Over the course of this school year, Berkeley High School has been considering ways to re-design the high school program in order to better serve all students. The Berkeley High School leadership team is working with a group known as the “Design Team,” a representative group of teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and students. The Design Team has engaged in a process that is inclusive and research-based in the development of redesign proposals. Important conversations about school structure and equity are taking place in a variety of stakeholder and staff meetings.
The work of the Design Team has been guided by the following questions:
- How can we better align Berkeley High School to existing research around effective High Schools across the country? What does the data say? What are we already doing? What can we do better?
- Is the structure we currently have really the best one for all the students in our school?
- What changes can we make so that more students can reach the goals of a 21st century student?
The degree to which Berkeley High School will change is currently under discussion. Any changes being considered to the school structure will take time to implement and will not impact current students nor next year’s incoming 9th graders, but would impact current 7th and 6th graders.
Family Workshops with information about these re-design efforts and opportunities for input from current students and families, as well as our BUSD middle school families, are noted below.
The Family Workshops will provide:
- Information on what BHS has learned so far in the redesign process,
- Current efforts strengthening our services and supports for students, and
- Opportunities for community input, ideas, and feedback on proposals for positive change to benefit future Berkeley High School students.
BHS Family Workshops
- Wednesday, May 4, BHS Family Forum 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in BHS library
- Thursday, May 5, Chicano/Latino Bilingual Family Workshop, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in BHS College and Career Center
- Saturday, May 7, Parents of Children of African Descent (PCAD) sponsored Forum in BHS Library, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Sunday, May 22, Chicano/Latino Spanish Only Family Workshop, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. in BHS College and Career
Middle School Family Workshops
- Wednesday, May 11 Longfellow Family Forum 2016, 6:00 – 7:30; at Longfellow
- Wednesday, May 18 Willard Family Forum 2016, 7:00 – 8:30; at Willard
- Wednesday, May 25 King Family Forum 2016 7:00 – 8:30; at King
More information about the Design Team and the re-design process is available here on the BHS website.