Berkeley High crew qualifies five boats for nationals
The longest-running high school rowing program in Northern California heads to the Scholastic Rowing Association of America national championships.
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.
Articles by Ally Markovich
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In brief
BUSD will reinstate indoor mask mandate Monday amid new surge
More students and staff are testing positive for COVID-19 again due to a surge fueled by omicron subvariants.
City of Berkeley urges indoor masking as COVID-19 cases spike again
Berkeley’s case rate is higher than it’s been at any point in the pandemic other than the omicron surge. Hospitalizations remain low.
Berkeley middle-schoolers protest in support of Roe v. Wade
Led by seventh-grader Jayce Cooper, students at Longfellow Middle School chanted pro-choice slogans in a small demonstration on Thursday.
BUSD administrator leaves for superintendent job in St. Helena district
Rubén Aurelio is the second high-level administrator to take a superintendent job at another district next year.
After years of delay, middle school enrollment recommendation expected in June
The Berkeley school board is set in five weeks to make a preliminary call on whether to overhaul how students are assigned a middle school — though further delay is possible.
San Francisco school administrator is poised to take over as Berkeley superintendent
Enikia Ford Morthel has been selected to succeed Brent Stephens, pending official approval May 18.
Berkeley keeps losing teachers. Can the district get them to stay?
BUSD saw a 14% turnover rate last year despite a $3,000 to $6,500 pay increase from Measure E. Next year, half of the district’s physics teachers will be new.
Firefighters rescue 4 people after 2-alarm fire in historic Cal office building
Witnesses described smoke billowing from the building and people hanging out of windows on the second floor.
Berkeley City College has cut 150 course sections, 27 faculty spots in past two years
Students and faculty are rallying against class cuts at a time when enrollment has fallen steeply but state funding still flows at pre-pandemic levels.
3 Berkeley High custodians sue over sexual harassment, gender discrimination
This is the second lawsuit since 2019 to describe a culture of sexual harassment and unequal treatment in Berkeley High’s custodial department.
Member of campus community made threats prompting lockdown, UC says
Police located the person and said the individual is not a continued threat to the campus.
Berkeley High student dies downtown
In a letter to the school community, Principal Juan Raygoza said he was “heartbroken.” All-day counseling will be available to students.
Questions of COVID safety still occupy Berkeley parents
Parents shared thoughts on vaccination and testing as the school board decided whether to lobby the state legislature over two bills.
The Berkeley archivist on a mission to save Ukrainian digital history
Quinn Dombrowski co-founded an emergency data rescue organization. Now, the tech wiz is teaching kids to archive Ukrainian cultural websites.
Plan to end Berkeley’s K-5 distance learning option gets pushback from parents
Families with medically vulnerable students or relatives are fighting to save the Virtual Academy program, launched last fall.
