Berkeley Parents Network: Parents' Comments about Berkeley High

Berkeley Parents Network

Parents' Comments about Berkeley High

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > Berkeley Public Schools > Berkeley High School > Parents' Comments about Berkeley High

Feb 2008

Re: Choosing a high school for gay son
I am the parent of a sophmore at Berkeley High School and based on the discussions she and I have regarding gay teens (she's heterosexual but accepting of the LBGT community) kids are able to be themselves because there are other kids just like them. Also there are staff members who are lesbian and gay (and open about it) and there are support groups for these teens and the school has a health center that also offers counseling for kids to have an outlet to talk to someone. For the most part from what I've observed from being on campus is that these kids are more welcomed opposed to being outcast. I also would like to say my daughter has a teacher who falls in this catergory that we absolutely adore (my daughter stops by her class just to hang out and chat afterschool) because she is a good educator which is all that matters.

January 2003

Berkeley High is a mess but survivable. The best thing about it is that there are some fabulous students there. There are a few good teachers. There are also some dreadful kids, and some positively dreadful teachers. My child is on the academic track and there is nothing fun about the school. It's all quizzes/lectures/tests then hours and hours of homework (as much as 6 hours a night as a Junior!). The work is not particularly inspiring and my child has not developed either a love of learning or a capacity to think. Most of the learning is done at home through homework, particularly the math. Surprisingly the Latin classes have been the most 'fun' of all the classes - probably because the teachers are wonderful. English, until this year, in Academic Choice, has been a joke. History is almost non-existent unless you luck out with one of the few good teachers. I have heard that CAS provides good English and History classes, but they weren't looking for any 'smart white males' when my son thought of applying and Academic Choice wasn't available for him until this year (it does have the good teachers, but also a TON of homework.) If we had any choice my children would go somewhere else.

I was disappointed to read the write up on bhs and so am publicly adding our experience.

My daugher is a senior who entered bhs in the 9th grade, after an Oakland Public School education (and a private school at St. Paul's for 7th and 8th grade). She has had a wonderful variety of experiences, both socially and academically. She was in CAS, a small school, from 9th -11th grade so had classes both in the small school setting and the larger school. She has been very active in dance and cheerleading; this year there was a major conflict in scheduling between CAS and Dance so she opted to continue dancing and is part of the comprehensive high school program.

My daughter has had a very diverse group of friends, including some who were gang affiliated. She is now in a group of terrific kids, all of whom I truly like and enjoy. She feels completely safe at the high school and, quite honestly, I feel safe having her there. This is no mean feat for me. My daughter is 5'2, naturally blonde, blue eyed, and has a well endowed figure and I would generally feel safer not letting her out of the house!

Yes, she has had some bad teachers - where doesn't one? But overall, she has had an excellent, well rounded education and I'm more than pleased. She is not a 'super-academic' e.g., she took no AP courses until this year when she left CAS. But she does get her work done and she is bright. She has a 3.64 GPA and has already received acceptances from Tulane and Rutgers. She is well prepared for the world, has a good sense of moral integrity (which I realize originates from home but was definitely enhanced at bhs). She knows how to 'work the system' has good self confidence, feels that she belongs, and knows her place in the world. In the midst of all this, she has managed to maintain a balance between schoolwork and social life, with social life having the higher priority.

What my daughter had to say when she was recently asked if she 'couldn't wait until the year was over and she was out of there' said it all. Her response was that she's is no hurry to leave bhs - she loves it there; she has had a great experience -- it's gone too fast, and she could easily stay on. I have absolutely no regrets having sent her to bhs and would do it again in a flash. I also encourage other people I know to seriously consider bhs as the majority of students who choose to go there do very well.

Looking forwrad to some more positive (or mixed) reviews - I know they're out there! Joan

I have two sons at BHS, a sophomore and a senior. After reading a couple of the reviews I wanted to give a different point of view. While it is not idyllic in all respects, both my kids have had valuable and interesting social and educational experiences there. The music program is GREAT, both orchestra and jazz lab band and ensemble, as is the dance program. The visual art department is fantastic, offering an incredible array of different classes, and has the facilities to do so. History and English are mixed, depending on the teacher - some have really inspired and stretched, others have been dull. There is a philosophy in those departments of heterogeneity (there's upside and downside to that approach), so how the class goes depends a lot on the individual teacher. My kids' favorite and most disliked classes have each been in these subjects. The math and science is super challenging at the high end - it's nice to see a chance for an academically rigorous road if that's what you are looking for. There are three levels of these subjects too, so you can find what you want.

Socially both my kids have felt good at BHS. Both have made friends they like. Sports and clubs offer a huge number of choices to suit every interest. The social atmosphere doesn't consist of a hierarchy. People of different social groups interact relatively well. The selection of classes is unmatched in this area.

The BHS bureaucracy is daunting, although many individuals involved are helpful and sympathetic. You have to learn to fend for yourself in the system. If you learn how, it's good training for life. sb

My daughter is a freshman at BHS and is enjoying it so far. Before the school year started, I had heard worrisome stories about safety issues, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I'm in the school every week as a writing tutor, and what I've seen makes me a lot less concerned. The halls are noisy, there are definitely alienated students, but things manage to work somehow and people learn--thanks to many dedicated teachers. The social atmosphere is open and unpretentious, and as one would expect of Berkeley, there are loads of bright and interesting students. My daughter is involved in Amnesty International and debate, and both groups are quite active. Her classes have mostly been fine, except that her French class at 35 students is way too big. Art, Identity & Ethnic Studies, and English have all been great. Ted

I am surprised not to see more dissatisfaction amoung the current Berkeley High parents. We have a child who is a senior and another who is a freshman. My older child enjoyed Common Ground last year (the first enjoyable experince of any kind at Berkeley High). Despite many problems over the years- particularly unresponsive teachers- she wanted to continue at the school because her friends were there. She did threaten to quit school for almost 2 years as the problems seemed insurmountable and she would not consider private school. This year she has a teacher who still knows no ones name in the class and is known to give out all B's, another teacher who has attended class maybe 1/2 a dozen times this semester who randomly gives grades (one boy who has never attended a class has an A).The problems go on and on with little or no response from the administration. I'm very discouraged about our younger child who is in a similar situation- particularly with Common Ground English. He objected to the rhetoric he was getting early on but the teacher has been out of school on disability for quite some time now and he has had a series of substitutes. He has lost a whole year! I am beyond frustrated when he comes home and tells me he ''just wants to learn English''. I have told him we must figure something out or he will have to attend a private school. With my oldest beginning college next year that will prove very difficult financially. He loves some of the extra curricular offerings unique to BHS and doesn't want to give that or his friends up, but the level of teaching and care has become preposterous. Forget the fact he and his friends are approched daily to empty their pockets or get beaten up! Some one must be having similar issues with their children. How are you handling it?

My son, a sophomore at BHS this year is challenged by his Academic Choice classes in APChemistry, World Literature, and World HIstory as well as his Honors Algebra class. His freshman year, he was resistant to Social Living which had no assigned reading and only one homework assignment for the entire semester and a teacher with poor English skills. Being on sports teams has helped with meeting new friends, being included, and doing something he's good at.Also, last year, a friend of his was assaulted in the boy's locker room.( Being in Honors Algebra freshman year was challenging.) His Spanish classes have been too slow paced and not challenging enough. jf

Two of my children have gone to Berkeley High. My children, though bright, are not academically motivated, so I'd like to give a perspective on what it's like at BHS if you have that kind of kid.

First my oldest kid: his BHS friends were all very academic and self-motivated and are now in top colleges. BHS is an excellent school for this type of kid, maybe the best in the East Bay. My son is not like that. He just wanted to do the minimum. He cut class, flunked some classes. He never connected academically with any class in 4 years. He also is not gifted in sports or music or art, but because of the wonderful sports program at BHS - there is something for everyone! - he played on a team, made close friendships, grew in maturity and confidence, and loved his time at BHS, still does. He was applying to colleges with a 2.something GPA, but was accepted to a big university in another state, is very happy there and doing fine academically! When he comes home for breaks, he gets together with his BHS friends, they hold ''alumni'' games at BHS against current students.

My second child is equally unmotivated but does not like team sports or any other kind of group activity. His first semester at BHS he made Fs in all the required classes. He then went to a small private school for the rest of 9th grade and all of 10th grade. By the middle of 10th grade he was deemed unsuitable for the school and asked not to return for junior year. (This was our second experience with this kid and private schools. Never assume that private school is intrinsically better! For us, it was worse!) He is now at Berkeley High Independent Studies. It has been very rocky grade-wise, but due to a some very dedicated talented teachers, it is working out and he is even engaging in academics. I think he would have dropped out if he was still at BHS or a private school.

Dealing with the BHS administration is like going to DMV to do something complicated on a busy day without an appointment. You can get it done usually if you can stand the frustration. On the other hand, many's the time that a BHS teacher has phoned after hours to tell me about missing work. It also holds so many opportunities for a kid to grow and learn and get off to a good start in life. If you have a smart motivated kid, you can hardly do better than BHS. If you have a smart unmotivated kid, get her/him on a sports team or into a music or theater group right away! BHS mom

the commentary on BHS seems to be following the often-heard advice that how the school will work out for your student depends on what kind of kid he/she is. Our academically able and ambitious sophomore is having a blast, and we are very happy also. My advice to private school parents is that if your son or daughter has any chance of being admitted to a more selective private high school, you should save your money - you have nothing to fear from Berkeley High. There is a private high school's worth of like-minded kids there, all as busy as a beehive with AP and honors classes, either taking Latin and a second language, or art, dance, drama and a foreign language, & etc., playing sports, running around to clubs at lunch and after school, playing music. Our sophomore has lost all sign of the boredom that dogged middle school and I have lost the sense of foreboding with which I approached my first experience of BUSD. My thanks to the many fine hard- working teachers, and to the co-principals and staff. anonymous

I have 2 sons at BHS, 11th ad 9th grade, one in Academic Choice, the other in CAS. BHS is a reflection of the Dstrict, wich has been in chaos, disorder and disfunction for 25 years or more! The administrators try to keep it together with duct tape and bad financial figures. The superntendent is now creating a tightly controlled hierarchical pyramid with herself at the top. (Maybe this is the political vogue, ala Bush and Ashcroft) The BHS administration is a good example of duct tape leadership:no principal, no one with any qualifications applying to be principal, a superintendent who is facing fiscal crisis and is trying to run the high school as well, new ''systems'' every year. Two aspects of BHS which worked before was the ability of students to select teachers, and the double period science, which provided challenging and interesting science classes. Teacher choice and double period science were axed by the superintendent. This is a good example of district actions to make matters easier for administrators (smplify scheduling) rather than to really benefit the kids. With the upcoming budget crisis, if the district only considers cuts, there won't be much left and students will leave. For example, as part of last year's cost cutting, PE is now part of the required 9th grade core curriculum. My son's PE class has 40+ students. There's insufficient facilities, they sit around.THey watch videos. So this was good cost cutting but bad education. One parent's analogy of BHS as trying to negotiate something complicated (an education)on a crowded day is apt. However, BHS and BUSD schools can be more than just mediocre. BUSD needs to be student and parent friendly. Evaluate decisions by the impact on students. Of my kids, one is motivated and the other does the minimum, and my motivated one is considering ditching his senior year by taking the GREs. So, BUSD, you depend upon students enrollment and attendance for your income. Don't just cut the budget, focus on increasing income. It's estmated that 25% of the elementary school students who live in Berkeley attend private schools. Develop programs that will encourage people to come to BUSD schools - dual immersion programs, good music programs, aggressively go after grants. Hire a real principal for BHS and have the superintendent fix the district. Support good teachers. Cut your district administration costs. anonymous

Berkeley High School has created problems rather than solutions for our two sons. I cannot recommend it for kids who are college bound, yet are not academically talented. (Nor can I recommend it for kids who have vocational interests.) The academic stars find each other in their honors and AP courses, and they create a community that works really well for them; most of the contributors to this newsletter seem to be parents of these kinds of students. But if a kid is a B/C student, enrolled in no AP courses, he's ignored by teachers, and he can easily fall into a crowd of kids going nowhere fast -- kids who ditch classes, do the minimum homework, and much more I won't describe... Our older son is fine now, very invested in his major in college and increasingly confident about his academic capacities, but no thanks to BHS. We cross our fingers that our younger son will find the same opportunities in college to turn himself around.

I totally agree with the Anonymous writer who said BHS is being duct-taped to make things easier for administrators, and that the needs of students are being put on the back burner (examples, no class choice and double period classes being axed). The few things that worked well for my son freshman year were thrown out this year. And it's been made very clear that parent involvement is not welcome on any level. This is very frustrating, and leading many of us to just close our eyes and ears, hold our breaths and be glad when our kids are out of the system.

P.S. My son makes very good grades and seems to be learning from those teachers who have something to offer, so this is not just a case of sour grapes.

I have a freshman at BHS and I have found many ways to become involved in the school. Some of the meetings I attend that are open to all parents have a pretty sorry turnout. Put yourself out there if you are worried about how your kid is doing at school. It will make you feel a lot better to be involved in the school in some way. Do the Writers Room-you get to be in the classroom with these kids. Go to PTSA meetings and budget meetings. Get some parents together and brainstorm about ways to raise money to offset the budget cuts. Get on a commitee. Go talk to your kids teachers. Show the administration and faculty that you are interested in the success of the school. There is a lot of opportunity for parent involvement at Berkeley High and people there do listen. Berkeley citizens with or without kids in schools need to come together to support their only public High School!!!!!! w

Why we Like it

Nov 1999

I'm worried that recent postings, mine included, may be contributing to an overall mistaken impression that there are lots of us out here who are unhappy with Berkeley High School. I want to say that I think BHS is a great school and I have been 87% happy with it so far. There are many more positive aspects about BHS than there are negative. We often assume that people already know about the good stuff, so we complain about the bad stuff without putting it into the larger context. But of course this works no better than assuming your teenager knows you love him even though you are yelling at him all the time about being lazy.

So I would like to mention a couple of the greatnesses about Berkeley High School. I don't know about most of the great things, because I am a not-very-highly-involved parent with two not-very-highly-involved BHS kids, but here are the things that I appreciate:

1. The principal. I admire the candor and sincerity of Theresa Saunders. I can't remember ever dealing with a school administrator who just answers a question plainly, eschewing the usual bureaucratic blabbering, and who seems so geniunely to be striving to do the right thing.

2. Teachers. There are teachers at BHS who will knock your socks off. You can't imagine the thrill I get when Mr. "I Hate School" comes home talking excitedly about what he did in biology lab today.

3. Sports. I'm not into them, but my kid is. I can assure you there is a sport for every kid who wants to play. All the usual ones plus golf, lacrosse, crew, tennis, badminton, field hockey, swimming, diving, water polo, you name it for men AND women. I can't say enough good things about the dedicated coaches I meet, and the positive experience for kids of being on a team and feeling part of a group.

4. The Jacket - newspaper. I subscribe, I get it at home, it is quite a good read. It makes my high school newspaper look like Romper Room. By the way, subscribing to the Jacket is an excellent way to strike up a conversation with your kid about "what's new at school."

Ginger

Seconding your positive remarks about Berkeley High (not forgetting its maddening faults):
Among its advantages:
--a wonderful pair of Latin teachers. They make BHS's Latin program the best of any language program I have ever seen.
--an excellent orchestra. The director manages both to include kids at every level of ability (the range is huge, from just-picked-it-up to accomplished), and to present interesting and challenging music, in both symphonic and chamber ensembles. My old high school had an award-winning music program, and it was nowhere near this good.

Let me add that the College/Career Adviser, Barbara Mitchell, has been recruiting people to critique students' college-application essays--November is the hot month for this. If you are one of those born with an irresistible urge to critique other people's writing, and want to help some BHS seniors get into college, an hour or two a couple of days a week will not only help the kids but give you a chance to read (and help shape) some fascinating and moving biographies. You can reach Ms. Mitchell at 644-6804.

Good things about Berkeley High: My sophomore daughter has a collection of friends of many races, classes, sexual orientations, interests, academic motivation and achievements. When she went to a college counselor recently (I know, I'm starting early!), the one requirement she stated was:"I want the college I go to to have lots of different races of people." She is getting an education in life at Berkeley High School that wasn't available to me growing up in a homogeneous town in New Jersey.

All of the negative stuff out there really can give the wrong impression about BHS. Although there are many problems, (and there have been for years), overall I've been more pleased than not with BHS, and both my kids love(d) the school. My older daughter, now a college junior, had many fabulous teachers and just one or two absolutely mediocre ones. Her UCLA frosh Eng prof actually told her that it was very evident that she had received excellent instruction from her high school English teachers (she was just average in writing skills and reading comprehension when she began 9th grade, so the credit really does go to her teachers). She now attends Northwestern University, and she says her BHS classes really prepared for the level of rigor at both UCLA and NU, and that she is not at a disadvantage because she is a BHS grad. She also feels that her experience at BHS has definitely helped her navigate successfully thru the layers of university bureaucracies. My younger daughter is currently a BHS senior, and she also has received an excellent education on the whole. I feel that BHS worked for them because they were forced out of necessity to learn to be assertive, take ownership of their education and search out those teachers who embody excellence. I know 2 Harvard alums who conduct college applicant interviews of seniors from around this area (including Lowell, Piedmont, CPS, HeadRoyce, LickWilmerding, and other private and public high schools thru the tunnel), and they both have independently marveled at how impressed they are by all the BHS applicants (not just the ones who get accepted to Harvard). They said that BHS interviewees have a special quality that sets them head and shoulders above other schools' applicants.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about BHS. In my opinion it is a great school... and I think I have a standard for what that is having been involved with more than 11 high schools over the past 28 years. The programs are strong and the teaching staff is good. The issues around curricular expectations and delivery in English are true and yet we continue to work on them...I think that one thing our students get that can not be equally anywhere is the ability to require the "system" to hear them... They are open and honest about their thoughts and believe that the whole idea of expression is critical to who we are as people... They are right... The ability to do this can not be underestimated... It is, however, very unfortunate that BHS does not serve all students well... As everyone knows we are working on this... but it will not happen overnight... and to our great sorrow some students are lost along the way to drugs, truancy, low grades, "go-no-where classes, etc. However, this is not the norm...I welcome your continued support of our school and our efforts to make changes for the best...Just one thing more... we are seriously considering starting school later in the day two Mondays a month starting in February with the beginning of the second semester....Teachers need time to plan and think and the current pace of the school day is furious...It just does not allow time for thoughtful work...AND thoughtful work is what we MUST do...Specifically, we are looking at starting school somewhere around 10 or 10:30 AM on the first and third or second and fourth Mondays of each month....School would still get out at 3:20 PM. AS soon as we have a draft schedule I'll share it with you... Let me know what you think... Theresa Saunders (Theresa is principal of Berkeley High School)

I'd love to say a lot of great things about Berkeley High. Unfortunately I can't think of any. My experience with BH was horrendous. I had a child who came into BH with all As and Bs. She was a good student, but did not find a niche there. The racial great-divide affected her enormously as she found herself on the other side of the line from the crowds she used to hand around - two lines actually.

My daughter's English teacher actually crossed out her A on a paper and lowered it to a B because it was not word processed. We had no computer at the time - the teacher's attitude - "Too bad - she'll have to stay after school and use one here." She did not care that my daughter had stayed up half the night re-writing her essay so it would be neat. She did not care that my daughter had other activities after school, she did not care that this discriminated against children of lesser means.

At orientation the counselors had said "call your child's counselor if your child has not hooked up with a group after a few weeks". I did - the counselor's words were, and I quote "so what do you want me to do about it". I called the counselor again when her grades went from A s and B s to D s and Fs in 10th grade. Again she wanted to know what I wanted her to do. I asked her about the "at risk programs" and was informed that my daughter was not at risk because she had Ds. (By the time she got all Fs she had missed 19 out of 21 days of school). I called the school health clinic to have my daughter seen for counseling. They agreed, but in respect to her privacy would not even tell me if she was going! NOT even if she was going?

Needless to say - she never dropped out - the school came up with a better suggestion - Independent Studies. My daughter did this for a while and eventually, gradually stopped going. Oh yes, did I mention free drugs? The park across the street is a great source.

I was a great believer in public schools, but I will not send my son to BH and I don't recommend it for anyone else unless your child is white and a very good student, oh yeah, make sure you have a computer at home. Mine was a good student, but that was not enough!

One of the great surprises to me as the parent of a freshman is the overall quality of the teaching staff. Aaron Ward in math and Allison Johnson in English have made a particularly good impression. Beyond that, we haven't hit any duds (knock on wood.)

To the parent who wrote:" My experience with BH was horrendous. ..." What a poignant post this was. My heart goes out to this parent. I am always astonished by the difference between the color blindness of children in my third grader's class and the separation that develops in middle school and (apparently more so) in high school. Mixed race children seem to face the greatest difficulty, because they are pressed to choose between their heritages. And there seems to be no easy answer. And the teacher's insensitivity to the family's economic situation is grotesque.

RE: "[>Oh yes, did I mention free drugs? The park across the street is a great source.]" Isn't the Berkeley Police Department a block away? Aren't there cops on campus? How can this be a perennial problem? Yet it seems to be.

The Berkeley public schools offer immersion and bilingual education for students with English as a Second Language (ESL) and while these programs keep cultural ethnicity together, the programs in practice (not theory) do not necessarily give children a quality English education. Both my children have been part of a strong Hispanic bilingual program at Cragmont and Columbus which I appreciate, but there are flaws that have limited a more thorough English education for native speakers and non-native speakers. The early literacy learning program currently in place at my son's elementary school is the beginning of a more rigorous plan to bring fluency and literacy to children by third grade by not allowing those who fall behind to move ahead until they have passed state-mandated tests for literacy. Elementary school is where more rigorous standards for teaching English must be set in order for middle and high school English programs to improve. Still, this brings us back to the lack of higher standards for teaching English at BHS. The written word and all its fluency and beauty can only be appreciated by reading quality books, for example, Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, taught with the purpose of increasing and enriching fluency. However, I believe English is taught down to the level of many students who have not been adequately prepared to read and write in high school. This leaves students who are fluent and prepared to read and write with more complexity and fluency sitting around bored. The solution? Offer AP English classes to freshman, not as seniors (or juniors who petition); or, introduce poetry, reading and writing to all students and teach up to the level of a college-prep high school English class, not down, giving students the option of dropping out if they find the class too difficult; or, offer more "remedial"--a different word should be used, perhaps, "pre-college prep"--classes in English that will bring literacy levels up for students. However, this comes to the question of lack of diversity if AP classes are offered, assuming only white students would qualify, with ethnicity and color becoming factors in English literacy. I read a BHS Jacket article about the recent Poetry Slam where a student recited a poem he had written that showed humor and self-awareness around the fact he was the only nonwhite student in an AP class, and he's only half-white--find a way to bring literacy to all students at all levels.

It brings me to the "blanket" statement in the newsletter from a mother who says "I don't recommend it [BHS] for anyone else unless your child is white and a very good student,..." This is, of course, not true. It's easy to blame the institution, and when you have a personally bad experience with the institution, naturally, you blame it, react negatively and act accordingly. However, if left entirely in the hands of the institution many children will fail within it, whites and nonwhites, because every student has individual needs that parents, teachers, counselors may or may not understand. I am very positive about BHS in spite of being fully aware of its "blackboard jungle" qualities, problem teachers, and administrative snafus--problems abound that need to be fixed and cannot all be fixed this semester, or next--and really, you can't make every experience for your child a positive one. My concern is not only that my child succeed, but for all students to find success somewhere for themselves while going to BHS, because the experience will teach them how to succeed after BHS as well--some are slow learners; some will never learn. In talking to students from freshmen to seniors, whites and nonwhites, I find attitudes too many to figure, but know teenagers want more independence, at the same time they need strict, no-nonsense guidelines to follow or rebel against at their will--they need to test authority; they also want and need to figure things out on their own, not to be spoon-fed, nor given authority trips. As a parent, you can only hope to keep tabs and keep up with it all, but most importantly, keep in touch.

Dec 1999

Karen Wells, the Orchestra, the PEP Band, the Jazz Bands, Carla Herndon, the Latin Department, The Art Department, Corinne Eno, the Theater Department - all these things have made Berkeley High interesting and fun for my daughter and our whole family. I ate lunch one day at the Good Food Cafe and it was great! Thanks for doing this newsletter Sally. I hope I see everyone at Bonnie Baldwin's Parenting Teens Class at the Adult School. ~Anita

Gripes

A comment about Berkeley High School
My daughter is finishing her senior year at Berkeley High. In general the math department seems very good at Berkeley High. However the English dept does a poor job of preparing the students. The kids seem to read enough, but they are assigned very few papers to write. And the teachers could have provided a lot more vocabulary work. My daughter never received an assignment to write a research paper in her English classes, nor did she seem to receive instruction in how to write a research paper. Furthermore the district permits the Literary Magazine to be an English class, although the teacher does not assign them any work, either reading assignments (such as reading reviews printed in newspapers) or any writing assignments. I really hope that the class is examined by the administration. If it is kept as a class, then more substantial content should be required.

Another problem that kids have at Berkeley High is getting appropriate classes. I don't think that the counselor's have enough to help students, or to review students' choices. Parents need to read the Berkeley High class description booklet, and carefully review classes that their student is signing up to take. And then the parent has to pray, that the class continues to be offered at the time advertised, and that the teacher is still teaching the class. If your student ends up with a hole in their schedule, it is very important for the parent to go to the school and supervise the "fix" that your student is offered. I often felt that there were insufficient teachers at Berkeley High, so that the school did not demand that each student take an English Class, a Math Class, and a Social Science class each semester. Another impression I have is that, except for the Math Department, the teachers' expections of the student is low. I think all the classes should be more challenging. K (1/00)

After seeing the API values for Berkeley High, my response was exactly the opposite of the one expressed by a parent complaining that BHS is "not functioning" - I felt that the scores finally gave parents an indication that despite the many problems at BHS (phones, bells, attendance enforcement, etc.), the school, teachers, and students are doing an amazing job. That such a diverse school scored so highly (even acknowledging the problems with relying too heavily on such test scores as a measure of the quality of the education) is truly an accomplishment to be proud of. I, too, find it difficult to see beyond many of the problems on a day-to-day basis, but I think we should take a moment from complaining and celebrate the many remarkable aspects of this school. --Anonymous. (Jan 00)