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.
Schools
Top Stories
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.
Sponsored
Berkeley’s Ecole Bilingue adds entry track for Grades 1-2
Families interested in bilingual English-French education can now start kids in PreK through Grade 2 or wait until middle school.
Coronavirus
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.
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.
How Berkeley Unified spent its $24M in COVID-19 funds
Berkeleyside analyzed district data to break down how state and federal COVID-19 relief money was spent.
Mask on or mask off? How Berkeley kids are navigating California’s new rules
One week into the rule change, Berkeley kids have mostly opted to keep masks on indoors.
In brief
Berkeley health officials give schools the OK to lift mask mandates
The Berkeley Unified School District has not said whether it will act on the change or keep its mask mandate in place.
Sexual harassment
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.
District settles sexual assault lawsuit that sparked Berkeley High walkout
A former student had sued the Berkeley school district for negligence after she said she was assaulted in a classroom three years ago.
Berkeleyside’s Ally Markovich wins SPJ NorCal award for speaking ‘truth to power’
She won a James Madison Freedom of Information Award for her deep dive into sexual misconduct allegations against a Berkeley High teacher.
Update: Teacher in sexual assault suits has license revoked
Matthew Bissell is no longer allowed to teach in California public schools after a commission permanently revoked his teaching credential.
Education Equity
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.
Meet the two candidates running for Alameda County superintendent
Incumbent L.K. Monroe and challenger Alysse Castro spoke about school funding, pandemic recovery, and the financial challenges facing local school districts.
New club at Longfellow builds solidarity among Black girls
Led by Tanisha Walton and UC Berkeley student Skylynn Hayes, Black Girls United is in its first year. The duo hope to expand to more schools.
Berkeley mandated ethnic studies 30 years ahead of California. Now the district’s going a step further.
In 1990, Berkeley High became one of the first schools in the nation to require ethnic studies. With the state following suit earlier this month, BUSD plans to expand ethnic studies to all grade levels.
Long reads
Gene Ransom, basketball star killed in freeway shooting, was shaped by youth in Berkeley
Ransom, who was shot and killed on I-880 on Friday, was guided by Berkeley mentors and the city’s multicultural spirit.
Berkeley High knew for 15 years of allegations chemistry teacher sexually harassed students
After years of sexual misconduct complaints, the school district signed a gag order allowing Matthew Bissell to quietly resign.
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.
UC Berkeley
UCPD: Student’s threats to shoot UC Berkeley staff led to lockdown
The district attorney’s office has charged Lamar Bursey with two felony counts of making criminal threats against staff members.
Gov. Newsom signs law that undoes UC Berkeley’s enrollment freeze; Cal to admit 19,500 in coming days
Lawmakers approved, and the governor signed, legislation to allow UC Berkeley to admit all the new students it planned to this fall, undoing a judge’s enrollment cap.
UC Berkeley won’t have to freeze enrollment under a new state law
Legislators introduced a bill, which may become law as soon as next week, to invalidate a judge’s ruling capping enrollment at 2020-21 levels.
UC Berkeley finds a workaround to mandated enrollment freeze
By offering remote learning and a delayed enrollment option, Cal won’t need to cut freshmen and transfer admission.
Beyond the Buses
In 1968, Berkeley Unified integrated all its elementary schools, taking an unprecedented approach. On the 50th anniversary of that move, in a three-part series, Berkeleyside examined that history, its legacy and the equity issues that remain unsolved.
A teacher who looks like me
50 years ago Berkeley voluntarily integrated its schools. Even back then the district recognized that newly diverse classrooms demanded a diverse teaching force. In Part 3 of our deep dive we look at the situation today.
All together now
While the universal ninth grade is new, efforts to “redesign” Berkeley High in the name of equity are not. In a special three-part series, Berkeleyside examines the then and now.
A radical decision, an unfinished legacy
Berkeley Unified made history by voluntarily integrating its schools 50 years ago this fall. In a special three-part series, Berkeleyside explores that history and its legacy in a very different present-day Berkeley.
Related stories
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.
Meet the Berkeley rep running unopposed on the Alameda County Board of Education
Joaquín Rivera has been on the ACOE board since 2010, and said this will be his last term.
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.
‘I’ll miss all of it’: After four decades, co-founder of Berkeley Hills preschool is retiring
Sue Britson launched the Step One School on Spruce Street in 1981 as a place for young Berkeley kids to learn through play. Now generations of families are saying goodbye.
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.
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.
