BUSD: Important News And Town Halls

Berkeley CA

14 March, 2021

7:13 AM

Description

Press release from Berkeley Public Schools: March 12, 2021 Dear BUSD Community, I'm happy to share that as of just a few hours ago, we reached a Tentative Agreement with our teachers union about elementary schedules, and can now share that the elementary school day will be 5.5 hours long (and 15 minutes less for TK and K.) I also have updates to share for all families about upcoming information evenings for elementary, middle, high school and Special Education. For Elementary School Families Elementary school parents and caregivers, please click here for preliminary information about schedules, bus transportation, afterschool, meals, reopening dates, and more. This webpage will be updated as additional information becomes available. Note also that the Elementary Enrollment Form due date has been extended to the evening of March 14 at 11:59 pm. Click Here to Complete the Elementary School Enrollment Form We continue to make steady progress towards reopening our schools, with only two weeks before students in Pre-K – Grade 2 return to campus! This is a period of intense preparations for all our district staff, and we're all very excited to welcome more children back to school. For Middle and High School Families We continue to work to finalize schedules for a return to on-campus learning for middle and high school students. We are appreciative of the work of our teachers, administrators and labor partners to think creatively about the considerably more complex schedules at these levels. I know that many families and students at these levels are eager to return to campus learning, and we will have more to share in the coming week. Upcoming Town Halls and Information Night Elementary Family Town Halls on Tuesday, March 16 We plan to host an informational meeting for elementary families on March 16 from 6:00 – 7:00 in English, and a meeting from 7:30-8:30 in Spanish. We hope that you will join us. At the meeting, we'll share more about elementary schedules for both in-person and distance learning, and review health procedures for students and families who are choosing to return. March 16: Elementary Town Hall in English from 6:00-7:00 Here is the link to attend. March 16: Elementary Town Hall in Spanish from 7:30 – 8:30 Here is the link to attend. Special Education Town Hall, March 17, 6:00 – 8:00 We look forward to hosting a Town Hall event that is specific to the questions and concerns of Special Education students. Please join me, Executive Director for Special Education Shawn Mansager, and other members of the Special Education team for an evening of live questions and discussion about Special Education services in this coming stage of school reopenings. Special Education families, please take a moment to respond to this Thought Exchange survey to help us know more about your questions, interests, and concerns. The link to the Zoom meeting is here. Here is the link to this week's presentation to the Board of Education by our Special Education team. Please scroll forward to 3:05.05 for the start of the presentation. Middle School and High School Town Hall-Coming Soon As additional information is available, we'll plan to hold a Town Hall specifically for families of Middle and High School students. Families Information Night About COVID Safety in Schools The week of March 22nd, we will offer presentations on the latest information about COVID and health measures in schools, with pediatricians and researchers from UCSF CARES (Collaborative to Advise on Reopening Education). This group has provided essential advisory support throughout the pandemic, including a series of webinars (most recently, March 1st, on the role of vaccines in school reopening), and recently provided sessions at Oakland Unified for Latino families and for Black Families. We thank Oakland Unified for sharing these important videos with us. We will announce the BUSD date/time soon. Student COVID-19 Testing In one week, please be on the lookout for information about BUSD's student COVID-19 testing program. We strongly encourage all families to participate in this testing program as an added layer of protection against the virus. Visiting our campuses this week, it has also been exciting to see students returning in small groups to all our schools as part of our Phase 1 expansion. By next week, hundreds of students will come to school for small group instruction led by teachers who have volunteered to come in prior to our scheduled wider reopening dates. This brief stage in our reopening represents an important step for all of us as we prepare for our larger return. We continue to be grateful for the strength and resilience of our BUSD community, and to our many partners – including our families and the City of Berkeley – who are assisting us in our work. Warmly, Brent Stephens Superintendent This press release was produced by Berkeley Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author's own.