School board surprised by recommendation to expand police presence in Berkeley high schools
School resource officer program wins over committee but school board members still question if police are needed to keep schools safe.
The Berkeley school district is considering what role, if any, police should play in its schools.
At a board meeting on Wednesday night, school board members debated the role of the School Resource Officer (SRO), a single officer employed by the Berkeley Police Department who is stationed at school campuses.
Since 2019, Geoffrey Mitchell has been the district’s sole SRO. He works on the campuses of Berkeley High and Berkeley Technology Academy, the district’s continuation school, four days a week. He also tutors students on Berkeley High’s football team.
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Thursday March 4 9:40 am
As SFO s United Workers Face Furloughs, Lawmakers Say Relief Bill Could Help Save Bay Area Jobs
Bay Area members of Congress are calling on Republican lawmakers to support a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that was passed by the House and is now being considered by the Senate. The push comes as thousands of local workers in battered industries, including most recently United Airlines workers at SFO, face a fresh round of furloughs and layoffs.
In a press event Tuesday, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Marin, said the pandemic has devastated his district’s economy, which is driven by tourism, travel and recreation.
Independence High School had a lower graduation rate than Liberty Union High District s overall graduation rate at 53 percent, according to the California Department of Education. In comparison, Liberty Union High District had a graduation rate of 87.4 percent for the 2017-2018 school year. According to CDE data, graduation rates continue to indicate an increase in disproportional academic performance between white, Black, Latino, and English learner students. According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, in the 2017-2018 school year, of the 50 states where data was collected, students with disabilities were at the bottom of 4-year high school graduation rates by student group.
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.