Hemphill served from 2006 to 2018 and was known for her advocacy for Black students and for growing the district’s career and technical education program.
Karen Hemphill
Posted inCity
Berkeley’s new City Council member is a poet, transportation nut, and ‘can’t imagine living anywhere else’
Taplin defeated incumbent Cheryl Davila to take the West Berkeley seat.
Posted inSchools
Watch: Outgoing School Board members say passionate goodbyes
Karen Hemphill gave a forceful speech and Josh Daniels reflected on his tenure through a data-driven presentation.
Posted inSchools
Berkeley Unified introduces fees for residential and commercial developers
Residential developers will soon be required pay the district $3.48 per square foot, and commercial developers 56 cents. Most nearby districts already have a similar policy.
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REALM Charter School will stay at West Campus next year
After much back-and-forth, REALM will continue leasing a small space at the site from the Berkeley Unified School District.
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Budget woes threaten REALM Charter Schools
Berkeley’s largest charter school is suffering financial woes and space constraints that pose serious challenges to its continuing viability.
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School Board considers name change at LeConte
Le Conte Elementary School could one day have a new name. Photo: Nancy Rubin Berkeley school officials are considering changing the name of Le Conte Elementary after community members raised concerns about its namesake, Joseph Le Conte, a deeply respected UC Berkeley faculty member and a passionate conservationist who helped found the Sierra Club. Le Conte was […]
Posted inCity
City Council seeks to move meetings to West Berkeley
The Berkeley City Council wants to move its meetings to the BUSD headquarters on Bonar. Photo: Kaia Diringer Update, Sept. 15 The neighborhood meeting has been moved to Sept. 24 because of a scheduling conflict, district spokesman Mark Coplan told Berkeleyside today. Coplan explained by email that “It is a neighborhood meeting like we conduct when […]
Posted inSchools
BUSD poised to adopt tougher school enrollment policy
BUSD rejected 11% of applicants from private middle schools to Berkeley High School for 2015-16 after stricter enforcement requirements were implemented. Now the board is considering an even tougher policy. Photo: Melati Citrawireja Berkeley school board officials are considering tougher enrollment requirements to curb illegal enrollment in the district, following the initial success of new […]
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Mrs. Dalloway’s to give Berkeley teachers $100 in books
Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore: has just received a James Patterson grant. Photo: Frances Dinkespiel Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore: has just received a James Patterson grant. Photo: Frances Dinkespiel Every kindergarten and first grade teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District will soon have the opportunity to buy $100 worth of books, thanks to an offer made by […]
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School board reviews recess restriction as punishment
Berkeley is discussing the pros and cons of taking recess time away from kids as a form of punishment. Photo: Nick Kenrick Two years ago, Berkeley parent Sinead O’Sullivan got tired of hearing from her kindergartener that he was missing recess for misbehaving. She knew he wasn’t a saint, but she didn’t think taking exercise […]
Posted inSchools
School Board considers options for tackling student surge
More space is needed at Berkeley schools to accommodate an estimated 250 new students in the next three years. Photo: BUSD With an extra 250 students projected to crowd into Berkeley schools in the coming three years, the school board considered a long list of options for creating space at its Nov. 5 meeting. The board […]
