Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School

At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School teachers, staff, and families work together to create a very dynamic learning community where every child is known and supported. The school uses a cohort model in which a vice principal, counselor, and two resource teachers follow the students from 6th to 8th grade, supporting them academically, socially, and emotionally.The ideals of Dr. King guide the work of the staff, and are reflected in our school identity as Builders. The four core values of our school include: community, knowledge, trust, and justice. As a school community, Principal Tison Yee emphasizes the crucial relationship between staff, families, and students to ultimately ensure that each of us is able to meet our potential and play our part in making the world a better place.

King is the middle school with a newcomer program for children who arrive in Berkeley from another country. The teachers provide a strong foundation and support network for the students and their families and are constantly working to provide conversation and academic English language instruction. Our team takes pride in our commitment to growing and enabling the success of all our emerging multilingual scholars.

King’s nationally-renowned Edible Schoolyard, inspired by Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters, began in 1996. Students work with a Schoolyard staff that includes a gardener, administrator and chef. In the two-acre garden students study plant cultivation as a science and learn to regard the earth as a friend. The dining commons, which also houses BUSD’s Central Kitchen, further enhances the idea that nutrition and health are important aspects of the education of every student.

The King LEARNS Afterschool Program offers a wide range of opportunities for students including sports, theatre activities, dance classes, sewing, gardening, homework tutorials, and much, much more.

The spacious King campus provides ample room for student activity. A baseball field, pool, tennis courts, and quarter-mile track are on campus, as well as the Edible Schoolyard. A sense of welcome greets visitors and students as they enter the school, past the striking student murals and breathtaking mass of flowers that fill the courtyard garden. The message resonates in the vibrant colors: The school is thriving!