2020 Bonar Street, Room 319, Berkeley, CA 94702
Tel: 510.644.6257 | Fax: 510.644.8815
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Jill Hoogendyk, Associate Superintendent
Amber Spencer, Executive Assistant to the Associate Superintendent
Debbie Dean, Director of Schools
Liza Estupin, Director, Categorical & Special Projects
Department Overview
The Educational Services Department includes all personnel and programs that deliver instructional support to the schools. The goals of the department are to provide high quality staff development to all teachers and paraprofessionals, to improve student achievement, and to develop curriculum to meet the state content standards. The budget for these programs is based largely on grants and categorical funding.
The work of our department is focused on teaching and learning. Visit the Teaching & Learning webpage to read about initiatives and practices continuously improving our schools.
Curriculum Standards
Read about Common Core State Standards here.
Curriculum standards are set by the State of California Department of Education and adopted by the Berkeley Unified School District. These content standards were designed to encourage the highest achievement of every student, by defining the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students should acquire at each grade level. Electronic versions are available for the following content standards adopted by the California State Board of Education:
English-Language Arts including ELD (English Language Development)
Mathematics
History-Social Science
Science
Visual and Performing Arts
View the full text of the standards in PDF format here:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp
To order printed versions of the standards, contact CDE Press at
http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/rc/ap/pubcat.aspx
Professional Development
The primary goal of the District’s Staff Development Plan is to engage teachers, administrators and staff in developing, researching and disseminating effective models of instruction, particularly in the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics. The California Department of Education’s key goal is to develop high quality teachers whose training enables them to enter the classroom with the skills and knowledge to effectively serve students and enhance K-12 student achievement.
Effective professional development programs—teachers learning successful educational strategies—are essential to improving overall student outcomes.
The following strategic directions and targeted content for professional development guide the district’s Professional Development program:
Strategic Directions:
- Build a collaborative Professional Development structure that is guided by District vision and goals and implemented at the site level.
- Expand knowledge and use of a wide range of approaches to teaching that lead to high achievement and equitable outcomes for all students.
- Expand knowledge of subject matter expertise in priority areas.
Targeted Content:
- Expository Writing and Literacy Skills
- Numeracy and Algebra Readiness and Success
- Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI2)
- Effective Use of Assessment Data to Improve Instruction
- Cultural Competence: Supporting a Diverse Student and Staff Population
- Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment/Peer Assistance and Review – BTSA/PAR
School Governance and Community Engagement
Committee work is an important part of the shared governance structure in each of our schools and in the Berkeley Unified School District. For a full listing of the committees and their function, please see the information in the Parent-Student Handbook on this page.
This document provided in English and Spanish provides an overview of the various school and district committees.
Family Engagement staff works to support building inclusive committees that represent the many voices of our diverse community. Visit the Office of Family Engagement & Equity webpage here for more information.
Annual Training Workshop for School & District Committees: October of each year
The annual training workshops, originally designed for School Site/Governance Council members has now expanded to include representatives from many school and district committees, including ELACs, DELAC, PTAs, the PAC, and the Berkeley High BSEP Committee, PTSA and BHSDG members. Look out for details each September.
Each committee member receives a Site Committee Handbook with additional materials.
Handbook for School Site Committees: PDF
The Berkeley Unified LEA (Title III) Plan for 2016-17: PDF
Other pages have information on:
- Assessment
- Beginning Teachers Support & Assessment (BTSA)
- Climate Literacy
- Curriculum Resources
- Extended Learning Taskforce (ELT)
- Gardening and Cooking Program
- Local Control & Accountability Plan
- Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS)
- Programs and Special Projects
- School Governance
- Student Services
- Supplemental Educational Services