Berkeley City College bucks trend of declining enrollment
Berkeley’s community college has managed to retain students at relatively steady levels throughout the pandemic.
Ally Markovich
Ally Markovich, who covers the school beat for Berkeleyside, is a former high school English teacher. Her work has appeared in The Oaklandside, The New York Times, Huffington Post and Washington Post, among other publications. You can spot her running on the trails in Tilden Park.
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Articles by Ally
School board split over proposal to mandate vaccines for athletes and at events like prom
The proposed rule requires students to get vaccinated or tested weekly and includes a controversial vaccine mandate for athletes and events.
Berkeley Unified to consider vaccine-or-test rule for students
The Berkeley school board will discuss a policy Wednesday that would require students to get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. A vote is not yet expected.
Wildfire season complicates efforts to keep Berkeley schools safe from COVID-19
On bad air days, schools are instructed to close windows and doors and let the air purifiers work. But during the pandemic, that solution comes with its own problems.
‘Our single biggest challenge’: Staff and substitute shortages put pressure on Berkeley schools
Berkeley Unified faces a shortage of substitute teachers, after-school care providers, and special education aides.
She tried to reform Berkeley Unified’s Title IX office. After 6 months of frustration, she quit.
Mardi Walters resigned as Title IX coordinator in February 2020 after trying to fix how the Berkeley school district handles sexual misconduct. Now she’s speaking publicly for the first time about why she left.
No big spike in COVID-19 cases after three days of elementary school surveillance testing
After the first days of K-6 surveillance testing, 523 students are on “modified quarantine” and 12 are quarantining at home.
‘Lobster claws’ test questions land Crowden School principal in hot water
Teachers are quitting and parents are pulling their kids from a private Berkeley music school after the principal was fired in connection with a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary test involving crustacean jokes.
Berkeley schools scramble under strain of delta variant
A week and a half after the start of classes, the district is bracing for an uptick in COVID-19 case counts. About 16% of staff aren’t fully vaccinated. And remote learning enrollment, still very low, ticks upward.
Former Berkeley High teacher Matthew Bissell tried to dodge being served with sexual assault lawsuit, source says
Matthew Bissell was finally served on Aug. 19, two months after the lawsuit was initially filed.
99% of Berkeley students have opted for in-person classes
Enrollment in Berkeley Unified’s remote learning programs is at 1%, down from 34% in the spring.
A first day ‘like no other’: Berkeley classrooms are again full of students
After 18 months, all Berkeley schools opened for full, in-person school today. Here’s what it looked like.
5 Berkeley educators share their pandemic-teaching takeaways
Teachers are ready to say goodbye to distance learning. But some lessons from Zoom school are here to stay.
Berkeley will require teachers get vaccine or tests 6 weeks ahead of state schedule
All Berkeley teachers and staff will need to either get tested for COVID-19 weekly or present proof of vaccination as soon as Sept. 3. The state won’t require compliance until Oct. 15.
Delta variant looms as Berkeley students head back to school
What you need to know about mask mandates, quarantines, social distancing, remote learning and more in Berkeley.
Berkeley Unified will settle suit claiming it failed students with reading disorders
Berkeley Unified has agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit alleging it failed to provide an appropriate education for students with dyslexia.
