Berkeley Technology Academy

Welcome to BTA

Program Overview

Berkeley Technology Academy (BTA)  is one of Berkeley’s specialized programs and alternative schools. Our program is designed for students who are 16 or older in need of credit recovery, interested in Career and Technical Education, Project Based Learning, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education) curriculum. BTA has a multicultural staff trained in the implementation of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and Social Emotional Learning curriculum.Students enrolled at BTA are also allowed to participate in teams sports offered at BHS, while recovering credit.We are a small and flexible  multi – lingual program/community that prides itself on working closely and passionately with individuals who match our student profile criteria.

In 2006, the BUSD School Board approved  A-G courses at BTA, allowing qualified students to enroll directly in four-year universities. Students may take classes at BIS and BHS to meet A-G requirements if BTA does not offer a class. Some BTA students have the option of returning to BHS, after completing accelerated credit recovery, and meet the 220 credit diploma requirement at the comprehensive high school.

In spring 2018, the BUSD school board added a 130 credits high school diploma as an option at BTA, in addition to the original 220 credit diploma. Both diploma options meet the requirements for the state of California for standard diplomas. BTA has two new Career Tech Education (CTE) pathways in Public Health and Computer Science to support students with Career and College Readiness, and post secondary plans. Class size is no more than 18:1, and the enrollment maximum is currently 90 students.

BTA Enrollment Process

All students and families choose BTA voluntarily. The school enrolls students who are at least 16 years old, and in 11th or 12th grade. Credit-deficient students are referred to BTA by Berkeley High School (BHS) counselors and special education case managers.The student, their family, and the BTA academic counselor hold a transition meeting for placement at BTA to review their transcript and create a schedule. If a student has an IEP, an IEP placement meeting is held, and the IEP team recommends the placement. The BTA education specialist, BTA academic counselor, and BTA principal are included on the IEP team.