February is Black History Month, and February 1-5 was Black Lives Matter at School Week at BUSD. This week of action highlighted, uplifted and affirmed the rich history and contributions of the Black community; cultivated in Black students a sense of pride, self-worth, and self-love; and developed a widespread acknowledgement for contributions of Black people to our community. Schools throughout the District concentrated teaching and activities on the Black Lives Matter movement. Each school library will receive ten new books from BUSD’s Black Lives Matter reading list that have been recommended as both age appropriate and educational. The books are devoted to cultivating Black joy, pride, and love, and celebrating the incredible contributions and history of the Black community.

Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe spoke to Oxford Elementary School Students on February 5 as part of the school's Black Lives Matter at School Week celebration during Black History Month. Monroe, who attended Thousand Oaks Elementary School, said she did not always feel seen as a young student. She had two good friends though, one Black and one white, who were "upstanders" for her. "They used their voices to speak up for me when I couldn't," she told students.

Dear Community,

I will offer more information about reopening our schools for in-person learning at another Town Hall at 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 11th. I hope you can join via Zoom or watch on the BUSD YouTube channel.

Since we expect we may have very high turnout, it would be helpful to have some of your questions, concerns, and suggestions in advance of the event. We’re opening up a ThoughtExchange platform which will allow you to share your thoughts and “upvote” those submitted by others so that we can address some of the high priority questions and suggestions.

Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership in these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brent Stephens

Superintendent

BUSD and the Berkeley Public Schools Fund are excited to announce a partnership with local internet provider, Sonic, to offer free fiber internet to all qualifying Berkeley Unified School District student households for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year (through July 1, 2021). After July 1, families may purchase service from Sonic at then current rates.

All households with at least one Berkeley Unified School District student, who are not currently Sonic internet customers, and are in the Sonic fiber service area, may be eligible for the free Sonic Fiber Internet service (up to 1000Mbps). Please note that Sonic Fiber may not be available for all BUSD student addresses.

Provide your student’s school, your name, contact information, and address to check for fiber service eligibility, then create an account. You will also be asked to consent to allow Sonic to share your information with the school district to verify you have a BUSD student.

Schedule installation (this currently takes 3-5 days from order date).

Check with your current internet provider about your contract terms before cancelling your current service to avoid any unwanted cancellation fees. To avoid interruption to distance learning, we recommend that you don’t cancel service with your current provider until your new service is installed.

For signup assistance, families can call Sonic at 510-858-7848.

The Office of Family Engagement and Equity (OFEE) and Dr. Khalid White are partnering to offer an affinity space for Black/African American fathers and father figures. This will be a safe space for a group of no more than 20 to come together to learn from Dr. White and from each other and share wisdom about the successes, challenges and opportunities for engagement in their children’s learning. Additional cohorts will be established as needed.

Dr. Khalid White is a Fatherhood Engagement Specialist and member of the Alameda County Fathers Corps. Khalid is the author of the book Black Fatherhood: Trials and Tribulations, and facilitates workshops on the complexities Black/African American men face in their daily lives while parenting. Dr. White is a college educator, public speaker, and founder of BLKMPWR,LLC. With 13 years experience working with fathers, and father-figures of African Descent, he focuses on education, empowerment and equity. As a father of two, Khalid is ready to support the needs of BUSD’s fathers and father-figures.

Tuesday Night Dates: February 23, March 2, March 9, March 16, March 23, March 30

Time: 6:30-8:00 PM

BUSD is currently looking for skilled individuals to support several short-term projects over the coming several months. The district seeks to offer paid contracts to individuals or groups with skills in writing and communication, online meeting facilitation, planning, and project management. BUSD employees who seek additional responsibilities are also encouraged to apply.

A brief description of these projects and information about how to apply can be found here.

Berkeley High School Student activists Hadassah Zenor-Davis, Ny'Aja Roberson, and Shayla Avery were presented with the 2021 Next Generation Leadership Award, for carrying on the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King by promoting social justice, non-violent conflict resolution, and peaceful community activism. Congratulations to these three inspirational leaders, and to the BHS faculty, staff, and administration for supporting them, and all students, in leading for social justice and change, every day! Watch these leaders share at minute 32 HERE.

The first day of school for the 2021-2022 school year is Monday, August 16, 2021. View the 2021-2022 school year calendar here.

At its meeting on January 20, 2021, the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education directed the Superintendent to develop a plan for further engaging the Berkeley community on the topic of middle school student enrollment. This plan, originally designed for last year, was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elements of the 2021 community engagement will include a review of a variety of indicators, including demographic information about BUSD’s three middle schools; outcome information about student learning; and educator, caregiver, and community input.

The purpose of this nine-month engagement process is to inform the Superintendent’s recommendation to the Board of Education about the middle school student enrollment policy.

All Board meetings are now held via Zoom. Details can be found on our webpage.

School board meeting agendas/materials are posted at least 72 hours before meetings on the School Board Meeting Information page of our website.