About Me

Hi all,

This is a short bio so you can get to know me. My main focus is on student learning and my methodology is student empowerment and collaboration. I treat my students as partners in the production of video and encourage creative thought and "thinking outside the box".

My name is Dale Austin Poor and I was born in Salinas California in 1957. I grew up in North Salinas when it was still a small town with small town values. I could ride my bike from one end of town to the other without ever being afraid. While attending North Salinas HS (Yes I was a Viking). I started making film while in Mrs. Orlarude's English Class as sophomore. I was a three letter athlete and closet actor. At this time it was a struggle for me to write.

Graduated Community College in 1977 with an Associates Degree in Electronics and Design. I took 20 semester units for two years at Hartnell College and still found time to play baseball. Worked as a lineman for United Press International and the California Angles minor league team as a photographer and met several baseball stars. I always found time to make a movie or two during this time and had several entries into festivals.

Started my professional carreer at GE Nuclear Energy Division in San Jose, CA and several other major companies like Measurex, Xerox, DataProducts and the Grass Valley Group for the next fifteen years. I was a Senior Engineer by the time I was 30 and not really satisfied with my life.

During this time I was lost in my career and was not doing what really made me happy, film.

Teaching for the first time in 1988, I was hired as the lead instructor in the technology program and taught by the seat of my pants. I really liked it and decided to stay in this field for a while. I went back to school when I was 32 and attended Evergreen Valley College, San Jose City College, Cabrillo College and San Jose State University. I learned to write at San Jose City College with an instructor named Dr. Soloman. He was TOUGH, but I found myself writing at the level where I could communicate my ideas and visions (a major change in my life). I began working with a production company in 1990 to create video and film.

From 1993 to 2009 I took a position with the Central County Occupational Center in San Jose and Cabrillo College. CCOC was my first HS teaching experience and I really loved it. I taught Computer Aided Design for my first three years and wrote the first curriculum for Multimedia in 1996. Computers were finally available to create graphics and edit video. During this time I produced, directed and all tasks in-between to produce media and film. I worked on several full length productions, Music Videos, Commercials, Shorts, Wedding Videos and Infomercials. My full time teaching job was supporting my love of film making.

During the past seventeen years I have met or worked with persons at Dreamworks, ILM, Pixar, Rhythm and Hughes, FOX, Skywalker, Stanford University, Adobe Systems Inc, and more. My students have had their films shown internationally and I have worked with teachers and students from all over the world. I have met and/or worked with Producers, Directors, Technologists, Composers and Actors involved in the Film Industry. I am a Google Certified Teacher, a Merit Scholar and all around nice guy. Collecting Model Trains, playing golf, teaching Video Production / Multimedia and above all teaching students drives me.

So, here I am at 57, doing what I love to do.

If there is any thing I want my video students to do it is to: Create With Purpose.

Happy to be at WHS and looking forward to great things