BUSD's fourth Miyawaki Forest was planted at Berkeley Technology Academy on December 8. |
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With the planting of the district's fourth Miyawaki Forest on December 8, BUSD students, staff, and families have planted a total of 4,110 native shrubs and trees. The planting of these forests helps students become citizen scientists who observe and document plant growth and the diversity of fauna that the Miyawaki forest supports. Students are encouraged to nurture and develop a vibrant ecosystem and empowered to learn from the natural world.
Miyawaki Forests also bring many benefits to our local community, including increasing biodiversity and reducing the harmful effects of air pollution. One of the most notable aspects of this project is its potential to combat climate change by sequestering carbon.
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Students "Meet the Symphony"
at BUSD Elementary Schools
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Violinist Dawn Harms brought up this Sylvia Mendez student to join the show.
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November kicked off Meet the Symphony, a collaboration between BUSD and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra's Music in the Schools program that brings the joy and excitement of music to all elementary school students.
During Meet the Symphony assemblies, Berkeley Symphony Education Director Ming Luke conducted members of the symphony as they played for and interacted with students through lively, immersive activities. Beyond simply enjoying the music, students learned about how music is composed, what an orchestra is, and some got a chance to play instruments.
Each year there is a focus on a cultural, musical, or historical theme. This year's theme was violin repertoire spanning 300 years - including music composed on the spot by BUSD students!
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Ming Luke, Education Director of the Berkeley Symphony, greets Sylvia Mendez students during a November 9 assembly. |
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Berkeley High School Presents
Dance Production
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Student-choreographed pieces included vibrant lighting that changed to match the mood of each number, creating an immersive visual experience. |
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Berkeley High School students in Linda Carr's class performed "Dance Production" in early December at the school's Florence Schwimley Little Theater. Demonstrating skills they learned during the semester, Juniors and Seniors from diverse dance backgrounds came together to choreograph, teach, and direct each other for an inspiring show that featured Hip-Hop, Modern Dance, Jazz, and a little Lindy Hop.
Expanding their abilities as dancers through teaching and by learning each other's movement styles, students learned how to collaborate and communicate their creative ideas. After weeks of practice, they were able to embody each other's creative visions in an engaging and entertaining performance. The next Dance Production will be held in the Spring.
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Meet Student School Board Director Ian Segall |
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Ian Segall, a senior at Berkeley High School, serves as the Student Director of the School Board for the 2022-2023 school year. |
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“My name is Ian and I am this year’s student School Board representative. A little bit about me, I dance pretty rigorously outside of school at Berkeley Ballet Theater and this past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to dance at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center in New York. Within school I am a senior in BIHS and am president of the BHS Chapter of Best Buddies. I’ve really enjoyed serving on the School Board so far, meeting students wanting to enhance our community by creating new murals, drafting climate-conscious legislation, and exercising their right to vote. I’m proud to have worked with teachers, students, and the administration to secure teacher compensation for letters of recommendation. I’ve particularly appreciated the chance to get to know and work with Superintendent Ford Morthel and my fellow board directors. It’s an exciting time to be in BUSD, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work in the new year!” |
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Heritage Months Celebrated Around the District |
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BUSD has been busy celebrating Latine/x, LGBTQ+, Indigenous Peoples, and Filipino/x history and heritage months this school year. Across the district, students and staff have been enjoying learning about and uplifting BUSD's richly diverse school community through classroom activities, books and reading lists, and district and community events and celebrations.
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An ofrenda displayed at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School celebrated Día de los Muertos at the end of November.
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Students enjoyed library book displays like this one for Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month. |
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BUSD primary and secondary libraries honored Indigenous Peoples Heritage month by prioritizing Indigenous stories. Book displays that included texts about and for Indigenous People were created using books purchased via the "Uplifting Native Voices" grant from the Berkeley Public Schools Fund. These colorful book displays brought Indigenous stories front and center at BUSD Schools. Reading lists for each heritage or history month can be found here.
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A Thousand Oaks Elementary School student colors a cartoon version of salsa legend Celia Cruz as part of learning during Latine/x Heritage month. |
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BUSD staff participated in heritage month celebrations by creating posters that were displayed at every school to share their unique and affirming stories. |
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Strategies for Speaking Out Against Hate in Our Community |
During November 13-19, BUSD Celebrated United Against Hate Week, sounding a call to local civic action to stop hate and implicit biases in our community.
"As part of our promises of Excellence, Equity, Enrichment, and Engagement we must create school communities and classrooms that are welcoming, humanizing, inclusive and safe for each and every student," said Superintendent Ford Morthel. "We believe that to accomplish this mission we must stand up as a community against bigotry, discrimination, and all forms of hate."
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This 10 X 20 banner was displayed on the University St. side of the BUSD District Office During United Against Hate Week. |
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This November 16 webinar, held during United Against Hate Week and hosted by Dr. Mathew Espinosa, BUSD's Director of Equity, Achievement, and Belonging, discussed strategies for speaking out against hate. Click the thumbnail to watch. |
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Students Explore Berkeley Startups |
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As part of the Berkeley Startup Cluster's Berkeley Ventures, Berkeley Values programming, dozens of Berkeley High School (BHS) students have had an opportunity this fall to see how their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills will apply in the workplace. The Berkeley Startup Cluster's mission is to make Berkeley an accessible and equitable place for startups to launch and grow. |
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Thirty Berkeley High School seniors learned about the history and mission of Bakar Labs facilities from UC Berkeley's Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, Professor Rich Lyons. |
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Through onsite field trips that included facility tours, presentations, and hands on activities, students were able to engage with startups from a variety of different industries, including food tech, bioscience, neuroscience, and sound engineering. This experience allowed students to understand how the STEM skills they foster in the classroom have the potential to shape the real world. |
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A Win for the Berkeley High School Robotics Team "Berkelium" |
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Berkelium team robot "SQUID" climbs to the highest level on a set of inclined bars, which gained the team an additional 15 points |
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On October 9, the Berkeley High School (BHS) For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Team Berkelium was crowned champion of the 2022 CalGames Robotics Competition. Their robot "SQUID" won the event in an alliance with BioMechs from Richmond High School and Homestead Robotics from Cupertino.
The CalGames competition had around 40 teams from around California. Each match involved teams of robots competing in challenges constructed to demonstrate the robot's capabilities. Fifty-four BHS teammates participated and triumphed this season. Currently, the team is preparing for their next build season, which kicks off in January.
Congratulations to the team!
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Computer Science Education Week |
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The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify coding, demonstrate that anybody can learn to code, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort.
Students participated in Hour of Code activities that included computer games and challenges that demonstrated the accessibility of coding and allowed students to organically explore their curiosities about coding.
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Meet Jill Hoogendyk:
Associate Superintendent Educational Services
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Jill Hoogendyk, Associate Superintendent Educational Services, and Debbie Dean, Director TK-8 Schools, speak with colleagues at a meeting in the district office. |
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BUSD welcomed Jill Hoogendyk this year as the district’s new Associate Superintendent Educational Services. Ms. Hoogendyk has served in leadership roles at San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) for the last decade, including most recently as the district's Chief of Staff. Prior to coming to SFUSD, Ms. Hoogendyk worked in the Hayward Unified School District as the Director of State and Federal Programs and as a site administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. She also taught elementary school in Hayward and middle school in Houston, Texas. Ms. Hoogendyk has a Master’s in Education Administration from Stanford University and received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Ms. Hoogendyk, who is from Salinas, CA, enjoys hiking the Bay Area's many trails. Her favorite place to eat in Berkeley is Casa Latina on San Pablo. When asked what she has most enjoyed about BUSD thus far, she responded, “Hands down, the people. Berkeley has such a vibrant community dedicated to our students, and I'm excited to be part of the team.”
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Berkeley Arts Magnet Teacher Michele Williams Wins Chris Kindness Award |
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The Chris Kindness Award was created in 2022 by Professor Alan Ross in honor of Chris Walton, an early childhood educator who believed in the power of kindness and practiced it every day. Ms. Williams was nominated for this award by a parent for her dedication to a student.
Congratulations to Ms. Williams from the BUSD community.
Read more about the award here.
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Michele Williams was presented her award at Berkeley Arts Magnet Elementary School on December 7. |
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Thank You, Outgoing School Board Directors Ty Alper and Julie Sinai |
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At the November 30, 2022 School Board meeting, outgoing School Board Directors Ty Alper and Julie Sinai were thanked by former and current BUSD staff, other Board members, and many in the BUSD community for their outstanding years of service to the district.
"You are serious equity warriors who really believe in education. You believe in Berkeley Unified and the mission of our district,” said Superintendent Ford Morthel. “You have shown yourself to be amazing colleagues, pretty cool bosses, and great partners in the work of realizing the four E’s.”
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Berkeley Public Schools Fund: 40th Year of Awarding Enrichment, Innovation and Equity Grants |
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For forty years, the Berkeley Public Schools Fund has been investing in Berkeley’s public schools through educator grants. These grants invest in teacher leaders, test new models, and fuel innovation in and across classrooms in our public schools. This year, the Schools Fund is proud to announce our 2022-23 grantees across two distinct grant categories: Leading for Equity and Learning for Equity.
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Black Girls United, a districtwide afterschool program for middle school girls, is funded through a Schools Fund Leading Through Equity grant. |
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School board meeting agendas/materials are posted at least 72 hours before meetings. All details for upcoming Board Meetings can be found BUSD's webpage.
Cick Here for contact information and office hours for School Board Directors.
Recent 2022-23 School Board Meetings
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Special School Board Meeting
Planning and Oversight Committee Meeting
7-11 Committee Meeting (Oxford - 4th Meeting)
BUSD PAC Meeting
BUSD DELAC Meeting
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CAC Meeting
Planning and Oversight Comittee Meeting
Committee Meeting (Oxford - 5th and Final Meeting)
High School Open House
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The Berkeley Unified School District is committed to providing equal opportunity for all individuals in district programs and activities. Accordingly, BUSD programs and activities shall be free from discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying based on actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression; nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. The Board shall promote programs which ensure that discriminatory practices are eliminated in all district activities. (Board Policy 0410, Board Policy 1311, Board Policy 4030, Board Policy 5145.3, Board Policy 5145.7)
The Board also prohibits retaliation against any district employee or job applicant who complains, testifies or in any way participates in the district's complaint procedures instituted pursuant to this policy. (Board Policy 4030)
For inquiries or concerns regarding BUSD nondiscrimination policy 5145.3 or the filing of discrimination complaints please contact:
Jasmina Viteskic, Title IX Coordinator/Compliance Officer
2020 Bonar Street Room 116, Berkeley, CA 94702
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