Tag Archives: Berkeley Unified School District
$250,000 for Berkeley schools thanks to Lonely Island
The largest-ever single donation to Berkeley Unified School District will be made thanks to a Super Bowl contest for Doritos. Doritos, part of the Frito-Lay division of Pepsico, is working with The Lonely Island on its Crash the Super Bowl competition. The three members of comedy music and video group The Lonely Island, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, have been friends since Willard Middle School.
For Crash the Super Bowl, Doritos invites consumer-made ads, one of which airs in a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl. The Lonely Island were originally going to create their own Doritos ad, but decided instead to give their air time to a second consumer-created ad. By doing so, they gave up the chance for a $1 million prize to charity if their Doritos ad took the number one spot on the USA Today Ad Meter. In return, Doritos has announced it will give $250,000 to The Lonely Island’s choice of charity — Berkeley Unified. … Continue reading »
Student director hopes to address “opportunity gap”
On August 31, Maddy Roberts, a senior at Berkeley High, will face one of her most important challenges yet: representing the 9,000 students in the Berkeley Unified School District.
Roberts, 17, was elected in May to serve as the Student Director for the forthcoming year, which means she will sit on the school board and represent the diverse student voices in the district.
Roberts won the position in a race that attracted the high school’s most politically ambitious and passionate … Continue reading »
Berkeley High harassment case heading to settlement
The long-running case concerning alleged sexual harassment by Berkeley High counselor Anthony Smith came to Federal Court today in San Francisco and now looks likely to be settled by the school district.
Judge Maria-Elena James considered the Berkeley Unified School District’s motion to dismiss the federal suit against Smith, the district and Superintendent Bill Huyett (the full text of the suit is here). The judge denied the motion to dismiss three state law claims in the suit and dismissed a claim of negligence without prejudice, providing an opening for the plaintiff to refile with a more specific complaint of negligence.
Berkeleyside broke the news that Smith had been accused of sexually harassing a junior at BHS in April 2010. In September 2010, at the beginning of the student’s senior year, a temporary restraining order was granted ordering Smith to stay at least 100 yards away from the student. An out-of-court settlement was reached on the restraining order in October, when Smith agreed to stay at least 50 yards from the student. The federal case considered today seeking unspecified damages was filed in April this year. … Continue reading »
Community schools help kids but worry neighbors
HAYWARD — Nine teenage boys and one teenage girl sat grouped around a set of desks arranged in a rectangle. Their eyes were focused on another boy standing in front of them, who was reading from his report on the effects of marijuana.
“People are introduced to marijuana usually by their friends, older sister or brother, or someone they know,” said the speaker, who looked up from his paper to flash a smile at his classmates, who then started to talk.
“You are doing very well,” said Annie Green, the teacher, who, without missing a beat, turned to the class and told them to tone down their chatter. “Save your comments for later,” she said. Green then turned her attention back to her standing student and started to probe some of the points he made in his presentation, particularly what marijuana does to pregnant women.
The scene could be one from any Bay Area high school with its mix of restless students and a teacher trying to tamp down their chatter. But this didn’t happen in an ordinary school. It took place recently at the Hayward Community School, a school run by the Alameda County Office of Education for students who have been expelled by their own school districts for truancy, bad behavior, repeated suspensions, and violent acts like carrying a weapon to school. Some may have served time in juvenile hall.
Nestled in the back of the bright yellow Eden Youth and Family Center on West Tennyson, right next to a pediatric clinic, a day care center and a day labor program, the Hayward Community School serves 64 of Alameda County’s toughest students, those, who, despite repeated chances, could not make it at their own high schools. They have been sent to the community school to sit out their expulsions, which may range from a semester to a year.
Four of the students at the Hayward Community School live in Berkeley, and soon, in the 2011-2012 school year, students like them might be able to attend classes in their hometown rather than have to travel to Hayward. The Alameda County Office of Education and the Berkeley Unified School District are proposing to create a small community school inside the Berkeley Adult School on San Pablo Avenue near Virgina. … Continue reading »
Pre-K extended care classes threatened with closure
Berkeley Unified School District is considering at its board meeting this week closing the four remaining classrooms offering extended care for preschoolers. The recommendation from BUSD staff (item 3.1-A on the linked board packet) is a response to the state’s cut of 15% in funding for pre-school and extended day programs, and a further 10% proposed state cut in reimbursement fees.
“This is a major issue for families of color in Berkeley,” according to Pablo Paredes, father of a … Continue reading »
Parents cross their fingers in Berkeley school lottery
By Chris Hammond
Ring the school bell. Today marks a day of hope and trepidation for hundreds of Berkeley parents. The deadline to submit applications for the Berkeley public school lottery is 4 pm.
For kindergartners, the lottery marks a crucial beginning. The results will determine which school they get. Parents and guardians wait to find out, will it be the neighborhood school? Or the school on the other side of town?
Then there are all the other considerations parents sweat: will we get one of the few seats in a Spanish language immersion class, or the school with the intensive music and dance program?
“I really, really do want my first choice,” said Erika Pollak, whose son will attend kindergarten next year. She visited all five schools the district listed for her child, based on where they live in Berkeley. The one she wants is spacious Malcolm X Elementary School, an arts and academic magnet school. “If I don’t get it, I’ll be disappointed, I’ll do what I can to change. I’ll go to the school administration.”
Parents and guardians receive assignment letters by mid-March. Melissandra Leonardos, Manager of Admissions and Attendance, said 68% of students received their first choice last year, and 11% got their second choice.
“Honestly, I don’t make exceptions,” Leonardos said. “Unless it’s truly for the health and safety of a student.” She described the school lottery as a controlled choice — parents get to choose first, second and third from a number of schools, but the school district puts controls on where students end up. Parents who are still unhappy with the choice they get can join a waiting list for the school they want.
Controls such as race, education and income influence the pick. The goal that both parents and school officials said they hope for: good schools for everyone.
The philosophy behind Berkeley Unified’s school enrollment is steeped in careful consideration and history. The path to today’s lottery began when Berkeley schools became the first in the nation to integrate voluntarily in 1968. For the next 27 years elementary students got on the bus in an effort to make sure all students shared schools equally.
… Continue reading »
Berkeley school officials say gun incident handled properly
Despite the concern of some parents that Berkeley school officials let the 15-year old who brought a gun to Berkeley High flee before he could be detained by police, that was the best way to handle the situation, according to Superintendent Bill Huyett.
School security officers don’t have the authority to physically detain kids, tackle them, or lock them in a room, he said. The only time they intervene physically is when there is a fight going on, he said.
“We are not law enforcement agents, so we don’t lock kids in rooms, ever,” Huyett said on Friday. “The thing that is most important is to ensure safety for all students. We do secure the suspected contraband. I’ve had kids flee on me [when he was a principal] and my advice is to not physically intervene with them. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t give chase. Don’t physically entail. Turn it over to police.’”
The student was still at large Thursday evening, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss of the Berkeley police department.
On Monday, the 15-year old freshman allegedly brought a gun to school in his backpack. School started at 10 am, and by 11 am school officials had heard from multiple sources that the student had gotten a gun.
While safety officials were looking inside the backpack, the student fled. By the time Berkeley police arrived, the student was no longer on school premises. … Continue reading »
City supports public education with Measures H and I
As we reported last night, the results on Berkeley Unified School District’s Measures H and I proved thoroughly undramatic throughout the evening. Measure H, which approved a parcel tax to fund maintenance, required a two-thirds majority to pass. It actually surpassed 80%. Measure I, which allows for up to $210 million in bonds to be issued to fund a number of capital projects, needed a 55% majority. It received nearly 77%. Contrast those resounding results with neighboring Oakland, … Continue reading »
School board candidates respond to key questions
Berkeleyside recently sent all the candidates for the School Board a set of questions, partly based on the suggestions our readers provided. Six candidates are running for three positions on the board: Josh Daniels, Norma Harrison, Karen Hemphill, Julie Holcomb, Priscilla Myrick and Leah Wilson. All except for Harrison responded to our questions. (If we hear from Harrison we will, of course, publish her responses.)
Berkeleyans who want to find out more about the school board candidates can attend a forum in the Community Theater at Berkeley High School tonight from 7 p.m. The forum is being held by the Berkeley High PTSA together with the League of Women Voters. The discussion will be moderated by BHS Principal Pasquale Scuderi and students from BHS Leadership.
These were our questions to the candidates:
- What do you think needs to be done about the achievement gap at Berkeley High?
- Do you think more charter schools should be allowed in Berkeley?
- What do you think can be achieved through the 2020 Vision process?
- What do you see as the most important issue today for Berkeley’s schools?
We didn’t give candidates a word count, but for those who asked, the answer was that space on the Internet isn’t limited, but readers’ attention spans are. We haven’t edited the responses in any way. We’ve listed the answers in alphabetical order of the candidates. Read the candidates’ answers below the fold. … Continue reading »
Berkeley schools improve in statewide tests
For the fourth year in a row, schools in the Berkeley Unified School District showed improved results in California’s Academic Performance Index (API). API scores are calculated by the state Department of Education based on results in a variety of standardized tests across multiple subjects in grades 2 through 11.
The school district’s API improved to 784 in 2010 from 767 in 2009. In a district where the achievement gap in a diverse student population has been a major issue, … Continue reading »
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