BUSD

Teachers embracing their baby, as they huddle under the burden of financial strain.

Lack of financial support for maternity leave burdens teachers

Investigative

“I would have loved to stay home with my newborn child longer than I did, but it was financially impossible,” said Yoshi Salaverry, an English teacher at Berkeley High School.

Longfellow Middle School

BUSD establishes Longfellow enrollment zone to increase diversity

News

On June 15, the Berkeley School Board unanimously voted to add a third enrollment zone for Longfellow Middle School, in an effort to desegregate the BUSD public middle schools.

“It feels more real:” BHS Students Return to In-Person Instruction

News

As the 2020-21 school year nears its end, some Berkeley High School students are returning to campus for in-person learning. The new schedule, which officially began April 24, moved the distance learning school day earlier: it now spans from 8:55 AM to 12:15 PM, and gives students optional time to return to in-person school

BUSD School Board Discusses Graduation, Teacher Healthcare, and Bridge Program

News

On Wednesday, May 5, the Berkeley Unified School District School Board met to discuss a variety of subjects, including the Berkeley High School Bridge Program, teachers’ healthcare costs, climate change, graduation plans, and the departure of Associate Superintendent Bajé Thiara.

School Board Meeting Covers Reopening Plans, Anti-Asian Violence

News

The March 24 Berkeley Unified School District school board meeting included conversations about school reopening in the fall, possible reopenings later this school year, and the spike in violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community that has been observed over the past months.

At Ruth Acty Elementary School, teachers have spent the first days of in-person teaching introducing students back into class and ensuring that COVID-19 precautions are followed.

BUSD Kindergarten Through Second Graders Return to In-Person School

News

On Monday, March 29, the majority of Berkeley Unified School District elementary schoolers in transitional kindergarten through second grade returned to full-time, in-person school.

How the Maternity Leave Policy at BHS is Impacting Teachers

Features

In January of 2019, Berkeley International High School Vice Principal Carrie Berg went on parental leave for the birth of her son. The policy at the time stated that Berg would receive differential pay; the difference in salary of what she would’ve been paid versus what her replacement got.

The Berkeley Adult School

Berkeley Adult School Parking Lot to be Converted to BUSD Staff Housing

News

On Wednesday, February 17, the Berkeley Unified School District board made the decision to approve the parking lot of the Berkeley Adult School for a new initiative that would build as many as 110 homes for BUSD staff.  The cost of living in Berkeley, California, is 80 percent higher than the national average, according

BUSD parent Mara Kolesas, a leader of the movement to reopen Berkeley schools.

Differing Opinions Abound Within Opposite Sides of Reopening Controversy

Features

After months of back and forth, the Berkeley Unified School District announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers for a hybrid reopening of all schools, grades K-12, on February 17.

The Teacher’s Union: Balancing Urgency and Uncertainty During the Pandemic

Features

In early 2020, The Berkeley Federation of Teachers was coming off of a year and a half of negotiations for the 2019-21 teacher’s contract agreement.

On April 11, the first group of ninth graders will return to Berkeley High School after over a year of distance learning for BUSD students.

Hybrid Learning Plan Released

News

Hybrid learning plans have been a major subject of discussion since Berkeley Unified School District’s announcement that schools would return to hybrid instruction this spring, once teachers are vaccinated.

Vaccine Roll Out and Reopening Plans Discussed at March 10 School Board Meeting

News

On the evening of March 10, the Berkeley School Board met to discuss a variety of topics. The principal among these was Superintendent Brent Stephens’ report on the progress towards reopening schools, and the immediacy of the district’s plans.

Structural and systemic factors have led to Black and Latinx students being deeply underrepresented in the available music programs at BUSD.

Behind Efforts to Increase Equity in BUSD Music Program

Features

In Berkeley Unified School District elementary schools, all students are required to participate in music education from third to fifth grade. Fourth and fifth grade students can access an instrument for free, and are taught by professional music teachers.

Cars drive through marked lanes at the Oakland Coliseum, which is currently acting as a vaccination site.

Teachers and Select BUSD Staff Receive Vaccinations

News

In recent weeks, teachers and educational staff working within Berkeley Unified School District have begun to receive vaccinations for COVID-19. This comes as a long-awaited relief for many educators, parents, and students, as it signals that BUSD’s proposed hybrid learning plan may be able to proceed as early as March 29.  Most vaccine doses

An empty BHS campus, where once an SRO intervened with crime committed to and by students.

Berkeley High Should Keep School Resource Officers to Best Protect Students

Opinion

In recent discussions about the future of policing in the United States, the need for an armed School Resource Officer on campuses has been a frequent topic of debate.

Despite Strong Systemic Efforts, Berkeley’s Unhoused Students Struggle in Distance Learning

Features

For some students — especially those with unstable home lives and housing situations — school can be a kind of alternate home, a place where they can find emotional, and sometimes even financial support from counselors or teachers.

Parent Teacher Student Association Holds Black History Month Celebration

News

On February 16, the Parent Teacher Student Association held a student-run Black History Month celebration and discussion in lieu of their monthly meeting.  The Tuesday gathering featured speeches, songs, and presentations from members of the Berkeley Unified School District community.

A Berkeley High School (BHS) classroom, which has sat vacant for almost a year, will host students again as soon as April 19.

Berkeley Schools to Return to Hybrid Instruction This Academic Year

News

The Berkeley Federation of Teachers and Berkeley Unified School District have reached a tentative agreement for schools to return after teachers are vaccinated, and established a timeline to do so this school year.  The agreement, which comes in the middle of ongoing negotiations, states that preschool, transitional kindergarten, and K-2 will return to