Berkeley teachers, principals, and staff took advantage of all kinds of summer learning opportunities that were available to them; some traveled far and wide to broaden their horizons and expand teaching tools, while others took advantage of learning opportunities available right here at home.
In the week before the opening of school, our professional group of instructional assistants and several special education teachers worked together during a three-day, 18 hour training presented by BUSD's Behavior Specialists (Hannah Acevedo, Anthony Catanzaro, Andrea Jason, Catherine Rodecker, and Shayna Stuempfig). The training introduced strategies for working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and interventions for children with deficits in executive functioning and children who have experienced trauma. Throughout, the training focused on ways to promote and foster greater independence when working with students in inclusion settings, and ways to apply these behavior principles and strategies to support all children in our district.
