The Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley schools Board of Education meets tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 10) for a closed session at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. See the Dec. 10 agenda packet. Ty Alper, elected in November, […]
School enrollment
Posted inSchools
Time-lapse video: A Berkeley school gets new classrooms
The new portables are on Washington’s annex campus on McKinley St., across from the school’s main campus Over the summer, Washington Elementary School in Berkeley got a new set of portable classrooms. The new classrooms replaced a group of portables which dated back to the 1960s, even though they were installed originally as a temporary measure. The new […]
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 […]
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Berkeley School Board primer: enrollment and capacity, recess restriction, emergency preparedness
The Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley schools Board of Education meets tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 5) for a closed session at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Follow along via the Nov. 5 agenda packet. The board will […]
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board: 3 seats contested by 5 candidates
The current Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The current Berkeley School Board, at an August 2014 meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD Three seats on the Berkeley Unified school board are being contested by five candidates in this year’s election. Three of the candidates — Josh Daniels, Karen Hemphill and Julie Sinai — […]
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Berkeley School Board primer: BCCE union contract, compensation report on the agenda
The Berkeley School Board, at an August meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley School Board, at an August meeting. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley schools Board of Education meets tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 22) for a closed session at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Follow along via the Oct. 22 agenda packet. The board is scheduled to […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: School district overcrowding is an opportunity that begins as a problem
Last week’s Berkeley School Board meeting kicked off a series of important community input meetings to address the issue of overcrowding in our schools. Parents from local elementary schools shared observations about how increasing demands on our teachers, classrooms, schoolyards and cafeterias undermine the quality education that we want for Berkeley’s kids. Although our schools […]
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Berkeley School Board primer: English Learner master plan and increasing enrollment are on the agenda
The Berkeley School Board meets Wednesdays twice a month. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD The Berkeley schools Board of Education meets tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 8) for a closed session at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Follow along via the agenda packet. The board will discuss the district’s English Learner Master Plan. It will also begin a four-part […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: After fatal stabbing, be the change in South Berkeley
On Sept. 19, a 72-year-old woman was brutally stabbed in front of the Berkeley Zen Center in South Berkeley in a botched carjacking. For several days she lay in the hospital sedated and unresponsive, with irreparable brain damage. Because of this, her family decided to take her off life support. Two-and-a-half weeks after the attack, she died. […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Less shoot-from-the-hip, more planning for schools
In the past fourteen years, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) has authorized $327 million in capital improvements. That represents approximately $15,000 in taxes per household, or about $35,000 per student, a generous investment by Berkeley residents. Most people are surprised to learn, however, that BUSD has allocated these resources without a Facilities Master Plan. A […]
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State-mandated kindergarten program explains perceived student numbers squeeze at Berkeley schools
First day of school at Malcom X Elementary School in Berkeley. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD When the Berkeley school district added two new kindergarten classes – one to Cragmont school and one to Malcolm X — just before school began, some parents were concerned about what impact the move would have on the schools, which, they said, were neither […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley schools are victims of their own success
I am a proud graduate from, and enthusiastic supporter of, the Berkeley public schools. I am a lifelong resident of Berkeley, and have chosen to raise my family here. I love the school that my children attend, and have had nothing but tremendously positive experiences with all of the teachers and staff that have been […]
