As Berkeley High School gears up for the 2022-2023 school year, the administration prepares to control the spread of COVID-19, given the high rates of transmission.  “What we know from the district, that sets out a COVID safety plan for all of our sites, is that we’re trying our best to go back to

The district’s superintendent of three years, Brent Stephens, announced he was leaving Berkeley Unified School District this spring. Since then, the search for a successor led to one finalist, Enikia Ford Morthel, the deputy superintendent of instruction in the San Francisco school district.

In February of 2021, Matthew Bissell, a former chemistry teacher at Berkeley High School, quietly resigned after signing a separation agreement with Superintendent Brent Stephens.

“It’s lighthearted and fun to have a day where you randomly bring muffins,” said Berkeley High School student Benjamin Lemkin. “I know that if I was walking around and somebody [offered] me a muffin, it would brighten my day.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the educational challenges it brought, the state of California has given school districts relief money to use as they choose.

Starting on January 26, Berkeley High School recently implemented an optional COVID-19 surveillance testing plan that aims to test all 3,100 students twice per week.  According to Principal Juan Raygoza, over the first four days of the testing schedule, BHS administered 3,809 rapid tests and identified 22 positive cases.