The Presiding Officer will call the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. before the Board Recesses to Closed Session.  The Regular Meeting will convene by 7:30 p.m. 

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in by 5:15 p.m. will be given priority. Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority. Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

The Board may recess into Closed Session before or after the public meeting under the authority of the Brown Act (including but not limited to Government Code section 54954.5, 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957, 54957.6, as well as Education Code section 35146).  Under Government Code section 54954.3, members of the public may address the board on an item on the Closed Session agenda, before Closed Session.

1.  Call to Order
The Presiding Officer will call the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. The Regular Meeting will convene by 7:30 p.m. 

2.  Closed Session Public Testimony
Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card. Cards 
turned in by 5:15 p.m. will be given priority. Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority. Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic, although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

3.  Closed Session
The Board may recess into Closed Session before or after the public meeting under the authority of the Brown Act (including but not limited to Government Code sections 54954.5, 54956.8, 54956.9, 54957, 54957.6, as well as 35146) Under Government Code section 54954.3, members of the public may address the board on an item on the Closed Session agenda. 

3.1 Collective Bargaining (Government Code Section 54957.6): Lead Negotiator: Legal Counsel Roy Combs/District Representative Delia Ruiz – BCCE and Non-Represented (15 min)
3.2 Public Employee Appointment (Government Code Section 54957)
      3.2.1 Program Supervisor, Special Education, Berkeley High School (5 min)
      3.2.2 Acting Principal, Berkeley Technology Academy (5 min)
3.3 Student Discipline (Ed Codes 48900/48915)
      3.3.1 Case #1415-11-111002 – Readmission (15 min)
      3.3.2 Case #1415-12-111515 – Readmission (15 min)
3.4 Conference with Real Property Negotiators (Government Code Section 54956.8)
      3.4.1 District Negotiator: David A. Soldani, Legal Counsel; Negotiating Party: City of Berkeley; Property:       1231 Addison; Under Negotiations: Status Update (10 min)
3.5 Superintendent’s Midyear Evaluation (Government Code Section 54957) (25 min)

4. Call to Order - 7:30 PM

5. Report on Closed Session

6. Approve Regular Meeting Agenda of May 18, 2016

7. Open Session Public Testimony (1st Opportunity)
Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card. Cards turned in by 7:15 p.m. will be given priority. Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority. Public Testimony is limited to 30 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic, although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

8.  Union Comments
Representatives from each union are given the opportunity to address the Board on any issue, 5 minutes per union (order rotates).

Unions
Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT)
Berkeley Council of Classified Employees (BCCE)
Union of Berkeley Administrators (UBA)
Local 21

9.  Committee Comments
Representatives from District committees that include members of the public are given the opportunity to address the Board on any issue. 5 minutes per committee.

Committees
BSEP Planning & Oversight Committee
Berkeley Arts Steering Committee (BAESC)
Measure I Construction Bond Oversight Committee
Parent Advisory Committee (LCAP)
District EL Advisory Committee
PTA Council
Audit Committee

10.  Board Member and Superintendent Comments
       Board members and the Superintendent are given the opportunity to address  
       any issue.

11.  Consent Calendar
11.1 Approval of Human Resources Reports
11.2 Approval of Resolutions to Eliminate/Reduce and Add/Increase Certain Specified Classified and Certificated Positions in the Early Childhood and Transitional Kindergarten Programs
11.3 Ratification of Renewal of Employment Contracts for Administrators
11.4 Ratification of Extension of Collective Bargaining Agreements Between the Berkeley Unified School District and the Professional and Technical Engineers (Local 21) and the Union of Berkeley Administrators (UBA)
11.5 Acceptance of Gifts/Donations
11.6 Approval of Contracts/Purchase Orders for Services Contracts
11.7 Approval of Payroll Warrants Issued in April 2016
11.8 Approve Listing of Warrants Issued in April 2016
11.9 Approval to Contract with KW Engineering to Provide Clean Energy Jobs Act, Proposition 39 Funding Project Planning, Implementation and Engineering Design Services
11.10 Approval to Enter Into an Agreement with Virco Company and Campbell Keller to Provide Replacement Furniture District Wide
11.11 Approve a Contract with Johnson Controls, Inc. to Replace the Heating Controls at Willard C Building
11.12 Approval to Award the Grounds Improvement Projects for Rosa Parks Elementary and Washington Elementary School
11.13 Approval to Award the Malcolm X Interim Housing Project
11.14 Approval to Award the Blacktop Replacement Project at Hopkins Preschool, Willard, and Berkeley Arts Magnet
11.15 Approval to Award the Cragmont Floor and Painting Project
11.16 Accept the Completion of the BHS Donahue Gym Modernization Project
11.17 Approve an Increase to a Contract with WLC Architects to Provide Additional Design Services 
11.18 Approval of New Career Technical Eduation Courses: Law and Social Justice, New Courses in Common Core Math Progression (Math 2 and Advanced Math 2), and AP Computer Science Principles
11.19 Approval of Out-of-State Travel Requests
11.20 Recommendation for Expenditures in 2016-17 of Funds Allocated to Technology from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0862) 
11.21 Recommendation for Expenditures in 2016-17 for Funds Allocated to Program Evaluation from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0865)
11.22 Recommendation for Expenditures in 2016-17 of Funds Allocated to Professional Development from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0855)
11.23 Approval of Resolution 16-051 in Support of AB 1846, a Bill to Increase Adult Education Funding 
11.24 Approval of Board of Education Minutes for April 6, 2016

12. Public Hearing – 8:30 p.m.
12.1 Public Hearing on the Superintendent's Final Recommendation for the BSEP Measure Renewal of 2016, and the Issue of Calling an Election for Approval of a Qualified Special Tax

13. Action
13.1 Resolution 16-050 Calling an Election on November 8, 2016, to Renew Authority to Impose a Qualified Special Tax on All Parcels of Taxable Real Property in the District's Boundaries
13.2 Request for Early Approval of LCAP-Funded Restorative Practices and Intensive Support Counselors at Middle Schools (20 min)

14. Discussion Items
14.1 Update on Recruitment, Retention and Equity Work

15. Information Items
15.1 Facilities Plan Update 

16. Open Session Public Testimony (2nd Opportunity)
Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card. Cards turned in for the earlier open session public testimony will be given priority. Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority. Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President.

17. Extended Board Member and Superintendent Comments
Board members and the Superintendent are given the opportunity to address any issue.

18. Board Meeting Self-Evaluation
With the end goal of improving efficiency and providing quality governance in conducting the business of the school District, a member of the Board will conduct a quick review of the Board meeting to assess compliance with adopted norms, procedures and protocols

The following evaluative questions will be used to guide this discussion:

To what degree did we . . .
• frame agenda items with an introduction and a closure summary?
• allot time to agenda items proportionate to complexity, critical impact and timeline deadlines?
• address the fundamental problem at the root of issues, not just the symptoms?
• model mutual respect, effective interpersonal communication and civility?

19. Adjournment

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in by 7:15 p.m. will be given priority.        

Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority.  Public Testimony is limited to 30 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President. 

Board members and the Superintendent are given the opportunity to address any issue.  

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO: Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM: Delia Ruiz, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
DATE:             May 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Approval of Human Resources Reports

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On a regular basis, staff presents Human Resources Reports listing employment actions for the Board to approve officially.  Please refer to attached Certificated and Classified reports.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:               Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:         Pauline Follansbee, Director of Fiscal Services
DATE:          May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:   Approval of Payroll Warrants Issued in April 2016

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On a regular basis, the Board receives information on the total amount paid employees during a month.  The attached represents a summary of pay warrants from various funds for the month of April 2016. 

POLICY/CODE:
Educational Code 41010 et seq.

FISCAL IMPACT:
$7,918,190.84

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve payroll payments made in April 2016.                                                                       

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Delia Ruiz, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources      
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Elimination/Reduction and Addition/Increase of Specified Positions in the Early Childhood Education and Transitional Kindergarten Programs

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Due to the Transitional Kindergarten Consolidation and the decreased enrollment in the Pre-School Program, a need exists to modify the staffing for the Early Childhood and Transitional Kindergarten Programs beginning next school year.

Due to lack of funds and/or lack of work, the following positions in the District need to be eliminated/reduced:

To meet program needs, the following positions need to be added/increased:

In light of Education Code requirements, it is necessary for the Governing Board to set forth and act on these eliminations or reductions of specified positions so that each employee affected can be timely notified as prescribed by law and the collective bargaining agreements.

We regret the hardship this notification process places on employees and the uncertainty of their future employment status.  The employees immediately impacted have been notified of this potential employment action.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code Sections 45117 and 8366

FISCAL IMPACT:
Increase in salary costs of approximately $6230

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve resolutions.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Board of Education
FROM:        Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
DATE:          May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Ratification of Renewal of Employment Contracts for Administrators

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Board of Education authorized the Superintendent to renew employment contracts for administrators whose contracts expire June 30, 2016. The contracts to be renewed and ratified are as follows:

      Pauline Follansbee, Director of Fiscal Services                     07/01/16-06/30/18

      Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services 07/01/16-06/30/18

      Delia Ruiz, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources 07/01/16-06/30/18 

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code sections 44929.28, 45100.5, and 45103

FISCAL IMPACT:
Salary increases as indicated in contracts.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Ratify the employment contracts for administrators.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:                Donald Evans, Ed. D., Superintendent                          
FROM:          Delia Ruiz, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources          
DATE:           May 18, 2016        
SUBJECT:    Ratification of Extension of Collective Bargaining Agreements with the Professional and Technical Engineer (Local 21) and the Union of Berkeley Administrators (UBA)   

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Berkeley Unified School District and the Professional and Technical Engineer (Local 21) and the Union of Berkeley Administrators (UBA) are parties to collective bargaining agreements that will expire on June 30, 2016.  The District has reached Tentative Agreements with Local 21 and with UBA to extend the Agreements.  The extension for Local 21 will be from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018; and the extension for UBA will be for July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.  UBA and Local 21 have informed District staff that their memberships have ratified their respective Tentative Agreements as per the attached modifications.

POLICY/CODE:
Government Code 3450 et seq.

FISCAL IMPACT:
As detailed in the AB1200 Disclosure

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve ratification of extensions to the Agreements.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:                        Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:                  Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
DATE:                   May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:            Acceptance of Gifts/Donations

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Board may accept and utilize on behalf of the District gifts of money or property for a purpose deemed to be suited by the Board. The following donations have been presented to the District:

1. Community Resources for Science donated $100 to be utilized as needed for Oxford Elementary School.     
2. Target donated $326.68 through their Take Charge of Education program to be utilized as needed for Oxford Elementary School.
3. Merv and Penny Rasmussen donated $200 to be utilized as needed for Oxford Elementary School.
4. The Benevity Community Impact Fund donated $528.33 to be utilized as needed for Rosa Parks School.
5. Daniel and Erin S. Case-Jurnove donated $25; Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen donated $350; La Note Restaurant donated $1,112.62;Christian Rauh and Roberta Michelotti donated $55 and Sweetgreen donated $416.50 for a total donation of $1959.12 for the Dine Out 2016 Gardening and Cooking Program.

POLICY/CODE:
BP 3290

FISCAL IMPACT: 
The District received a total of $3,114.13 in donations.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the donations to the District and request staff to extend letters of
appreciation.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed. D., Superintendent
FROM:        Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:   Approval of Contracts/Purchase Orders for Services Contracts

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with consultants or independent contractors who can provide valuable and necessary specialized services not normally required on a continuing basis. The following contract services are requested. Expenditures are within budget.

1. Contract with ITS Inspection, Inc. to inspect the Malcolm X Interim Housing and the Malcolm X Exterior Rehabilitation Project. The cost will not exceed $50,000. To be paid from Measure H. Requested by Timothy White.
2. Increase in contract, PO#160140 for Bay Cities Pyrotector for fire system inspections and services as needed for the Maintenance Department for the 2015/16SY. The Board approved $30,000 on 6/10/15. The additional amount will increase the contract by $25,000 for a total amount of $55,000. To be paid from Measure H. Requested by Steve Collins.
3. Ratification of contract with Accounting Principals Inc. for accounting services to cover a critical staffing need due to a vacant position from 5/4/16 – 6/30/16. The position has been posted. The cost will not exceed $30,000. To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Pauline Follansbee.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code: 20111
Board Policy 3310

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the contracts with consultants or independent contractors as submitted.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:               Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Pauline E. Follansbee, Director of Fiscal Services
DATE:           May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:    Approve Listing of Warrants issued in April 2016.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Each month the District writes several checks to vendors for services provided and goods received.  The checks are written against both the Restricted and Unrestricted General Fund.  The summaries of warrants for the month of April 2016 are attached for the Board’s review.

POLICY/CODE:
Educational Code Section 41010 et seq.

FISCAL IMPACT:
$4,902,649.18 for the month of April 2016 from various funds.  

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the monthly bill warrant list for the month of April 2016.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Approval to Contract with KW Engineering to provide Clean Energy Jobs Act, Proposition 39 Funding Project Planning, Implementation and Engineering Design Services

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In 2014, the Board approved a resolution to apply for Bright Schools Program from the California Department of Energy.  The report from Bright Schools discussed the implementation of projects at Cragmont and Berkeley High School.  Currently, Staff is interested in receiving a comprehensive analysis of all sites, project planning, implementation and engineering design services.  On February 19, 2016, Staff sent out a Request for Proposals to 25 firms.   Three firms were interviewed. 

Facilities is requesting that the Board approve hiring KW Engineering to provide the following services:

• Energy Planning and Audit of all sites
• Project and Incentive application support
• Submittal of an Energy Expenditure Plan
• Project Design

The costs to implement these services will be paid from Proposition 39 Funds.

POLICY/CODE:
Board Policy 3310

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from the Proposition 39 Funds

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve KW Engineering for a not to exceed amount of $136,000 to provide Clean Energy Jobs Act, Proposition 39 Funding Project Planning, Implementation and Engineering Design Services.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent  
FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities 
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Approval of an Agreement to Purchase Replacement Furniture District Wide

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On March 12, 2014, the Board adopted the Annual Facilities Plan which includes an allocation for replacement furniture and some furniture replacement for new projects.

In an effort to improve customer service to our schools this year, the facilities staff surveyed all Principals for the first time. Each Principal responded and uniformly agreed that their school's need for furniture was much broader than initially anticipated. Also, as a part of the educational specifications process, we met with selected teachers to determine what type of furniture would create an optimal learning environment. Facilities will review and determine an overall replacement standard in the upcoming year.

This year, we plan to do the following:

• Replace furniture at multiple sites
• Provide Cafeteria tables for Longfellow Cafeteria
• Replace Cafeteria tables for John Muir

School districts commonly purchase furniture via piggybackable bids.  In this case, we would utilize Virco’s US Communities Cooperative Bid (expires on December 31, 2017) to purchase student and teacher classroom furniture and Glendale bid P-16 (expires in February 2020) from Campbell Keller to purchase science tables, cafeteria tables and some classroom teacher furniture items.  We will also create small purchase orders with Schiffler Equipment, Lakeshore Learning, Discount School Supply and Comseat, Inc. to purchase additional classroom furniture items.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code 20118 and 20652

FISCAL IMPACT:
A cost $350,000 to be paid from Measure I. A portion of this amount will be used from funds earmarked for the Longfellow Cafeteria.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve a contract between BUSD and Virco in an amount not to exceed $160,000 and with Campbell-Keller in an amount not to exceed $140,000. Approve smaller purchases with Lakeshore Learning, Discount School Supply, Comseat and Schiffler Equipment Not to exceed a combined $40,000.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent

FROM:        Timothy White, Executive Director of Facilities    

DATE:         May 18, 2016

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On March 23, 2016, the Board authorized staff to advertise a project to replace the heating controls at Willard C Building.  The project was advertised on March 30^th and April 8^th. On May 5th, 2016, two bids were received. Both bids are qualified. Staff has evaluated the bids and determined that the low bid is a good value to the District. Staff would like to recommend that the Board award the base bid plus alternate #1 to the apparent low bidder, Johnson Controls, Inc. in the amount of $321,463. This project is $70,000 under our estimated budget for construction.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118. 

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from Measure AA and H Funds.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept all bids waiving any minor irregularities. Approve Johnson Controls, Inc. to replace the heating controls at Willard Building C in the amount of $321,463.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities       
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Approve a Contract with Bay Construction, Inc. for the Rosa Parks Grounds Improvement and Washington Grounds Improvement Projects

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Board approved the Grounds Improvement project including both Rosa Parks and Washington Elementary Schools on January 27, 2016. These two sites were combined for a single construction project that was approved to be advertised for bidding on March 9, 2016. The scope includes a new synthetic turf field, play structures, benches tables; climbing wall, wall ball, sandbox at kinder yard, drinking fountain, and play yard striping. The Division of the State Architect requires additional accessibility construction at both school sites.

The original project budget for these sites was $444,000 per site for a combined total of $888,000. The construction budget for the project is $600,000. On April 27, 2016, two bids were received. They consisted of base bids and four alternates at each site.

Staff is recommending the award of the base bids plus all alternates to the low bidder, Bay Construction, in the amount of $889,655. This will require an additional increase in the project budget of $349,000. This increase is itemized as follows: The Architect of Record contract increase of $18,500, the Construction contract increase of $290,500 and the Project Contingency increase of $40,000. 

Several issues combined to contribute to increased bids:

1. New accessibility requirements from the Division of the State Architect have increased overall project scope.
2. Construction pricing in the Bay Area is rising significantly faster than anticipated.
3. Expanded landscape scope elements beyond the original conceptual designs after community engagement process with school site committee and community planning groups 

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118   

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from the Measure AA Bond contingency in the amount of $349,000. There are sufficient funds in the Measure AA contingency budget to cover these costs without affecting other capital construction projects.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept all bids and approve the award of the Base Bids and additive alternates 1, 2, 3, and 4 for both sites to Bay Construction, Inc in the amount of $889,655. Increase the project budget for Rosa Parks and Washington Grounds improvements by $349,000.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent

FROM:        Timothy White, Executive Director of Facilities    

DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Approve a Contract with Dan Electric for the Interim Housing Project at Malcolm X Elementary School 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

On April 6, 2016, the Board approved the advertisement of an Interim Housing project that would temporarily house students and staff during the construction at the Main Building and the Annex Building.  On May 3, 2016 two bids were received.  The base bid of the lowest responsible bidder is below budget and staff recommends that we award the project. 

Staff is recommending that the project be awarded to the lowest bidder, Dan Electric.

POLICY/CODE:

Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118 and 5100-5110 

FISCAL IMPACT:

Cost to be paid from the Measure I Bond. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Approve Dan Electric to construct the Malcolm X Elementary Interim Housing project for $784,000.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent

FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities

DATE:         May 18, 2016

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On April 6, 2016, the Board approved advertising for the Blacktop Replacement Project. The project consists of selective pavement replacement at Hopkins, Whittier (BAM), and Willard. On April 28, 2016 one bid was received for the project. There is a significant amount of construction projects being bid in this area at this time and bid coverage is difficult to achieve.  The bid received from G&S Paving is below budget and it is necessary that this work be performed during the summer break period to avoid interfering with the operation of the school sites.  Therefore, Staff is recommending award of this project to the single bidder.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118.

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from Measure I Funds.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Award of the project to G&S Paving for $95,209.  

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent

FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities

DATE:         May 18, 2016

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On March 9, 2016, the Board approved advertising for the Cragmont School Paint and Floor Project. On April 26, 2016 four bids were received. The base bid consisted of repair and refinishing of the exterior of the building. There were four alternates for replacing of flooring and repainting of select areas at the interior. The low bid is below budget and allows for the inclusion of all four alternates in the project scope.

POLICY/CODE:

Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118. 

FISCAL IMPACT:

Cost to be paid from Measure AA Funds.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

Approve the low bidder, On Point Construction, for the base bid plus alternates   1-4 to refinish the exterior, and paint and replace flooring at the interior of Cragmont School for $416,686. 

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Accept the Completion of the BHS Donahue Gym Modernization Project

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On May 6, 2015, the Board awarded a contract to W.E. Lyons Construction Co. for the BHS Donahue Gym Modernization Project. On September 9, 2015, the Board approved Futility Resolution 16-005 acknowledging that the project change order costs would exceed the 10% contingency.  The project is now complete and all change orders have been negotiated.  Staff requests Board acceptance of the project.

Acceptance of the project will permit staff to file a Notice of Completion with the County and will permit release of retention funds.   

POLICY/CODE:
California Public Contract Code 20110-20118

FISCAL IMPACT:
The project was funded through the Measure I bond. The project had change orders of $267,848.24 or 13.7% above the Board approved amount. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the project as complete.  

    BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Timothy White, Director of Facilities          
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Approve an Increase to a Contract with WLC Architects to Provide Additional Design Services for the Malcolm X Building Exterior Rehabilitation Project

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On April 23, 2014, the Board approved WLC Architects to design the replacement of the stucco, windows and exterior paint at Malcolm X and the Longfellow exterior painting for $190,000. The project was bid on March 5, 2015 and was over budget. The Board rejected all bids on March 25, 2015. The Longfellow Exterior Paint portion of the project was re-bid and subsequently awarded and performed over the summer 2015.

On March 9, 2016 the Board approved increasing the Malcolm X Building Exterior Rehabilitation Project budget to perform the scope needed at that site. This requires a re-evaluation of the structure and re-design of the project.

In conjunction with this, WLC is also performing design services for DSA close-out of legacy projects at the Malcolm X site. Additional services are required to complete this scope.

POLICY/CODE:
Board Policy 3310

FISCAL IMPACT:
Cost to be paid from the Measure I Bond Funds.  

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve WLC Architects for design services for an increased authority of $107,000 for the Malcolm X Building Exterior Rehabilitation Project and for DSA close-out of legacy projects.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Pasquale Scuderi, Asst. Superintendent
FROM:        Erin Schweng, Vice-Principal Berkeley High School
DATE:          May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:    New Career Technical Education Courses: Law and Social Justice, New Courses in Common Core Math Progression (Math 2 and Advanced Math 2), and AP Computer Science Principles

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Law and Social Justice
The new Law and Social Justice pathway will continue to build out the CTE program at Berkeley High School.  As a compliment and companion course to the successful Fire Science program, year one of the Law and Social Justice pathway will explore and critique how laws are passed, how they are enforced, how the violation of laws are prosecuted and how jails / prisons function. 

Moreover, students will analyze and critique the criminal justice system, evaluating how issues of equity, race, and socioeconomic status impacts and influences law enforcement, the courts, and the prison system. This critical lens will require students to conclude what are the “best practices” in policing and prosecution of the laws.  This may include such analysis on whether police officers should carry Tasers, whether the public defender system is properly funded, and whether our prisons violate the 8^th Amendment. 

As with all CTE programs, the course will have students learn about and consider careers within the criminal justice system, whether law enforcement, public policy, the practice of law (prosecution / defense), and corrections.  The pathway will include partnerships with Berkeley Police Department, the U.C. Berkeley Police Department, and potential relationships with Boalt Law, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office and the Alameda Public Defenders office.  

In addition to traditional academic work, Law and Social Justice will be a dynamic class, engaging students in Socratic dialog, project based learning, with multiple field experiences and guest lecturers / panels. 

We will be submitting this course to the UC Office of the President (UCOP) for “g” approval within the next week.

Math 2
Math 2 will be the next course in our Integrated Common Core Course Progression.  As with the Math 1 course that we began this year, Math 2 will continue weaving together various mathematics curricular areas, such as algebra, advanced algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. 

We will continue to use the curriculum as written for the Math 1/Math 2/Math 3 sequence by the Mathematics Vision Project.  MVP has done training for our math department, and our teachers have been supported by district funds for time to collaborate and develop this course for our BHS context.

The focus of the Math 2 course is on quadratic expressions, equations, and functions; and comparing their characteristics and behavior to those of linear and exponential relationships from Math 1. This course includes standards from the conceptual categories of Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. For the Math 2 course, instructional time should focus on five critical areas: (1) extend the laws of exponents to rational exponents; (2) compare key characteristics of quadratic functions with those of linear and exponential functions; (3) create and solve equations and inequalities involving linear, exponential, and quadratic expressions; (4) extend work with probability; and (5) establish criteria for similarity of triangles based on dilations and proportional reasoning.

Student engagement with course content will develop skills required for all 8 of the Common Core Standards of Math Practice: (1) make sense of problems and persevere in solving them; (2) reason abstractly and quantitatively; (3) construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others; (4) model with mathematics; (5) use appropriate tools strategically; (6) attend to precision; (7) look for and make use of structure; and (8) look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

We have submitted this course to UCOP for “c” credit in mathematics and fully expect approval in the first round submission.

Advanced Math 2
Advanced Math 2 will be the next course in our Integrated Common Core Course Progression.  As with the Advanced Math 1 course that we began this year, Advanced Math 2 will continue weaving together various mathematics curricular areas, such as algebra, advanced algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. 

We will continue to use the curriculum as written for the Math 1/Math 2/Math 3 sequence by the Mathematics Vision Project.  MVP has done training for our math department, and our teachers have been supported by district funds for time to collaborate and develop this course for our BHS context.

The focus of the Advanced Math 2 course is on quadratic expressions, equations, and functions; comparing their characteristics and behavior to those of linear and exponential relationships from Advanced Math 1. This course includes standards from the conceptual categories of Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions and their Inverses, Logarithmic Functions, Trigonometric Functions, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. For the Advanced Math 2 course, instructional time should focus on eight critical areas: (1) extend the laws of exponents to rational exponents; (2) compare key characteristics of quadratic functions with those of linear and exponential functions; (3) create and solve equations and inequalities involving linear, exponential, and quadratic expressions; (4) extend work with probability; (5) establish criteria for similarity of triangles based on dilations and proportional reasoning; (6) functions and their inverses; (7) logarithmic functions; and (8) polynomial functions.

Student engagement with course content will develop skills required for all 8 of the Common Core Standards of Math Practice: (1) make sense of problems and persevere in solving them; (2) reason abstractly and quantitatively; (3) construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others; (4) model with mathematics; (5) use appropriate tools strategically; (6) attend to precision; (7) look for and make use of structure; and (8) look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

We have submitted this course to UCOP for “c” credit in mathematics and fully expect approval in the first round submission.

AP Computer Science Principles
AP Computer Science Principles is the newest computer science AP and begins in the 2016-17 academic year. AP will offer two computer science courses — AP Computer Science A (“AP Java” in our current course catalog) and AP Computer Science Principles. Students can take the courses in any order. Currently offered at BHS and one of the fastest growing AP courses, AP Computer Science A focuses on computing skills related to programming in Java. The new AP Computer Science Principles course will complement AP Computer Science A by teaching the foundational concepts of computer science as it aims to broaden participation in the study of computer science.

AP Computer Science Principles introduces students to the essential ideas of computer science with a focus on how computing can impact the world. Along with the fundamentals of computing, you will learn to analyze data, information, or knowledge represented for computational use; create technology that has a practical impact; and gain a broader understanding of how computer science impacts people and society. The major areas of study in the AP Computer Science Principles course are organized around seven big ideas, which are essential to studying computer science.

We will use the curriculum The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) which focuses on programming and the "Big Ideas" of computing. One of the real transformative and empowering experiences comes when one learns how to program the computer, to translate ideas into code. This course will teach students how to do exactly that, using Snap!, a purely graphical block language, which means programming involves simply dragging blocks around, and building bigger blocks out of smaller blocks.

The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) curriculum also focuses on some of the "Big Ideas" of computing, such as abstraction, design, recursion, concurrency, simulations, and the limits of computation. We'll show some beautiful applications of computing that have changed the world, talk about the history of computing, and where it will go in the future. Throughout the course, relevance will be emphasized: relevance to the student and to society. As an example, the final project will be completely of the students' choosing, on a topic most interesting to them. The overarching theme is to expose students to the beauty and joy of computing. This course is designed for students who have never taken a CS course before, although students with previous programming experience or even interested in majoring in CS in college are certainly welcome to take the class as well!

AP Computer Science Principles trainings are available from the College Board and others. Currently we are planning to receive training at UC Berkeley, where the BJC curriculum was developed.

The UC Office of the President is in the process of reviewing and adopting the official College Board curriculum and syllabus for this course, as this is a new AP Course offering for all California school next year.

POLICY/CODE:
Ed Code 51054
Board Policy 6141

FISCAL IMPACT:
None – Text and curricular materials are free.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the new Career Technical Education courses: Law and Social Justice, new courses in Common Core math progression (Math 2 and Advanced Math 2), and AP Computer Science Principles

     BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:   Out-of-State Travel Requests

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The following out-of-state travel requests are being requested:

International Baccalaureate Workshop, Albuquerque, NM June 18-21, 2016

Approve for Berkeley International High School’s request for I.B. teacher Russell Campisi to travel to Albuquerque, NM to receive specific IB training in environmental science at United World College.  The four-day, three-night conference training is necessary to provide a comprehensive and complete program for students in the BIHS program.  Not all subjects are offered in California, and this necessitates out of state travel for the professional training. Registration, transportation, lodging and meals for this training will be paid from Title II, Teacher Quality Funds. Requested by: Sam Pasarow, BHS Principal.

International Baccalaureate Workshop, Albuquerque, NM June 21-24, 2016

Approve for Berkeley International High School’s request for I.B. teachers Rebecca Villagran, Keldon Clegg and Peter Rodrigues, to travel to Albuquerque, NM to receive specific IB training in US History at United World College.  The four-day, three-night conference training is necessary to provide a comprehensive and complete program for students in the BIHS program.  Not all subjects are offered in California, and this necessitates out of state travel for the professional training. Registration, transportation, lodging and meals for this training will be paid from Title II, Teacher Quality Funds. Requested by: Sam Pasarow, BHS Principal.

AP US History Summer Training, New York, NY July 11-15, 2016

Approve for Berkeley International High School’s request for I.B. teacher Angela Coppola to travel to New York, NY to receive specific IB training in US History at Fordham University. The five-day, four-night conference training is necessary to provide a comprehensive and complete program for students in the BIHS program.  Not all subjects are offered in California, and this necessitates out of state travel for the professional training. Registration, transportation, lodging and meals for this training will be paid from Title II, Teacher Quality Funds. Requested by: Sam Pasarow, BHS Principal.

AIM (Accelerated Integrative Method) Language Learning Summer Institute, Jacksonville, FL, July 28-29, 2016

Approve participation for King Middle School teacher Sara Dieli to attend a two-day, one-night conference in Jacksonville, FL.  The training will directly address the World Language equity goal of increasing the language proficiency of more students from our diverse student body in our entry level language classes.  The intent is to encourage greater cultural appreciation of language diversity and promote longer-term commitment to the study of language.  The AIM method accelerates language learning through the use of high-frequency vocabulary, an innovative gesture-based technique, contextualization of language through plays and stories, cooperative learning, spontaneous language production and exclusive use of the target language.  Registration fees are being paid from BSEP funds. Requested by Janet Levenson, King Middle School Principal.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 35330
Board Policy 6153

FISCAL IMPACT:
As indicated above.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the out of state travel and overnight field trips consistent with the District Policies and instructional programs.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:       Jay Nitschke, Director of Technology
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Recommendation for Expenditures in 2016-17 of Funds Allocated to Technology from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0862)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In compliance with The Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP/Measure A), nine percent (9%) of the available revenues of the Measure are allocated to three purposes: Professional Development, Educational Program Evaluation, and Technology in schools. Currently Technology receives slightly more than a third (3.24%) of the 9% allocation.

The following recommendation is for the allocation of funds for the Purpose of Technology in accordance with BSEP Measure A, Section 3C:

… providing and maintaining computers and technology in schools. All costs attendant to providing these services are permissible.

This recommendation for expenditures in 2016-17 was presented to the BSEP Planning and Oversight Committee on April 26, 2016 and adopted by the Committee on May 10, 2016. 

Program Objectives
Up-to-date technology is a vital asset for Berkeley Public Schools in several ways: 

EXCELLENCE: The appropriate use of technology broadens thinking and problem-solving skills, improves access to information and communication, and provides opportunities for self-direction to take research and learning in new directions.

Technology in schools can also improve school efficiency, productivity, and decision-making on all levels, from the teacher in the classroom, to grade-level collaboration, to principals and school leadership.

EQUITY: Access to technology is an equity issue - all students should have opportunities to engage with current technology.

ENGAGEMENT: The use of technology engages students in learning, improves attendance, increases graduation rates and facilitates parent involvement.

ENRICHMENT: The use of technology helps schools meet the needs of all students with opportunities for differentiated instruction and expanded options for learning and expression. 

Program Summary
The programmatic goal of these funds is to support technology used at the school sites. Staff provide expertise in integrating technology into classroom practice; provide hardware and software support to school teachers, staff and administrators, including instructional technology and information systems such as PowerSchool and Illuminate; and provide funds and ordering assistance for school technology purchases made by school governance councils and committees. 

A Technology Workgroup consisting of Assistant Superintendent Scuderi, Tech Director Jay Nitschke, Library Coordinator Becca Todd, and Instructional Tech TSA Allison Krasnow convened to create a plan for professional development for teachers around instructional technology, focusing on the upper elementary grades in 2016-17. Todd and Krasnow chaired a 3-day planning session with elementary teachers, instructional coaches, and principals. The resulting plan for staffing classrooms where the Chromebooks are available constantly throughout the school day (1:1), with teachers becoming Google Certified Educators is an exciting outcome of this work.

Other developments during the 2015-16 school year:

• Common Core State Standards (CCSS) continue to be implemented. These standards incorporate guidelines of how all students need to be competent with technology.
• There were 2,846 Chromebooks in the district at the time of last year’s plan. At this writing, there are now 3,627, a significant increase.
• The biweekly meetings of the “DigiTech” committee^[1] (Library and Technology) have been productive on two levels:
  1. To create a framework for instructional technology within the new CCSS curriculum; and
  2. To troubleshoot problems that teachers were having incorporating technology.
• Some schools have aggressively addressed the need for keyboarding and other computer literacy skills, other schools have not. A keyboarding curriculum continues at many of the elementary schools.
• A significant staffing addition was made starting on October 1, 2016. The position of Technology Supervisor was created to expand and supervise the work of the School Techs.
• Wireless coverage was much improved in all schools with the installation of Ruckus Wireless access points that utilize the latest protocols and have larger radio arrays than previous wifi access points, providing wireless capacity to ensure all classrooms are able to fully utilize a computer cart.

SMART GOALS for 2016-17 include:

1. All 3rd-5th grade teachers will learn to integrate Google Classroom at a staff meeting in September, led by their Technology Teacher Leader.
2. By September 2016, all 3rd-5th grade classrooms will have a 2:1 ratio of Chromebooks per student, with 1 cart shared between 2 classrooms. In 4th and 5th grades, teachers who have become Google Certified Educators will have additional Chromebooks for a 1:1 student to device ratio. Additionally, at least 75 K-12 teachers will attend the DIgiTech August Institute with workshops led by BUSD teachers.
3. At least 70% of 3rd-5th grade teachers will become Google Certified Educators by September 2016.
4. All 8th grade teachers will have a 2:1 ratio of students to Chromebooks, and will use technology weekly with students.
5. At least 75% of middle school math and 6th grade science teachers will attend STEM-focused professional development in August 2016. 

BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS for FY 2016-17

Staff.....................................................................................................................................................$645,836

• School Computer Technicians          6.20 FTE
• Technology Supervisor                                 0.75 FTE
• Instructional Technology TSA                       0.50 FTE

School Computer Technicians...........................................................................................................6.2 FTE

The job of the technicians is to work with teachers and staff to keep computers, tablets, projectors, printers, etc. working, to help integrate technology with the curriculum, to support teachers using Illuminate and PowerSchool, as well as to help technology committees and School Governance Councils make decisions about technology money.

• 2.0 FTE positions are at BHS (of which 0.2 FTE is for BTA and BIS),
• 1.6 FTE support the middle schools, and
• 2.6 FTE support the elementary schools and preschools, and provide support for site technology purchases.
• Since all but one of these are 10-month positions, an extra $3,000 is budgeted for extra duty work over the summer. 

Teacher on Special Assignment – Instructional Technology..........................................................0.5 FTE

Since 2010-11, a TSA for Instructional Technology has been co-funded by Technology, BSEP Professional Development and other funds at 33% each. Since LCFF, the position is funded 50% from the BSEP Technology budget, and 50% from the BSEP PD budget.

Technology Supervisor.....................................................................................................................0.75 FTE

In 2015-16, BSEP funds fractional parts of the Director and the Student Systems Specialist. As the newly created Technology Supervisor position is directly supervising the school techs and spends much of his time in schools, it made sense to fund that position rather than other positions.  (Funded to 1.0 FTE with 0.25 from the General Fund.) 

Technology Teacher Leaders.............................................................................................................$36,000

Funding exists for 17 TTL at $2,098 per stipend for the 2016-17 school year. Teachers are interested in doing more with technology, but some are unsure how to implement these pedagogical shifts or how to integrate their current curriculum with the increased use of technology. A cohesive, long-range plan for ongoing professional development is critical to creating a culture where all teachers are technologically literate and are able to integrate these tools to increase students’ engagement and achievement. Part of that plan is to fund a stipend-funded Tech Teacher Leader at every site. 

Technology Equipment for Schools, Repairs, Software Licenses.................................................$70,000

Funding for technology in the schools is about $5 per student (including the pre-K program). Fortunately, the passage of Measure I (BUSD’s Prop 65 facilities bond) in November, 2010 has enabled $250,000 per year to be dedicated to technology (that amount increased to $592,000 in 15-16), per the plan adopted by the School Board. During the last three years, Measure I bond funds improved the wireless infrastructure across the district. A goal of improved wireless capability has been met with Ruckus access points. In 2016-17, Measure I funds will also fund a telephone system to replace a system that was beyond its useful life.

BUDGET SUMMARY    

Additional BSEP Technology carryover monies beyond the projected estimate could be added to the budget for instructional technology for the schools, or for additional extra duty support of Computer Technicians or the Teachers on Special Assignment, or teacher professional development, as needed. 

Following is the proposal for the Technology Budget for FY 2016-17:

POLICY/CODE:
Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (Section 3.C, Measure A of 2006). 

FISCAL IMPACT:
Projected expenditures of $889,481 from the BSEP funds for Technology, from the BSEP Professional Development, Program Evaluation, and Technology Fund. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the recommendation for expenditures in 2016-17 for funds allocated to Technology from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0862).

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:          Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:       Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
Debbi D’Angelo, Director, Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Recommendation for Expenditures in FY 2016-17 for Funds Allocated to Program Evaluation from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0856)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In compliance with The Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP/Measure A), nine percent (9%) of the available revenues of the Measure are allocated to three purposes: Professional Development, Educational Program Evaluation, and Technology in schools. Educational Program Evaluation currently receives slightly less than a third (2.52%) of the allocation.

The following recommendation is for the allocation of funds for the Purpose of Professional Development in accordance with BSEP Measure A, Section 3C:

...assessing the effectiveness of the District’s educational programs for improving student achievement.

This recommendation for expenditures in 2016-17 was presented to the BSEP Planning and Oversight Committee on April 26, 2016 and adopted by the Committee on May 10, 2016.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Mission Statement

As the District implements numerous educational programs designed to improve student achievement, staff must be able to assess the effectiveness of these programs in meeting their goals. Equity-driven and data-driven decision-making is critical to student success, and therefore, the District established the Berkeley Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (BREA) office in 2007 to use data to achieve these program objectives:

EXCELLENCE:  BREA works to improve individual teachers’ instruction and individual students’ learning, as well as the ability of School Governance Councils to make decisions about the effective use of site resources to provide excellent programs for all students. 

EQUITY:  BREA’s evaluations improve the ability of the School Board, staff and the public to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of instructional programs in order to maximize the use of scarce resources to meet the needs of our most underserved students.  BREA teams with the Professional Development staff to support the development of data systems that include:  Coordination of School Teams (COS)/RTI², Positive Behavior and Intervention Systems (PBIS), Family Engagement and Cultural Competency, 2020 Vision Indicators, English Learner Master Plan targets and WASC goals. 

ENGAGEMENT:  BREA develops and maintains a central data warehouse to provide real-time web-based student information to engage staff members with district and state mandated assessments which may be drillable to the site, classroom, case-management and student level to identify students who should be engaged through the intervention model to access the curriculum at each level. In addition, BREA works with the Office of Family Engagement and Equity in their efforts to document family and student engagement efforts.  

ENRICHMENT:  BREA uses Collaborative Inquiry as the model for professional development to ensure principals, teachers, staff and School Governance Council members to use data to inform teaching and learning and ensure that we are providing a enriched curriculum for students. 

SMART GOALS

1. Illuminate Goal:

   In 2016-2017, BREA will have a systematic assessment / evaluation focus, beginning with lead teacher, BREA and PD staff training over the summer.  The main objectives for staff (teachers, principals, inquiry teams) will be to access Illuminate to better understand both their students who are underserved as well as those needing enrichment.  By 2016-17, 100% of staff will:

   • access Illuminate and understand their classroom and student profiles to identify students needing intervention as well as those needing to expand their learning;
   • create and analyze formative and summative assessments;
   • use the inquiry process to evaluate student learning through the rigorous use of data.
      
2. Professional Learning Community Goal:

By 2016-17, BREA staff members will partner with the Professional Learning Community team leaders. These “Inquiry” Teams become vital centers of collaboration, meeting regularly to engage in data-driven dialogue, using multiple data sources, including common and formative assessments, to make critical, research-based instructional improvements and to monitor their impact. These improvements and ongoing monitoring of student learning are necessary steps to improve results for students.  To do this, we use the Professional Learning Community Model.  

These PLC Inquiry sessions will guide sites to look at their achievement gaps and use the most current data to reflect upon teaching and learning.  The sessions will focus the staff as a Professional Learning Community to ask these questions:

1. What is it we want ALL students to know? (Plan)
2. What instructional strategies target the needs and abilities within the classroom? What interventions are needed? (Teach)
3. How will we know if students have learned it? (Assess)
4. How will we respond when students experience difficulty in learning? How will we respond when students already know it? (Reflect) 

Educational Program Evaluation Staff............................................................................................$529,300

• Director - 1.0 FTE, Certificated
• Teacher on Special Assignment - .8 FTE (out of 1.0 FTE)
• Teacher on Special Assignment - .3 FTE (out of .7 FTE)
• Teacher on Special Assignment - .4 FTE
• Teacher on Special Assignment - .2 FTE (.8 FTE in classroom)
• Data Technician - 1.0 FTE
• Administrative Staff - .50 FTE (out of 1.0 FTE)
  

Director of Research Evaluation and Assessment...........................................................................1.0 FTE
The Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment designs, implements and oversees all aspects of the evaluation and assessment activities related to student achievement and program effectiveness, including research and evaluation methodologies, instruments, data collection, data warehouse/ assessment system/dashboard design and implementation, data integrity processes, and statistical analysis and interpretation. The Director works with principals, teachers, School Governance Councils, District Office staff, the School Board, LCAP Committees, the 2020 Vision Design Team and Local Colleges to interpret student data and improve student learning. The Director serves as a liaison between the Technology Department and Educational Services, interpreting the needs of Curriculum and Instruction for the programming and system software, and improving data integrity, development and accessibility for teachers. The Director works with the Coordinator of Professional Development to provide training to lead teachers and professional developers on the development of new CCSS local and state assessments and for K-5 teachers and families, the new Elementary CCSS Report Card. The Director prepares and provides 40-50 presentations annually to different stakeholder groups including the Board, City of Berkeley, the LCAP Parent Advisory Groups, the Educator Advisory Group, West Ed, Education Source, Family Nights, Principals, Teacher leaders and more.  

Teachers on Special Assignment (TSA)............................................................................................1.7FTE 
These positions provide staff development and technical support to teachers, principals, and School Governance Council (SGC) members in how to use data and determining appropriate actions based on these data.  Staff development is provided primarily to certificated staff at the site and district-level and consists of both group training sessions as well as individualized support. With the introduction of a new state accountability system using the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the focus of the TSAs will be to provide structured technical assistance in the implementation of Illuminate, a software system for assessment data management, analysis, assessment creation and scan-based scoring.  As described above, the support for sites will be structured and focused not only on how to use the system technically but how to interpret the data to further inform instruction in the classroom, and determine students’ academic and social intervention needs and the effectiveness of programs.  Along with district-wide projects such as District Assessments, TSAs will serve as the link between the site-based Professional Learning Community (PLC) and the District.  TSAs will provide facilitation / support at the school sites both through bi-monthly PLC Inquiry sessions as well as bi-weekly technical support sessions.

Data Technician / Administrative Support...........................................................................1.0 FTE. / 5 FTE
These two classified positions are responsible for technical support in the Office of Evaluation and Assessment.  They support District assessments; import and enter data into the data systems; ensure accuracy of data; develop queries and reports in Illuminate and PowerSchool; generate a variety of other reports and documents; and develop and maintain various databases and files.

In addition, the Data Technician serves as the manager of the data warehouse and supports staff by providing data requested for program evaluation. (The other .50 FTE of the Clerical Support position is funded by the General Fund to manage state-mandated testing.) 

Program Expenditures

Certificated Hourly - Extra Duty (TSA)...............................................................................................$20,000
The TSAs and Illuminators for Evaluation will work during the summer to prepare student data reports for schools and teachers for the opening of the school year.   They will also work additional days in June to provide teacher staff development and to prepare end-of-year assessment and evaluation reports. 

Summer / School Year Staff Development......................................................................................$18,000  
This year, carry-over funds will be used to ensure that the data system is ready for full implementation of the LCAP / School Improvement Plan Dashboard in the Fall.  In order to assure full implementation, a portion of these funds will be used to pay a daily stipend to lead teachers at each site who will then train the teachers at their school. 

Classified Hourly (Student Helpers)....................................................................................................$5,000
Student helpers and Interns from the Cal in Local Government grant program will be used to provide support for the BREA department. 

Illuminator Teacher Leader Stipend...................................................................................................$18,500
In order to assure full implementation of Illuminate, funds will be used to pay one-half of an annual stipend to one lead teacher at each site who will serve as “Illuminators” for the first half of the year and Site Local and State Assessment Teacher Leaders the second half of the year (paid for by the General Fund Testing Budget).  The eleven Elementary Illuminators will attend a monthly meeting, be trained on the new Elementary Report Card, and then coach others at their site on how to report progress and use local and formative assessments in Illuminate and tie them to the Elementary Report Card. The six middle and high school illuminators would focus on the new Common Core State Standards local assessments, and all Teacher Leaders will help with implementation of the new state-mandated Smarter Balanced Assessment (this half of the funding would come from the General Fund Testing Budget).  

Contracted Services

Illuminate, Key-Data Systems, Survey Monkey................................................................................$55,000
The Evaluation and Assessment Office maintains the central repository for all student assessment information in the District. Currently, these data are stored by Illuminate software, and accessed through a web interface by instructional staff.  BREA has been the vehicle for creating and scanning answer sheets for district assessments as well as analyzing both state and district assessment data.  Key-Data Systems provides test items that are specifically developed to measure student mastery of California Common Core standards. As a formative assessment, the questions are intended to help educators improve instruction by revealing common student misconceptions. Every assessment includes a Teacher Rationale document that explains student errors. Key-Data Systems is a partner with Illuminate and will serve to enhance the Item Bank particularly because it is aligned to the new Core Common State Standards. In addition, both the World Language and Science departments at BHS have committed to developing a greater number of common assessments using Key-Data Systems. 

Finally, the BREA department oversees the District’s subscription to Survey Monkey, an online survey tool used by School Governance Councils and other District offices to collect survey data.  Survey Monkey will also serve as the District “WE CARE” survey tool for analysis of District Family Engagement and Parent Involvement as well as BFT’s use of data to inform site performance.  

Professional Development for BREA Staff..........................................................................................$8,000
Professional development will support staff facilitation of district evaluation and assessment activities, including the adoption of Common Core, and the roll-out of the on-line and instructional components of Illuminate.

Supplies and Equipment.....................................................................................................................$10,000
Books, supplies and office equipment are estimated at a higher rate to allow for an upgrade to staff laptops and desktops. 

Carryover Priorities                                               

If funds permit, prioritization would go to increasing Summer and School Year Staff Development in Illuminate.

BUDGET SUMMARY

In summary, the recommendation for the expenditure of the BSEP Evaluation monies in FY 2016-17 is:

POLICY/CODE:
Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (Section 3.C, Measure A of 2006). 

FISCAL IMPACT:
Projected expenditures of $732,952 from the BSEP funds for Program Evaluation, from the BSEP Professional Development, Program Evaluation, and Technology Fund.  

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the recommendation for expenditures in 2016-17 for funds allocated to Program Evaluation from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0856).

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:       Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services
Michelle Sinclair, Coordinator of Professional Development
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Recommendation for Expenditures in 2016-17 of Funds Allocated to Professional Development from the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP Resource 0855)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In compliance with The Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (BSEP/Measure A), nine percent (9%) of the available revenues of the Measure are allocated to three purposes: Professional Development, Educational Program Evaluation, and Technology in schools. Currently Professional Development receives 3.24%, slightly more than a third of the 9% allocation.

The following recommendation is for the allocation of funds for the Purpose of Professional Development in accordance with BSEP Measure A, Section 3C:

…providing professional development for the District’s teachers and staff.

This recommendation for expenditures in 2016-17 was presented to the BSEP Planning and Oversight Committee on April 26, 2016 and adopted by the Committee on May 10, 2016. 

Program Objectives

Mission Statement: In order to support district goals for excellence, equity, engagement and enrichment in all classrooms, BUSD will provide high quality professional development for teachers and staff. Our professional learning efforts are designed to facilitate staff development, improvements in teaching practice, and support for the implementation of strategies aligned to improving student outcomes. Teachers on Special Assignment (TSA) and Teacher Leaders with subject area expertise are essential facilitators and contributors toward achieving our professional development goals.

EXCELLENCE: The effect of the Common Core Standards on student learning depends on teachers’ ability to improve instruction to help students achieve. BUSD professional development focuses on both core content and the modeling of teaching strategies, including opportunities for the design and delivery of lessons in multiple content areas and regularly providing the chance for teachers to collaborate with each other. Providing teachers with these opportunities contributes to excellence in teaching and improved student outcomes.

EQUITY:  Professional development sessions are designed to support teachers’ continued growth and development as culturally responsive educators. Cultural Competency Academies funded through BSEP provide participants with foundational knowledge for infusing culturally responsive practices into their work with students, families, and co-workers. Additionally, stipends to provide a lead teacher for equity at all K-8 sites as well as the Berkeley Technology Academy (BTA) provide capacity to deliver professional development as well as to provide monitoring and problem solving where general issues of educational equity arise. 

ENGAGEMENT: Effective professional development programs are essential for engaging diverse students in mastering challenging content and skills. If teachers are knowledgeable and passionate about their content area, students will perform at higher levels. Our work in this area still has significant room to expand and improve and the Educational Services team is looking at ways to support lesson design frameworks that improve classroom structures to be more inclusive and responsive to the needs of a wide range of learning styles and needs. 

ENRICHMENT: A component of professional development for teachers is learning skills and strategies for differentiation. Technology can provide students with individualized learning platforms and instant feedback and assessment. It also allows teachers to more easily identify and address particular student needs. A technology teacher on special assignment, with knowledge and skills to understand how and when various tools best support the curricula, can provide teachers with learning opportunities for infusing technology into their classroom. 

SMART GOALS:

1. Cultural Competency Goal:

   By the end of the 2016-17 school year the BUSD Professional Development Department will provide three Cultural Competency Academies with up to 90 teachers participating. 

2. Instructional Technology Goal:

   By the end of the 2016-17 school year, instructional technology will be integrated into at least three Professional Development sessions per grade span: K-5, 6-8, 9-12. The funds allocated to the Instructional Technology TSA in this budget will also directly support the instructional technology professional development efforts currently underway in a joint/collaborative effort with the technology and library departments. 

3. Elementary Literacy Goal:

   By the end of the 2016-17 school year, 60% of all elementary teachers will have attended at least one supplemental workshop (after school/evenings), in addition to regularly scheduled professional learning sessions. This work will be facilitated by literacy coaches and focus on strengthening instruction using the Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project curriculum.

   Program Summary
   The positions and initiatives proposed to be funded from the allocation of BSEP funds for Professional Development in FY 2016-17 have been adjusted to reflect current district priorities as well as the need to reduce deficit spending in this resource. (See Appendix A for a three-year funding level and source comparison for Professional Development positions and activities.)

   Staffing.....................................................................................................................................$685,700

   • Elementary Literacy Coaches                      2.75 FTE
   • K-5 Lead Literacy Coach                             0.60 FTE
   • BHS Professional Development Leaders      2.00 FTE             
   • Instructional Technology TSA                     0.50 FTE
   • Professional Development Coordinator       0.40 FTE                                                                                         

     Elementary Literacy Coaches......................................................................................2.75 FTE
     For the past several years, each elementary school has had the equivalent of one full-time literacy coach to address the specific literacy needs of its students and staff by providing intervention for students and coaching for teachers. The literacy coaches support teachers in implementing the Columbia University Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP), the District’s elementary school English Language Arts program.  For 2016-17, the plan is to fund Literacy Coaches at 11 elementary school sites. BSEP Professional Development along with other resources, provide 1.0 FTE for each elementary school site. 

     District Lead Literacy Coach........................................................................................0.60 FTE
     This position facilitates the work of the elementary school literacy coaches, providing training in coaching as well as in effective strategies for teaching literacy skills. In addition to these workshops for site literacy coaches, the position leads professional development for classroom teachers and facilitates the administration of district reading, writing and spelling assessments in grades K-5. For 2016-17, the recommendation is to continue this position at .60 FTE with other resources providing funding for this position at 1.0 FTE.

     BHS Professional Development Leaders......................................................................2.0 FTE
     Berkeley High School will continue to focus its professional development efforts on professional learning communities school-wide, as well as within learning communities and departments. Teacher-led teams from learning communities and the departments participate in this collaborative structure and the presence of this teacher leadership model ensures that a consistent and collaborative focus remains on instruction. While administrators are ultimately responsible for instructional leadership and supervision of teaching and learning, this current teacher leadership structure ensures that relevant and peer-led staff development remains consistent in the face of the many operational, behavioral, and structural challenges that regularly pull administrators away from an instructional focus.

     Instructional Technology Teacher (TSA)....................................................................0.50 FTE
     This position helps K-12 teachers utilize existing web-based tools to support classroom instruction using Google Applications for Education. Much of the district’s curricula now include web-based and electronic support materials for teachers, students, and parents. Technology and digital tools can help meet the dual needs of both curriculum content development and sharing, and the collaboration needed in professional development learning. 

     The recommendation is for this budget to decrease funding from 1.0 FTE to 0.50 FTE due to the addition of an administrative position in instructional technology for the 2016-17 school year. (.50 FTE from the BSEP Technology budget will continue to fund this TSA for a 1.0 FTE position.)

     Coordinator of Professional Development.................................................................0.40 FTE
     This position ensures that the professional development outlined in this proposal is well-organized and provided as outlined. The recommendation is to continue funding at 0.40 FTE, with other resources providing funding for this position at 1.0 FTE. 

     Program Expenditures

     Culturally Responsive Teaching Workshops & Consultants and Other Professional Development District Offerings.....................................................................................$90,000

     Many of our BUSD teaching staff have participated in Culturally Responsive Teaching workshops and coaching in order to learn strategies which engage our African-American students in learning more effectively.  This fund would enable more staff to attend relevant workshops and engage consultants who would work in conjunction with the District staff members leading this initiative in BUSD. 

     Other professional development that builds a collaborative structure guided by district vision and goals and expands knowledge using of a wide range of approaches to teaching that lead to high achievement and equitable outcomes for all students.

     Teacher Initiated Professional Development...............................................................$30,000
     Research has shown that teacher directed professional development is one of the most effective strategies for improving classroom instruction. The intent of this allocation is to foster teacher initiative and site collaboration in areas that will help close the achievement gap. Topics might include the implementation of Response to Intervention or Positive Behavior and Intervention System, assessing reading and writing skills, culturally responsive teaching, or teaching English Language Development in a diverse class.

     K-8 Curriculum Teacher Leaders...................................................................................$60,000
     The recommendation is to continue funding an annual stipend for each participating Teacher Leader. The BSEP funding will provide 17 Teacher Leaders for Equity, as well as 4 Teacher Leaders for middle school math, 4 for middle school ELA, and 2 for Next Generation Science Standards.

     Carryover Funding Priorities
     Should carryover exceed projections, or alternative funding sources be identified for the planned expenditures, the following activities could be funded, in priority order: 

   • Specialized Workshops and Other Subject Specific Professional Development for Secondary Teachers.......................................................................................................$15,000
     Specialized training is required for certain programs at the high school and middle school levels.  Subject specific professional development focusing on World Languages, Physical Education, or other subjects where outside workshops are offered will help strengthen instruction for these areas where BUSD does not have trained specialists to offer professional development. 

     (1) High school teachers prepare to teach Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses by enrolling in week-long subject-specific workshops. 

   • Welcoming Schools Training...........................................................................................$8,000
     The Welcoming Schools curriculum has been implemented at all elementary schools, and training for teachers new to Berkeley is essential to ensure that all students are taught these lessons. Our Family Coalition is available to provide additional training for an elementary teacher from each elementary school to serve as a resource for her/his colleagues.  This fund could pay for the cost of the facilitators, substitutes and teacher hourly. 
     
     
   • Additional Culturally Responsive Teaching Workshops............................................$20,000
     This funding would support relevant workshops referenced and described above as we move toward all staff engaging in the foundational elements and components of race and culture provided in these workshops.

BUDGET SUMMARY

Professional development for all schools is currently funded through a variety of funding sources in addition to BSEP, including categorical funds such as Titles I, II, and III, Common Core funding and LCAP.

Following is the proposal for BSEP expenditures for 2016-17:

POLICY/CODE:
Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2006 (Section 3C, Measure A of 2006).

FISCAL IMPACT:
Projected expenditures of $947,794 from the BSEP funds for Professional Development, from the BSEP Professional Development, Program Evaluation, and Technology Fund.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT  

TO:         Board of Education     
FROM: Beatriz Leyva-Cutler, Board President       
DATE: May 18, 2016       
SUBJECT:   Approval of Resolution 16-051 in Support of AB 1846, a Bill to Increase Adult Education Funding 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
It is estimated that 65 adults schools across California were closed between 2008 and 2013. While school across the state were being closed, Berkeley Adult School was not closed. However, the programs were reduced and the school year shortened. AB 1846, introduced by Assembly Member Patty Lopez, supports Adult education. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education, pursuant to funding made available in the annual Budget Act, to jointly provide 2-year planning and implementation grants to regional consortia of community college districts and school districts for developing regional plans to better serve the educational needs of adults. Existing law also requires the grant funds provided under this program to be used by each regional consortium to create and implement a plan to better provide adults in its region with certain skills, classes, courses, and programs, including, among other things, programs for apprentices.

This bill would appropriate $250,000,000 every fiscal year from the General Fund to the California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education for ongoing support of the adult education consortium program. Funding would restore adult education funding to its 2008 level. 

The funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts.

BUSD supports adult education and the restoration of funds. 

POLICY/CODE:
N/A

FISCAL IMPACT: 
None

BOARD MEMBER RECOMMENDATION: 
Approve Resolution 16-051 in support of AB 1846.

BERKELEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

President Leyva-Cutler called the meeting to order at 7:39 p.m. She reported that the Board convened to Closed Session at 6:00 p.m.

Roll Call
Board of Education:
Beatriz Leyva-Cutler, President – Present
Ty Alper, Vice President – Present
Judy Appel, Director/Clerk – Present
Josh Daniels, Director – Present
Angelo Paraiso-Arroyo, Student Director, BHS – Excused Absence
Alaunte Keys, Student Director, BTA – Excused Absence

Administration:
Donald E. Evans, Ed. D, Superintendent
Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
Delia Ruiz, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
Lyz Chairez, Recorder

REPORT CLOSED SESSION

President Leyva-Cutler reported out on closed session:

Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release/Evaluation (Government Code Sections 54954.5(e), 54957)

Suspension of Classified Employee #002273

Motion to accept staff recommendation for suspension of classified employee #002273:
Daniels/Hemphill and unanimously approved 5-0

Settlement Agreement with Classified Employee #002273

Motion to approve settlement agreement with classified employee #002273:
Daniels/Hemphill and unanimously approved 5-0

Student Discipline (Ed Codes 48900/48915)

Case #1415-11-111002 – Readmission

Motion to approve staff recommendation to deny readmission in this case:
Daniels/Appel and unanimously approved 5-0

Conference with Labor Negotiator (Government Code Section 54957.6) District Representative: Delia Ruiz; Employee Organization: BCCE

The Board received an update on this matter; no action was taken.

Collective Bargaining Government Code Section 54957.6(a) (Lead Negotiator: Legal Counsel Roy Combs) BFT Negotiations

The Board received an update on this matter; no action was taken.

Conference with Real Property Negotiators (Government Code Section 54956.8)

District Negotiator: David A. Soldani, Legal Counsel; Negotiating Party: City of Berkeley; Property: 1231 Addison; Under Negotiations: Status Update

The Board received an update on this matter; no action was taken.

OPEN SESSION

APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
At the request of President Leyva-Cutler, Action Item 12.2, Superintendent’s Employment Contract, was pulled. It will be come back at a subsequent meeting after some minor edits are applied.

Motion to approve agenda as amended:
Alper/Daniels and approved 4-1
Beatriz Leyva-Cutler, President –  Yes
Ty Alper, Vice President – Yes
Judy Appel, Director/Clerk – No
Josh Daniels, Director – Yes
Angelo Paraiso-Arroyo, Student Director, BHS – Excused Absence
Alaunte Keys, Student Director, BTA – Excused Absence

PUBLIC TESTIMONY
A total of three people addressed the Board:

A person addressed the Board with his complaints.

A community member asked the the Board to relocate a BUSD dumpster adjacent to his home.  

NAACP president commented on the process by which employees are allowed to return to their job placements following an extended leave of absence.

UNION COMMENTS 

Cathy Campbell, BFT President

Campbell commented on the importance to recruit teachers of color. She said that emails have gone out to new teachers notifying them that June 30 is their last day of employment. In light of an extremely financially tight labor market for teachers, she urged the Board to modify its timelines. For the first time in ten years, this current school year did not begin fully staffed and students were impacted, and this should not happen again. She urged the Board to approve the not new LCAP funded before them tonight, to encourage staff to begin the hiring process with out waiting on May revise, to direct staff to take steps to ensure that the site plans are not an impediment to expediting the hiring process, and to vote to approve new LCAP funded positions as soon as possible. She expressed support for the full time restorative practices positions, and the item regarding staffing proportionality.  

COMMITTEE COMMENTS

Bruce Simon, BSEP P&O Committee, Co Chair

He congratulated the Board on its outstanding fiscal stewardship apparent in its new credit rating of AAA and A+. He said that tonight’s BSEP update would the ongoing planning process for the upcoming BSEP measure renewal. The planning process has been centered on budget, programs and community engagement. The Board and the P&O have received several updates as the work has progressed. About a year ago, the planning process developed three formal components: educational priorities, budget models and public engagement. The Board has heard reports from staff on all three areas to ensure public understanding in support of the current measure and provide opportunity for input on the new measure. The Board will review a first draft on April 20. The next P&O meeting is on April 12 at 7:15 p.m. in Room 126.

BOARD MEMBER AND SUPERINTENDENT COMMENTS

Superintendent Evans thanked Pat Saddler for bringing LCAP budget recommendation early this year. He also thanked Director Beery, for all of her hard work with the new measure. He acknowledged Deputy Superintendent Cleveland for BUSDs credit rating

Director Appel announced her appointment of Ruby Spies, a BHS sophomore, to the Youth Commission. Office hours: April 16 at Mo'joe Café form 10am-12pm.

Director Daniels said he will have office hours in May. He announced that on April 9^th will be the first of a number of events celebrating Willard’s Centennial at the Ed Roberts campus. Next Thurs. April 14, the Smarter Balance Assessment Family Night will be held in the Board Room at 6:30pm. With respect to BUSDs new credit rating, he said that it was special and explained that it determines our risk when borrowing. AAA is the best, AA+ is second best. In comparison with all of the large districts, who have a AAA, as a small district, BUSDs rating is remarkable, the same as Beverly Hills USD, a very wealthy district.

Director Hemphill will hold office hours on April 30^th at 10:30am at Café Leila. The anti racism task force will meet for the first time tomorrow at 6pm in Room 126.

President Leyva-Cutler thanked Daniels for his framing of the new rating. With respect to a public comment at the previous meeting about AEDs, she proposed that we install one for our Board Room as well. She reported that she attended a Latino Summit and went to Legislators offices to advocate for education, climate change and ethnic studies.  

Vice President Alper: No comment

CONSENT CALENDAR

Motion to approve the Consent Calendar:
Appel/Alper and approved unanimously 5-0 

DISCUSSION ITEMS 

First Draft Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Budget for School Year 2016-17
Time allotted: 40 min
Actual time: 65 min

Superintendent Evans explained that the first draft of the LCAP for 16-17 includes program actions as well as service recommendations. The purpose of bringing expenditure recommendations early is to expedite direction from the Board that will impact our 2016-17 hiring timeline. Additionally, we are also eliminating one program.

Presenters: Pat Saddler and Maggie Riddle

Saddler added that we are in year one of our current three year LCAP, which was approved last June. There are some recommendations for minor adjustments. There is a new LCAP rubric that is being designed at the state wide level and the state will provide more direction following the state board’s approval of the final rubric in August.

In accordance with BP 0460, the Superintendent’s recommendation is to reduce the FTE for Middle School Bridge to .2 FTE for 5^th to 6^th Grade transition. Ed services is recommending a 1.0 FTE Counseling position at each middle school, in lieu of existing middle school BRIDGE, to provide Restorative Practices and case management. They also recommended the increase of some existing services and proposed new services, including a middle school 1.0 FTE counselor, a TSA for equity and instruction, and a literacy pre-teacher for the summer academy. Questions and discussion followed.

Superintendent Evans guided the discussion around these questions:

• Do LCAP goals continue to reflect the Board’s priorities.
• Do proposed actions and services benefit the academic and socio-emotional needs of the targeted students?
• Are there any proposed additions, increases or changes that cause you concern?

Vice President Leyva-Cutler recused herself from conversation around the intervention services and the pre-teach summer program.

Daniels commended the way this presentation had been laid out. He said he appreciated the adherence to the policy that was approved last year. In comparison to other districts, he added that we are leaps and bounds ahead. He recognized the difficulty in recommending to discontinue a program that is serving students. He went on to express concern with the proposed use of supplemental funds for the RTI position as a response to increase in enrollment. Given our limited funds, our focus should be on creating cultural shifts at our middle and high schools around discipline and behavior. He also proposed a revolving loan fund to support classified staff in becoming teachers.

Craig said that after having success with the pilot at Washington elementary, we want to see restorative justice practices at all of our schools. This would ideally translate into one full time staff at each site for this purpose.

Hemphill shared Daniels’ concerns. She proposed that we continue to invest in professional development for new teachers around toolbox and saturate restorative justice at the secondary level, where it has made a difference.

Appel thanked staff for their hard work. She commented on the restorative practices and suggested that instead of placing it at a second site, to have trained teachers work with the Washington teachers to model circles. At the middle school level, she supports intervention positions, but there are some talks about whether the positions should be classified staff or counselors who can supervise interns. At the high school level, she proposed employing funds to duplicate Mr. Estrada’s work. 

Alper echoed that it was great that the pilot was successful at Washington was great, but leans towards focusing restorative practices at the middle and high school levels.

Leyva-Cutler commented on student truancy and absenteeism and how the LCAP identifies and targets truant students.

Craig responded that this student absenteeism is supported through the Office of Family Engagement. She added that the next draft can more clearly lay out how LCAP is supporting truant students.

After receiving direction from the Board, staff will bring this item back on  April 20.

Report on BSEP Planning Process: Voter Poll, Workgroups and Conversations
Time allotted: 40 min
Actual time: 28 min

Presenter Natasha Beery, Director of BSEP and Community Relations

This is the last update before a draft is presented on April 20. There are three components that are really engaged: the public process, the budget models and educational priorities. As we began this process, we began with some questions and possible scenarios, which have evolved. Budget models were created to share what we need to consider to remain sustainable in the next measure. The budget models considered projected enrollment process, compensation costs, BSEP tax rate and revenue, and K-5 class size. One of the points to acknowledge, is that class size is gradual and does not happen overnight. Balancing would eliminate combination grade classes and we will gradually restore flex rooms and be more financially sustainable. When presenting BSEP to various community groups, the topics of conversation indicated that balanced class sizes K-5 are appealing, students also need support with counseling and there is strong support around academics and interventions. Questions and discussion followed.

BOARD SELF-EVALUATION
Daniels acted as observer:

• Both items were framed well.
• It’s always difficult to allot accurate time to items.
• Our discussion on LCAP, in particular, displayed an attempt to addressing a problem at the root.
• Good job at modeling mutual respect.

ADJOURNMENT
President Leyva-Cutler adjourned the meeting at 9:45 p.m. The Board recessed back into closed session. 

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT                                            

TO:             Board of Education
FROM:       Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:  Resolution of the Board of Education of the Berkeley Unified School District Calling an Election for Approval of an Education Parcel Tax on November 8, 2016                                      

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In order to place a qualified special tax (parcel tax) on the November 8, 2016 ballot, the Board of Education must adopt a resolution calling for an order of election pursuant to the Education Code, Elections Code, Government Code, and the California Constitution.

POLICY/CODE:                               
By the California Constitution, Article XIIIA, section 4 and Government Code section 50075 et seq., school districts are authorized, upon approval of 2/3rds of the electorate, to levy qualified special taxes on property in the District for the purposes of providing quality educational programs in the District and other lawful purposes of the District.                                            

FISCAL IMPACT:                   
If a tax is approved by the voters, revenue of approximately $28 million per year would be available to support the identified programs, beginning in the 2017-18 fiscal year, and adjusting with an annual cost-of-living increase as calculated by the Bay Area Consumer Price Index (CPI) for each of the remaining years of the eight-year measure.                           

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:                                    
Introduce, discuss and adopt the resolution, which includes the full ballot text of the proposed parcel tax measure, calling for an election for approval of an educational parcel tax for November 8, 2006.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO: Donald Evans, Superintendent
FROM: Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services
Pat Saddler, Director of Programs and Special Projects
DATE: May 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Request for Early Approval of LCAP-Funded Restorative Practices and Intensive Support Counselors at Middle Schools.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Prior to final annual approval of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), but no sooner than an April Board meeting, Board policy (BP 0460) allows the Superintendent to bring an action item to the Board for approval of a specific action or service if all the following conditions are met:

1. The listed stakeholder groups have expressed broad support for the specific action or service to be included in the LCAP
   
2. A Board majority has expressed support for the specific action or service to be included in the LCAP
3. The Superintendent states his or her belief that the specific action or service is likely to help the District meet one or more of the goals identified in the LCAP
4. The Superintendent expects to include the specific action or service in the draft LCAP presented to the Board in May
5. The specific action or service involves the hiring staff for a position that the Superintendent deems difficult to fill if recruitment were to begin after final approval of the LCAP

Staff believes these conditions have been met and are therefore requesting approval of these positions so that recruitment can begin immediately.

A detailed description of the positions and a general breakdown of duties is attached.

POLICY/CODE:
BP 0460: Local Control and Accountability Plan

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Request for early approval of Restorative Practices and Intensive Support Counselors at middle schools.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
Maggie Riddle, Director of K-8 Schools
DATE:         May 18, 2016
SUBJECT:   Update on Recruitment, Retention, and Equity Work             

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Berkeley Unified School District is committed to the continuous pursuit of a teaching corps and instructional leadership staff that reflect the diversity found in our schools. Beginning in 2013-2014, the first Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) allocated supplemental funding to bolster recruitment and retention efforts in this area.   

During the 2014-2015 school year LCAP funds supported a strategy development process for recruiting and retaining teachers of color in partnership with the National Equity Project. This work designated focus areas and identified potential strategies in service of the goal.

Building on that work, this January, the District began working with Kacy Robinson, a consultant, whose work is exclusively focused on retaining high quality teachers of color currently in our workforce and diversifying our candidate pools for future vacancies.

Tonight's presentation will provide an update on the specific work and broader strategies being employed with respect to these efforts.

To date, the recruitment, retention and equity work has been a combination of context building, networking, and specific action. Our consultant has met with many key players in the district and at schools sites including K-8 site principals, high school teachers, K-8 teachers, equity teacher leaders, and District level administration as well as the Office of Family Engagement and Equity.

These initial meetings have communicated detail regarding the work and efforts of the consultant, and surveyed the aforementioned stakeholders about the supports they are seeking from this position. Meetings have also focused on assessing school climate for employees of color.

Our consultant maintains regular check-ins with District level administration (including HR and  Ed Services), BFT President Cathy Campbell, and the Teacher of Color Network (TOCN). In conjunction with the face to face work, our consultant has reviewed data on the racial demographics of the teachers in BUSD (as a whole, and by site), to support tracking the improvement of our efforts.\

The work is generally split between recruitment efforts and retention efforts, and obviously both are focused on the development of a representatively diverse workforce.

The retention efforts thus far have largely supported new to BUSD teachers as well as brand new teachers, and included participation and guidance from experienced teachers in the district, as well as from the Berkeley Federation of Teachers.

Retention efforts have connected teachers who are feeling isolated to other partners in the work within the District. Additionally, we are keeping track of themes identified by the TOCN and site leaders in an effort to move toward tailoring our focus and supports for staff. This connecting and networking has included sharing scholarly articles and research as well as frequent and supportive site and classroom visits for teachers in the network.

General “Meet and Greet” events have been held wherein potential candidates are introduced to the district and we in turn have been compiling resumes from those potential candidates of color. To date an eligibility pool of 23 candidates has been established and principals are actively recruiting from this list.

To keep a wide recruitment scope, our consultant has conferred with outside agencies about best practices, as well as reached out to these partners who have access to groups of educators in the Bay Area from whom BUSD could potentially recruit. These agencies include Teach for America, Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency, BPE (Boston, MA), Making Waves School (Richmond, CA), UC Berkeley’s PLI Program, San Francisco Urban Teacher Residency, and the Breakthrough Collaborative.

Emerging recommendations and considerations for next steps include:

• Mentorships for teachers of color

• Updated recruitment materials

• Email groups for events and vacancies as they arise

• Continued participation in external job fairs and development of an internal job fair

• PTA support at school sites to welcome new teachers, paying special attention to teachers of color

• Supporting BUSD’s classified staff members who desire teaching (to become certificated)

• Pushing hiring timelines to be earlier in the school year and thus more advantageous to these efforts

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive the report and review the accompanying presentation.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        Timothy E. White, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE:        May 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Facilities Plan Update 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
This report is an update of the Facilities Construction Plan approved by the Board on March 12, 2014.  Data in this report are current as of

May 6, 2016. This report includes updates of all active construction projects.  Maintenance projects are detailed in the Maintenance Quarterly Reports.   

Persons wishing to address the Board should fill out a green speaker card.  Cards turned in for the earlier open session public testimony will be given priority.  Speakers will be randomly selected based on topic and position, with BUSD students generally given priority.  Public Testimony is limited to 15 minutes with a 3-minute limit per speaker per topic although the time allotted per speaker may be reduced to 2 minutes at the discretion of the President.