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 will narrow down the choices at its Dec. 10 meeting, and decide on a plan of action in January. After hearing […]
School enrollment
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board primer: enrollment and capacity, recess restriction, emergency preparedness
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 discuss possible solutions to overcrowding in the schools and will hear the first draft of a policy on using recess restriction as […]
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board: 3 seats contested by 5 candidates
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 — are incumbents on the board (although Sinai was appointed, not elected, following the resignation of Leah Wilson). Ty Alper and Norma Harrison are the […]
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board primer: BCCE union contract, compensation report on the agenda
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 approve a contract for a staff union that has been under negotiation for three years. The board will also approve […]
Posted inOpinion, Schools
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 […]
Posted inSchools
Berkeley School Board primer: English Learner master plan and increasing enrollment are on the agenda
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 process of addressing the challenges of increasing enrollment. (Read more about school […]
Posted inCommunity, Crime, Crime & Safety, Opinion, Schools
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, Schools
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 […]
Posted inCommunity, Schools
State-mandated kindergarten program explains perceived student numbers squeeze at Berkeley schools
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 spacious nor overstaffed. In an opinion piece published on Berkeleyside, Joshua Room, former President of […]
Posted inOpinion, Schools
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 […]
Posted inSchools
Glenchur named Berkeley High interim principal
Kristin Glenchur, vice principal at Berkeley High for the last six years, has been appointed interim principal of BHS for the 2014-15 school year by the BUSD superintendent and board. Glenchur’s appointment comes after a brief search for a replacement for Pasquale Scuderi, who was appointed assistant superintendent for educational services for Berkeley Unified at […]
Posted inSchools
4 new principals appointed to elementary and middle schools, search continues for new head of Berkeley High
Four new principals have been appointed to Berkeley elementary and middle schools, and the Berkeley Unified Board has decided to conduct a second-round search for a candidate to replace Pasquale Scuderi who is leaving his post as principal of Berkeley High to become Assistant Superintendent. The board also approved last week the appointment of a new […]