Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Brent Stephens hosted his State of the District meeting, touching on reopening plans and state funding.
During Wednesday night’s Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, Board of Education meeting, members discussed updates to distance learning and unanimously approved funding for a plan to engage the Berkeley community on middle school student enrollment.
Several BUSD staff presented a report that compared data from the fall 2020 semester with the previous academic year to demonstrate distance learning’s impact on student attendance and academic performance. Four guest BUSD teachers also shared their experiences with distance learning and the challenges the school district should address while schools remain physically closed.
“After the decision to close schools last March, we rolled out a distance learning program and have continued to work tirelessly with staff to improve it,” said BUSD Associate Superintendent Bajé Thiara. “While it has been a challenge as a community, we have embraced it wholeheartedly.”
Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, educators at alternative high schools and special education programs have adapted their teaching methods due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which also rendered key services inaccessible for students.
Berkeley Technology Academy, or BTA, and Berkeley Independent Study, or BIS, are two different programs within BUSD that serve students who need greater flexibility and teacher attention. Dissimilar to BIS, which has the same graduation requirements as Berkeley High School, BTA is a continuation school for credit recovery for students ages 16 and older.
The school district’s special education program provides students with services related to special education, according to BUSD spokesperson Trish McDermott in an email. These services are determined by an individualized education plan, or IEP, team that is based on a student’s specific needs.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office launched a website to provide transparency, accountability and guidance for schools reopening for in-person learning.
Berkeley parents to stage sit-in for reopening schools at Kamala Harris old elementary school
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U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivers remarks as President-elect Joe Biden looks on at The Queen theater Jan. 7, 2021, in Wilmington, Del.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A group of Berkeley parents are preparing to stage a sit-in at Vice President-elect Kamala Harris elementary school to demand that schools reopen as soon as public health officials deem it safe, according to a news release.
The protest, slated for the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley, is framed by advocates for reopening schools as a call against discrimination in the access of education in California, the release said.