On Monday, Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, teachers and students returned to in-person instruction for the first time since the pandemic first forced schools to close last spring.
Under the BUSD hybrid plan, students in prekindergarten through second grade were eligible to return to in-person instruction. While students will have the next week off for spring recess, those in third to ninth grade will return to schools in person the following week of April 12. Tenth to 12th grade students will return the week after.
For Marco Taylor, principal of John Muir Elementary School, the first day back felt like a first day of school. BUSD spokesperson Trish McDermott, who visited elementary schools this week, echoed the sentiment.
Berkeley parents protested outside BUSD headquarters and marched to Longfellow Middle School Saturday to ask the district to allow all students back to in-person classes. Photo: Pete Rosos
One year after Berkeley public schools shut their doors, and just a week after the district announced it would offer in-person elementary classes five days per week starting March 29, some parents are still pushing for middle and high schools to fully reopen. A protest this weekend was the latest action by a group of parents who have been advocating for reopening since the fall.
On Saturday afternoon, about 150 parents and kids marched from the Berkeley Unified School District offices on Bonar Street to Longfellow Middle School, where School Board Director Laura Babbitt and City Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani awaited the group.
Opinion: Turning crisis into opportunity: Why Berkeley needs TOPA now
Allowing tenants to buy their apartments when they come up for sale will help keep the diversity Berkeley prides itself on.
There’s an end in sight to this pandemic, but vaccinations and falling case rates won’t magically fix the exacerbated housing crisis that COVID-19 leaves in its wake – a crisis that was already displacing thousands in BIPOC communities from their East Bay homes. Bold action is overdue to ensure that marginalized renters across Berkeley have a more thriving future. With a new policy called the “Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act” (TOPA), we have an opportunity to go beyond pandemic relief and take concrete steps to preserve homes in our community.
Berkeley schools prepare for in-person instruction amid pandemic
Joe Sison/Staff
Following a tentative agreement that was reached in February, Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, is planning its process for reopening schools. Various members of the BUSD community have voiced both support and concerns on the developments.
As students, teachers and parents continue to struggle with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, is preparing to reopen its schools after an agreement was tentatively reached in February.
Students and teachers are voicing their support, thoughts and concerns on the developments as reopening looms near. The reopening process will begin with elementary schools in late March, followed by middle and high schools in April.
When Greg Ritzinger was in his early 20s, he found himself without permanent housing and unable to fully access public facilities or amenities, while facing other difficulties as a former youth experiencing homelessness, or YEH.
Now, at the age of 29, Ritzinger is a UC Berkeley student and a member of Youth and Allies Against Homelessness, or YAAH, a group committed to ending homelessness. Considered to be an overlooked population, YEH are generally individuals under the age of 26 who are experiencing homelessness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has positioned YEH to be at the greatest risk of being affected by the pandemic, according to a UC Berkeley School of Public Health report titled “On the COVID-19 Front Line and Hurting” that was released last summer. In addition to being a physical health threat, COVID-19 impacts the well-being of YEH by limiting their basic needs of shelter, food and safety.