of Associate Degree in Industrial Education from the California State University, Long Beach in 1977. He went on to pursue his studies and earned a Master of Associate Degree in Education from the California Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1987.

 

Contact e-mail: rfranz@hlpusd.k12.ca.us