Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Brent Stephens hosted a virtual town hall to discuss current reopening plans with community stakeholders.
A mass COVID-19 vaccination site is operating in the north parking lot of Golden Gate Fields. Feb. 4, 2021. Photo: Pete Rosos
Berkeley teachers would be prepared to return to school if they receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Berkeley Federation of Teachers told the Berkeley Unified School District on Tuesday amid ongoing negotiations.
The counterproposal from the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) was made during labor talks about school reopenings in a hybrid model, and, if both parties agree, it could considerably speed up bringing kids back into classrooms.
But how fast is another question. Vaccine supply continues to be limited, and, although teachers are now eligible to be inoculated in Alameda County, residents aged 65 years and above are being prioritized for scarce slots.
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.
Berkeley school district discusses updates to phased reopening of schools
BUSD Board of Education/Courtesy
BUSD Superintendent Brent Stephens presented updates on a projected timeline of reopening schools and designing a hybrid learning model with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, or BFT. In a discussion of hybrid learning models for elementary schools, the school district and BFT agree on a model that implements distance learning in the morning and optional in-person learning in the afternoon, but they disagree on requiring COVID-19 testing for students.