March 2022
February Was Black History Month
at BUSD
Younger Ruth Acty Elementary School students focused on Empathy, Loving Engagement and Diversity during Black History Month, culminating with posters and a march around the block with kindergarten and 1st-grade Acty Activists!
Black History Month was honored around BUSD in February with activities, curriculum, and celebrations. In his Black History Month Message, Superintendent Stephens reported that teachers created and shared lessons embedded into class curriculum, spoken word events, bulletin board exhibits, library displays, assemblies, read alouds, posters, poetry, songs, and more.

Mary Lewis's Oxford Elementary School Kindergarten students learned about and celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, including their rendition of "We Shall Overcome," which can be seen here.
Black History Month is a special time to honor the contributions of Black Americans, but these celebrations don't need to be limited to February. Click the links below for BUSD resources to use year-round.

BUSD Resources for Celebrating Black History
COVID-19 Testing
BUSD is sending home COVID-19 at-home testing kits with students and staff for Spring Break. Please use one test on Sunday, April 10 or Monday, April 11. The other test can be used at your discretion. Test five days after a close contact with someone with COVID-19 or when symptoms are present.

Anyone who has had COVID in the last 90 days should not test and should reach out to their healthcare provider if they experience symptoms.
BUSD will have testing available at the Curtis St. entrance to Berkeley Adult School on Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Our normal testing schedule resumes on Monday, April 11.

Questions related to COVID-19 should be sent to covidcase@berkeley.net during Spring Break.

Thank you, Berkeley Schools Volunteers!
Berkeley Schools Volunteers at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School are prepared for the first wave of students to test for COVID-19 on a recent February morning.
Volunteers Help with Testing During Omicron Surge
When the Omicron surge hit our school community as we returned form Winter Break, City of Berkeley Public Health helped BUSD revise the district's contact tracing protocols to keep up. The primary public health objective was to quickly remove COVID-19 cases from our schools by testing as many students and staff as possible--ideally, twice each week!

This new testing strategy doubled the district's test technician requirements at our elementary schools and more than doubled it at our middle schools and high schools, where only a limited number of students had been testing.
A volunteer processes a student's COVID-19 test at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
A quick call to the Berkeley Public Schools Fund led to almost 200 community volunteers on the job each week. Volunteers were trained and deployed as testing assistants, under the supervision of our Vestra COVID-19 test technicians, at all district elementary, middle, and high schools.

Berkeley Public Schools Fund
Community Block Party
On May 21, the Berkeley Public Schools Fund is inviting the entire Berkeley community to their Spring Block Party in the heart of Downtown.

"Come celebrate our educators and the thousands of community members, including YOU, our Schools Fund volunteers and donors, who carried our schools through the past two years!"

-Berkeley Public Schools Fund
The Schools Fund will unveil a vibrant mural at the Community Block Party. This will occur at the intersection of Center and Shattuck. The mural was commissioned by the Schools Fund, created by Berkeley High alums, and dedicated with love to our devoted educators who worked through the pandemic.

A Lion Dance at Cragmont Elementary School
in Celebration of Lunar New Year
Cragmont Elementary School students celebrated the Lunar New Year on February 10 with a Lion Dance Troupe performance, held outdoors this year on the school playground. The performance, provided by Kei Lun Martial Arts of San Francisco, was led by director Corey Chan. The Lion Dancers include Cragmont alumni, as well as their mother, who played the gong.
Berkeley High Jacket is Finalist
for NSPA Pacemaker Award
A March, 2022 issue of the Berkeley High Jacket, which has been nominated for a NSPA Pacemaker Award.
Congratulations to the student staff of the Berkeley High Jacket after the publication was selected as a finalist for the NSPA Pacemaker Award for their website, which receives over 100,000 unique views a year. This is considered to be one of the highest awards in scholastic journalism.

"The website is the result of a huge amount of dedication and creative vision on the part of our web editor and the web team," said Berkeley High Jacket Editor in Chief Estella Zhou. "Because we were forced to publish exclusively online last school year due to the pandemic, we began to place more attention and emphasis on the web format of our journalism."

Zhou believes a strength of the publication is its ability to reach a wide audience, including readers outside of Berkeley. "We focus our content on issues central to the Berkeley community, and I see us as having a responsibility to use our incredible online (and print) platform to raise awareness among our student body and adults, as well as trigger the change we want to see, whether that's ending sexual harm or establishing equitable access to educational resources in BUSD," Zhou wrote in an email.
The Jacket, which has been the recipient of numerous awards, was first published as the Berkeley High School News in 1912. Today, it covers high school events as well as current issues in the world. More than one hundred students contribute to the Jacket, working as writers, photographers, illustrators, and columnists.

 Berkeley High Jacket Faculty Advisor Peter Rodrigues explained the hard work that goes into publishing 16 pages of content every other week, noting that it was the students' commitment to their readers that allowed the Berkeley High Jacket to continue publishing during distance learning. "While I advise the paper, the students do the vast majority of the work including all publication decisions from story selection to layout and design," said Rodrigues. "The award really is a testament to their hard work and commitment."

Pacemaker Award winners will be announced in early April.
The Berkeley High Jacket first published in 1912 as the Berkeley High School Weekly News. (Photo Credit: Berkeley High Jacket website)
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Hosts
April 2 Blood Drive
The Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Counseling Department is sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive to help with critically low blood bank levels in the Bay Area. Giving blood is a quick and simple way to help our community. They were inspired to hold the drive because of the challenges someone close to their community has recently faced because of the blood bank shortage in our community. 

If the blood drive at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School is full, please considering signing up for another location.


Date: Saturday April 2, 2022
Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Place: Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School gym
Parking: Gates will be open to park on basketball courts
April 18-22 Is Earth Week Around BUSD
Earth Week is celebrated from Monday, April 18 to Friday, April 22, culminating with Earth Day on April 22, an annual event coordinated globally by Earthday.org to raise awareness for the environmental protection and care of our planet. Many BUSD students will be participating in Earth Week activities this year, including a climate resilience fair, bike repair clinic, and discussions about water conservation in the Bay Area. These activities promote a culture of environmental stewardship and help BUSD students develop the skills to become the next generation of environmental leaders.

Learn more about BUSD’s Sustainability Program here. 
Willard Middle School students composting.
If you’re curious about Earth Week curriculum, take a look at Earth Week lessons, activities, and films that were provided to BUSD educators by the district’s Sustainability Program.  

Join BUSD in celebrating Earth Week in your home. Below is a day-to-day guide to sustainable choices you can make with your children in your home during Earth Week.
Affinity Group Resouces and Events
Please join the BUSD community for the 2022 Black History Oratorical Fest. This year's theme: Get Up! Speak Up! Demonstrate Black Resilience and Joy!

Middle School & High School Oratorical Fest
April 21
5:00 pm

Elementary School Black History Oratorical Fest
April 28
5:00 pm
Please visit a new BUSD web page with resources for Arab American Heritage Month. Resources include a varied set of Arab American perspectives and voices. In the Family Guide for Arab American Heritage Month, you and your family can also learn about issues that the Arab American community faces, including stereotypes, a lack of understanding about the richness of Arab American experience, and the struggle for equality.

Please also take time to review these grade-level reading lists, representing recently published books by Arab American authors that are devoted to celebrating the culture and uplifting the valuable contributions of Arab Americans.
FREE Chromebooks for Students During the 2021-2022 School Year
Check out a Chromebook to Use at Home
We are pleased to announce a FREE Chromebook checkout program for students who need a device for schoolwork or research. Students who don’t have a dedicated device of their own may check out a Chromebook from their school library and keep it at home for the entire school year.

These new Chromebooks are faster than earlier versions distributed by the district, offer a touchscreen, and can be used as a tablet. If your student had previously checked out a Chromebook from the Ed Hub for distance learning, we recommend that they return it and check out the more full-featured Chromebook from their school library instead.

It's easy to check out a free BUSD Chromebook for your child:
  • Print out, complete, and sign this form.
  • Return this form to your child’s school library.
  • If you previously checked out an older Chromebook, your student can return it to the library while picking up their new device.

If you have any questions about the Chromebook checkout process, please contact chromebookhelp@berkeley.net.
Important Dates
District Events
School board meeting agendas/materials are posted at least 72 hours before meetings. All details for upcoming Board Meetings can be found on our webpage.

Cick Here for contact information and office hours for School Board Directors.

Recent 2021-22 School Board Meetings
The next School Board meeting is on April 13 at 7:00 pm. Click here to learn how to join the School Board meeting.
Planning and Oversight Committee Meeting
April 12 | 6:30 pm

Personnel Commission Meeting
April 14 | 4:30 pm

PAC Meeting
April 18 | 6:00 pm

Construction Bond Oversight Subcommittee Meeting
April 19 | 6:00 pm

DELAC Meeting
April 19 | 5:00 pm

Black History Oratorical Fest
Middle and High School
April 21 | 5:00 pm

Facilities Subcommittee Meeting
April 26 | 5:00 pm

Project 2 Inspire
(Spanish Only with English Translation)
April 26 | 6:00 pm

Planning and Oversight Committee Meeting
April 26 | 6:30 pm

Board Policy Meeting
April 28 | 1:00 pm

Black History Oratorical Fest
Elementary School
April 28 | 5:00 pm

For full details on these events, please click here.