For Berkeley High School students and staff, the structure of the school day could change under a proposed new bell and master schedule for the 2027-28 school year. These changes could affect class lengths, meeting frequency, passing period duration, and students’ ability to fit electives, physical education (P.E.) requirements, and other courses into their schedules. Additionally, updates to the master schedule affect the BHS course catalog, student support resources, and educational leadership.
To help shape the process, BHS Principal Juan Raygoza asked for students’ input through a BHS Bell and Master Schedule survey. Students answered questions regarding their priorities and hopes for a new schedule, helping the district to gain a better understanding of the perspective of students priorities on this issue. According to the BHS Bell and Master Schedule Design, the goal of the survey was intended to “focus on ideas rather than finished bell schedules.”
These proposed changes come after the adjustment of P.E. requirements after BHS fell out of compliance with state mandates through its previous approach to P.E. credits, by allowing outside sports to count towards graduation credits without meeting state requirements.
“I would love to have more electives,” Madeline Van Hoang, a BHS freshman said, “That'd be really nice because almost everybody has one of their electives taken up by a language.”
A-G graduation requirements, including required baseline subjects, can limit the number of elective periods available to students with the maximum number of elective spaces often being two. Students also prioritize taking language classes due to the same multi-year A-G requirements in a foreign language course. As a result, some students may have only one space to take an elective. The new bell schedule will aim to prioritize lengthier classes, rotating schedule days, advisory or flex time built into the school day, concurrent enrollment; and expand access to AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), CTE (Career Technical Education), electives, and other specialized curriculum, according to a master schedule design document created by administration.
Over the past decade, BHS’ schedule has shifted multiple times. After the formation of the Universal 9th Grade (U9) during the 2014-15 school year, the district established a master schedule that resembles the one BHS uses today. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and restricted students from in-person learning, a quarter system in which students rotated through three of their six courses each semester was adopted. In recent years, support for a change in schedule has grown in order to better accommodate students and staff in “strong instruction and equitable course access.”
During the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) school board meeting on Sept. 2, the creation of a new schedule was a central focus. Administrators such as BHS Vice Principal Keldon Clegg, Raygoza, and Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Jill Hoogendyk discussed possible layouts, priorities, and implementation strategies regarding a new campus routine. The three administrators outlined four goals that they are keeping in mind throughout the development of the new schedule. These are to provide high-quality Tier 1 instruction, define specific data tools for staff to use, organize schoolwide student support systems, and strengthen bonds throughout the BHS community. These aims were based on a Western Association of Schools and Colleges visit to BHS that examined the schools’ instructional quality, unity, and ongoing improvement.
Raygoza noted at a school board meeting that “to deliver high quality Tier 1 instruction and effective student support, our schedule must physically enable those structures.”
For the Class of 2030, the current BHS freshmen, the schedule changes must also account for the reinstatement of P.E. requirements. Unless they engage in a sport outside of school and are able to obtain a P.E. waiver, ninth grade students are once again required to be enrolled in a P.E. class.
“If there's six periods and students are required to take PE, no one's taking LEAP,” Elyssa Thome, a U9 Math 1 teacher, said, “Then you don't have a foreign language, you don't have an art, you don't have an elective.”
The U9 specific elective Learn, Engage, Accelerate, Persist, (LEAP) also becomes more difficult for students to access. The LEAP course provides A-G elective credit for students, while also providing them with skills that help them adapt to high school and succeed throughout their time at BHS. For students who need extra support and don’t want to miss out on credits, LEAP has historically been a valuable resource.
In the following months, a new schedule will begin to take shape. As evidenced by the infrequency of schedule changes, creating a new schedule is a complex process, which involves a myriad of academic and logistical considerations. Whether a change involves a small detail or a larger structural adjustment, it can heavily affect students and staff members’ daily experiences.
For many students, minor scheduling changes would create a world of difference for their academic experience.
“Literally one more minute (during) passing periods…would be nice,” Jude Hollingshead, a BHS senior, said.
As BUSD administrators continue developing the proposed schedule, student feedback and the district's teachers’ priorities will help shape the final plan. BHS’s proposed new schedule will aim to maintain the benefits of our current setup, while also creating a more beneficial learning environment that addresses students’ and staff's needs.