Parents at Berkeley High have had regular emails this week outlining the procedure for registering for the optional, additional science labs. Berkeleyside has already commented on the rather humdrum approach of those notices. It looks like BUSD superintendent Bill Huyett had a similar reaction. Last night, parents received an email with a very different (and […]
BHS science labs
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BHS science labs — the denouement
After months of wrangling, the Berkeley Unified School District board last Wednesday finally passed a compromise on science labs at Berkeley High. Under the plan, proposed by superintendent Bill Huyett (photo right), AP and IB science labs are preserved, and other science courses will provide optional labs in either 0 or 7th period, as happens […]
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What next for science labs at BHS?
Photo/Jeremy Franklin Peggy Scott, parent representative on the Berkeley High School Governance Council, has sent out to a community email list a summary of last week’s SGC meeting. It has been slightly edited for style: Regarding BSEP funds: According to Jim Slemp’s “Principal’s Report” at last Tuesday’s SGC meeting, Superintendent Huyett plans to submit these […]
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Breaking: Berkeley High principal Slemp to retire
Jim Slemp, principal of Berkeley High School, said today he plans to retire at the end of this school year. The announcement was made at this morning’s public announcements at the school. Slemp has been at the center of this year’s controversy over the future of extra time for science labs at BHS. He proposed […]
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BHS science compromise slipping away?
Superintendent Huyett and Principal Slemp Parents attending the open house at Berkeley High School last night were handed a leaflet from “concerned parents and staff” about the science/equity controversy at the school. According to the leaflet, BHS principal Jim Slemp is opposed to the compromise plan suggested by Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett: […]
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BHS science labs not just for the ‘privileged’
Amy Hansen is a long time science teacher at Berkeley High School. When she read Rick Ayer’s opinion piece on the science lab controversy, she felt compelled to send a letter to the school board rebutting Ayers’ charges. This is a copy of the letter. Contrary to Mr. Ayers assertion, it is not a privilege […]
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Are Berkeley parents like white Southern racists? Rick Ayers thinks so
Rick Ayers Rick Ayers was a well-regarded teacher at Berkeley High for 11 years, instrumental in starting the Community Arts and Sciences (CAS) small school and helping with the school newspaper. But since his departure, Ayers has taken to criticizing what he considers a dangerous force at Berkeley High: the Parents of Power or the […]
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BHS science lab debate: What Shirley said
In the concluding moments of Wednesday night’s school board meeting, director Shirley Issel made a passionate statement urging an end to the divisive rhetoric used by some sides in the argument over equity grants and science labs at Berkeley High School. Here’s some of what Issel said: Many people in this community have stood up […]
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BHS science lab controversy: A parent’s viewpoint
Susan Helmrich has been a parent at Berkeley High for the last six years. As co-chair of the Development Group and a former member of the school site council, Helmrich is very familiar with the workings of the high school. Yet last night’s school board meeting left her – and many others – confused about […]
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Lots of talk, but no action on BHS science classes
More than a dozen people spoke out Wednesday night against cutting science labs at Berkeley High School, but the school board took no action on the controversial proposal. Parents and students, though, did get to hear the thoughts of BHS principal Jim Slemp, who has been publicly silent in the last few months — after […]
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Amended BHS school board agenda expected
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. […]
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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 […]
