After yesterday’s storm over the agenda for tonight’s school board meeting, which did not include a compromise proposal on the Berkeley High science/equity controversy, it looks like wiser heads are going to prevail. According to school district spokesperson Mark Coplan, an amended board packet is being issued, which will incorporate Superintendent Bill Huyett’s compromise plan. […]
Berkeley High School
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Class sizes at BHS
Three Berkeley High science teachers have done an analysis of class sizes at the school. It’s an attempt to inject facts into the debate around struggling students at BHS, and whether cutting science lab time is an effective way to close the achievement gap at the school. Part of the undercurrent in the debate is […]
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D-Day for BHS science labs?
Superintendent Huyett and Principal Slemp It’s increasingly looking like the debate over the future of science labs at Berkeley High is coming down to political maneuvering and brinkmanship. When BUSD Superintendent Bill Huyett met BHS parents on January 19, there was a clear impression that some acceptable compromise had been reached that would both safeguard […]
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The real coach Carter
Berkeley High football coach Alonzo Carter recently announced he had taken the head football post at Contra Costa College in San Pablo. In his three years at BHS, Carter’s teams went 25-8-1 while taking three ACCAL titles. But it isn’t just the winning record that seems to set coach Carter apart. Reader Paul Lecky sent […]
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Hats off to Doggie High
Doggie High, a diner across the street from Berkeley High School, donated half of its recent proceeds to a fund set up by the school to raise money for Haiti. This is particularly laudable for a local business which recently reported that it was struggling and might have to close down. Doggie High owner Vincent Trahan, head […]
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A way with words wins Berkeley 14-year-old a free trip to Olympics
When the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver in mid-February, a Berkeley High School freshman will attend –because of her writing ability, not her athletic prowess. Jalena Kaene-Lee was one of ten winners of a contest sponsored by the McDonald’s Corporation to send kids to the Olympics and have them write dispatches for their hometown. Kaene-Lee, […]
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L.A. Times reports on BHS science lab issue
In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Times ran a feature story yesterday on the ongoing science lab debate at Berkeley High School. It kicks off with this context information: In the last school year, 82% of Berkeley’s AP chemistry students passed the rigorous exam, which gives college credit for high school work. The […]
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Where does Berkeley High rank?
Photo/Jeremy Franklin When Newsweek did its annual ranking of the nation’s top high schools, Berkeley High did very well — 271st out of tens of thousands of public schools. Now US News and World Report has jumped into the high school ranking fray, analyzing data from more than 21,000 public high schools “to find the […]
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When Huyett met the BHS PTSA
A Berkeleyside reader who attended last night’s Berkeley High PTSA meeting with BUSD Superintendent Bill Huyett and other school board members emailed some of her impressions: I thought tonight’s meeting was very good. It really got complicated; then we all realized that is part of the problem – the system as it is now is […]
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Saving Berkeley High’s Old Gymnasium: A proposal
Berkeleyside exclusive: The Old Gymnasium on the Berkeley High School campus, a landmarked building originally designed by William Hays, has fallen into disrepair — see slideshow above — and the School District is suggesting it be demolished. Noted Berkeley architect Henrik Bull has a different suggestion: It is easy to understand why the School Board […]
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Superintendent Huyett issues statement on BHS science lab debate
William Huyett, Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent, this morning issued a statement to parents on the Berkeley High science/equity debate. There are two important items in the statement. First, Huyett writes that the proposal is expected to come before the BUSD Board of Directors on February 3. BHS Principal Jim Slemp has been asserting throughout […]
Posted inCommunity, Schools
Listen live now to BHS science flap on KQED
The Forum program which covers the Berkeley High School controversy is beginning now. Michael Krasny’s guests are Jill Tucker, education writer for The San Francisco Chronicle; Karen Hemphill, president of the BUSD board; Mardi Sicular-Mertens, senior member of the BHS science department; and Peggy Scott, parent representative on the BHS governance council. You can listen […]