The Presiding Officer will call the meeting to order at 6:30 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 5:30 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.

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:     Evelyn Tamondong-Bradley, Assistant Superintendent, HR
DATE:       June 14, 2017
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 reports for details.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Evelyn Tamondong-Bradley, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources    
DATE:            June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:      Reduction of Specified Classified Position

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Due to Nutrition Restructure, student enrollment in programs, and/or lack of funds, the following classified position in the District needs to be reduced.

In light of Education Code requirements, it is necessary for the Governing Board to set forth and act on the eliminations/reductions so that each employee affected can be timely notified as prescribed by law and collective bargaining agreements.  We regret the hardship this notification process places on employees and the uncertainty of their future employment status. 

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code Sections 45101, 45114, 45117, 45298, 45308

FISCAL IMPACT:
None.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution.

     BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Ed. Services
DATE:          June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:   Overnight Field Trip Request

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The following overnight field trip is being requested:

BHS Executive Leadership Retreat, Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Richmond, CA September 16-17, 2017
Approve participation of 30 Berkeley High School students, 3 teachers and one or two other adults on a two-day, one-night field trip to Point Pinole Regional Park.  The group will depart BHS on Saturday, September 16^th at 12:00 p.m., and return Sunday, September 17^th at 12:00 p.m. This retreat is critical to the team-building and skills development of the ASB leadership team and BHS. The way in which student leadership at BHS operates has significant effects on school culture and thus achievement of all types of students; as the way in which they identify with the school is positive or negative, comfortable or uncomfortable, that they are valued or unvalued and that academics are important or not. Students will sleep in supervised, gender specific tents chaperoned by staff and parents.  The total student cost of $400-500 will be funded by ASB funds and parent donations.  No student will be denied access based on inability to pay.  Requested by Felicia Phillips, Vice Principal, Berkeley High School.

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:    Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
DATE:    June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     College Readiness Block Grant

The College Readiness Block Grant (CRBG) was established by Senate Bill 828 in June 2016 (Chapter 29, Statutes of 2016, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) and codified in Education Code Section 41580. The CRBG allocates $200 million for local educational agencies, including county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools (both direct and locally funded) that reported unduplicated pupils in grades nine through twelve during the 2015–16 fiscal year.

Preliminary funding allocated to BUSD through this grant will total $150,962 to be spent between the school years 2016-2017 and 2018-2019. While our award date was September of 2016, staff decided to propose a two-year budget to exact a more specific and concentrated application of the funds in 2017-2018 as well as 2018-2019. 

Proposed expenditures for this grant over the next two school years will support the development of the advisory and academic support components of the Berkeley High Redesign (pending the approval of the proposal on 6/14/17), a continuing partnership with the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) at UC Berkeley, which provides advising and outreach to families of 9th and 10th graders who will be first-generation college goers in their families.

Additionally, our proposed expenditures support the expansion of AVID strategies in our 6th grade classrooms across BUSD. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) strategies include specific writing, note taking, inquiry, and reading strategies that are part of the college skill-building methodologies the AVID program is built upon.

Please see the proposed expenditure plan for this block grant below:

FISCAL IMPACT:
Not to exceed $150,962. Block grant funds to be expended prior to June 28, 2019.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the recommended expenditures from the College Readiness Block Grant.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:            Donald Evans, Ed. D., Superintendent
FROM:      Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
DATE:        June 14, 2017
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. Reliance Communications LLC to provide SchoolMessenger phone, email, and SMS communication system for families and staff for the period from 7/1/17 – 6/30/18. The cost will not exceed $14,963.50.  To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Jay Nitschke.
   
   
2. Xterra Solutions, Inc. to provide network security and troubleshooting services for the period from 7/1/17 – 6/30/18. The cost will not exceed $18,000. To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Jay Nitschke.
   
   
3. CSM Central to provide eRate consulting services for the period from 7/1/17 - 6/30/18. The cost will not exceed $21,600. To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Jay Nitschke.
   
   
4. Cogent to provide monthly broadband internet service for the period from 7/1/17 - 6/30/18. The cost will not exceed $33,336. To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Jay Nitschke.
   
   
5. Increase in contract, PO#170027, to Dinelli Plumbing, to provide additional plumbing services for the Maintenance Department for the period of 6/1/16 -6/30/17. The Board approved $40,000 on 6/15/17.  The additional contract amount will increase the cost by $15,000 for a total amount of $55,000.  To be paid from Measure H.  Requested by Steve Collins.
   
   
6. Ratification of contract to Cal Performances to provide a venue to host graduation ceremony for BHS. The cost will not exceed $71,441.39. The proceeds from sale of tickets is estimated to be $60,000.  To be paid from General Fund. Requested by Erin Schweng.
   
   
7. Bay Area News Group to provide additional advertisement of construction projects in the amount of $15,000 for the Facilities Division FY 7/1/172017-6/30/2018 SY.   To be paid from Measure AA. Requested by Timothy E. White.
    
8. American Reprographics to cover the cost of reproducing specifications and plans for construction projects in the amount of $15,000 for the Facilities Division FY 7/1/2017-6/30/2018 SY.  To be paid from Measure AA.  Requested by Timothy E. White.
   
   
9. Baker Vilar Architects to provide architectural services related closeout of multiple legacy Division of the State Architect projects.  Not to exceed $35,000.  To be paid from Measure AA.  Requested by Timothy E. White
    
10. Davey Tree to provide tree services for the Maintenance Department for the period from 7/1/17 - 6/30/18.  The cost will not exceed $12,000.  To be paid from Measure H.  Requested by Steve Collins.
     
11. In Focus Video to provide security camera installation services for the West Campus Parking lot for the period from 7/1/2017 – 6/30/18.  The projected cost are $ 24,895.12 to be paid from the General Fund.  Requested by Greg Williams.

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:      Lisa Graham, Director, Special Education
DATE:           June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     Approval of Master Contracts for Nonpublic Schools

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with nonpublic schools, when necessary to provide an appropriate placement, special education and/or related services if no appropriate public education program is available.  For students requiring nonpublic school day programs, the cost is for tuition for the educational program and services.  An individual service agreement (ISA) is developed for each student to whom the service provider is to provide special education or related services. 

Transportation costs are included in the special education transportation budget.  All nonpublic schools must be approved by the California Department of Education. Services are provided pursuant to Ed. Code Section 56034 and 56366. Students enrolled in nonpublic schools are deemed enrolled in public schools. 

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 39800
Board Policy 3310         

FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of these services is estimated not to exceed $70,675.80 funded from the Special Education Budget.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the increases to the Master Contract for La Cheim School and approve the Master Contract for Cypress School.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        Lisa Graham, Director of Special Education
DATE:         June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:  Ratification of Increase to MOU with Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services for 2016 –17 School Year

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The District contracts with Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHC) for In-State Mental Health Services for seventy-three BUSD students for the 2016-17 School Year (SY). The Board approved contract amount of $670,000 for the 2016-17 SY. Staff is requesting Board approval to increase the purchase order by $300,000 to $970,000. In 2015-16, the District paid Alameda County Behavior Care Services a total of $932,000 for mental health services.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 39800 

FISCAL IMPACT:
The increase of $38,000 over prior year is primarily due to Alameda County instituting a variable increase in CPU (Cost Per Unit) fees for services to BUSD students.  This increase ranges from $ .20 to $ 2.46 per unit of service. An additional $70,000 will be needed from base grant funds.  However, the 2016-17 budget for mental health is 150,000 less than prior year actuals. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Ratify Contract to Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services for FY 2016-17 services $970,000.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:         Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent   
FROM:          Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent  
DATE:          June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     Education Protection Account Spending Plans 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The voters approved Proposition 30 on November 6, 2012, which created an Education Protection Account (EPA) in the State General Fund to receive and disburse the revenues derived from the incremental increase in taxes imposed by Proposition 30.  These funds are included in the District's LCFF calculations and not an additional allocation.

One of the provisions of receiving and spending funds is the creation of a spending plan that must be approved by the governing board during a public meeting.

The board approved Resolutions for fiscal years 2012-13 through 2017-18 with the explanation that EPA funds will be used for classroom teachers’ salaries and benefits. However, spending plans should have been provided as a separate document.

Attached are spending plans for FY 2013-14 to FY 2017-18 to ensure we are in compliance with EPA regulations.

FISCAL IMPACT:
None

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve spending plans for amounts previously approved by the board.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:            Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:       Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
DATE:        June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:  Approval of Legal Services Agreements for Fiscal Year 2017-18

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The following legal service agreements are being presented to the Board for approval: 

Fagen Friedman & Fullfrost to provide legal services as directed by the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Director of Special Education. The District will be utilizing these services for labor negotiations, personnel matters, student matters, general legal support and special education services.  The attorney rates are $275 to $310 per hour for Partners, $215 to $245 per hour for Associates, and $135 to $165 per hour for Paralegal/Law Clerks. This is an increase of $10 per hour for all levels.

Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Attorneys to provide legal services as directed by the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. The District will be utilizing these services solely to close out prior year cases assigned to the firm. The attorney rates are $270 to $295 for Partners and $260 per hour for Senior Associates and $250 for Associates and $185 to $220 per hour for Paralegal/Law Clerks/ Non-Legal Consultants. This is an increase of $10 to $15 per hour for all levels.

Burke, Williams and Sorreson, LLP to provide legal services as directed by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Deputy Superintendent. The District will be utilizing these services for charter schools and personnel and student matters when needed.   The attorney rates are $265 per hour for Partners and $230 per hour for Associates. This is an increase of $10 to $15 per hour for all levels.

Dora Dome Law Offices to provide legal services as directed by the Director of Student Services regarding student matters. The attorney rate is $240 per hour and $175 for Paralegals.

Dannis, Wolver and Kelley to provide legal services as directed by the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and Director of Facilities.  The District utilizes these services primarily for Facilities Matters. The attorney rates are $225 to $310 per hour for Partners and $185 to $225 per hour for Associates and $120 to $140 per hour for paralegals.         

POLICY/CODE:
N/A

FISCAL IMPACT:
Legal fees are estimated at an amount not to exceed of $550,000 for the General Fund and $80,000 within the Special Education Budget. Legal expenses related to the bonds will be paid for through the Building Fund not to exceed $100,000.     

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff is requesting approval from the Board to enter into an agreement for Legal Services as listed above.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:            Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
DATE:             June 14, 2017
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. Donation of $92,773 from Oxford PTA to support 5 positions at the school.
   1. Art Contract
   2. Math TSA
   3. Instructional Aide
   4. d.P.E. I.S.
   5. Additional noon supervision
2. Donation of $40.00 from AT&T Your Cause for Principal’s Discretionary Fund at Thousand Oaks School
3. Donation of $312.00 from RentpropLLC, Ondine Boulter, Lee Fagen, Kimberley James, Semmaninesh Debreaon for VAPA.

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

POLICY/CODE:
BP 3290

FISCAL IMPACT: 
The District received a total of $ 93,125.00 in donations.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:        Javetta Cleveland, Deputy Superintendent
Marni Posey, Manager of Nutrition Services
DATE:         June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:   Meals Price Increase for school year 2017-2018

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Nutrition Services continues to provide a program that positively impacts the overall health and well-being of our students.  A healthy nutritious lunch is available to every student at every school so that students are prepared to learn at their fullest potential.  The food served to our students is nutritious, fresh, tasty, and locally grown while reflecting Berkeley's cultural diversity.   Obesity and juvenile diabetes are increasingly common problems among our school age population. Healthy meals and increased education about the health benefits of eating well are effective ways to combat these conditions.

Salad bars have been installed in all 16 of our schools. Universal breakfast has been implemented at all sites where each student receives a healthy breakfast each morning ensuring they are prepared nutritionally for the work ahead.

In fiscal year 2005-06, the District began contributing $565,000 in Meals for the Needy funding along with $217,000 in base funding from the General Fund to Nutrition Services. At that time, Meals for the Needy funding was part of the calculation of general fund revenue and was based on free and reduced student participation in the District’s breakfast program (UB). Starting in fiscal year 2007-08, the District’s UB program helped increase participation for free and reduced priced meals for students thereby generating an extra $300,000 annually in Meals for the Needy funding. The full priced students and the reduced price students do not pay into the breakfast program; breakfast is free for all students.  The transfer of the Meals for the Needy program funding of $865,000 and strong fiscal management eliminated the need for the District to contribute additional base funding from the general fund. The District contributed the full $865,000 in revenue back to the food service program until 2011-12 when the contribution was reduced to $632,000 to offset State budget cuts.   

Until now, Nutrition Services had been able to manage the program with a reduced contribution from the General Fund due to greater participation and more efficient operations.  The government funding rate for breakfast and lunch is determined by the percentage of Free, Reduced and Paid students respectively with the highest rate of reimbursement going to Free students.  In fiscal year 2006-07 the Free and Reduced student population at BUSD was 41%.  The breakfast reimbursement revenue for Free students had been offsetting the cost of paid student breakfast as well as subsidizing BUSD’s lunch program up until this year. Today with Free and Reduced student population, significantly lower, at only 33% district wide, breakfast reimbursement revenues no longer cover the cost to feed all students breakfast nor does it subsidize lunch.  This is now becoming a cost to the General Fund.

The Nutrition Services Department, Administrators, teachers and staff can do more to offset this loss. The BUSD must reaffirm its commitment to the success of all Nutrition Services Programs in compliance with the District Wellness Policy while the department take a more active role in managing and accounting for costs. With this engagement on behalf of all BUSD, Nutrition Services feels it can increase the revenue stream.

However, it must be noted that cost are increasing due to increased employee hours, negotiated salary increases, and the decrease of Free and Reduced student population. These increasing cost are impacting the program’s ability to remain 100% self-sustaining. Due to lower revenue than expected, the General Fund is projected to increase its contribution to the Food Services budget by $368,000 this year and an additional $250,000 next year. The District initially believed there would only be a projected increase in the contribution of $100,000 a year.  Coupled with greater cooperation and awareness from the BUSD community along with more accountability from Nutrition Services, it would be fiscally prudent to increase the price of the meals to ensure the program continues to be self-sustaining.  

Staff is requesting the Board approve a 50¢ price increase of fully-paid lunches, 15¢ for child care meal prices and 18¢ for after school program effective July 1, 2017.  While there are clear benefits to using fresh foods, the downside is the additional cost of healthy food.  The increase in the meal price will allow Nutrition Services to continue providing quality food in all schools for all children. The last time the District increase the meal cost was in 2015-2016 by 25¢.

Lunch Prices Increased - 50¢ meal

• Elementary     $4.00
• Middle             $4.50
• High School    $5.00

Childcare Meal Prices Increased - 10¢ meal

• Breakfast         $2.37
• Lunch              $3.66
• Snack              $1.41

After School Snacks - Increased from $1.00 to $1.18

There will be no financial impact to students receiving free or reduced price 40¢ lunches, which are subsidized by the federal government. This price increase will also not increase the government subsidy received by the District for free and reduced price lunches.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code 38084

FISCAL IMPACT:
The revenue to the District cafeteria fund is projected to increase by $72,381 annually for fully paid lunches, $27,043 annually for childcare lunches and $32,029 annually for after school snacks. 

 BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Donald Evans Ed. D., Superintendent
FROM:        Marni Posey, Director of Nutrition Services
DATE:        June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:   Approval to Enter Into Agreements to Purchase Food Supplies for the 2017-18 SY

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Contract for perishable food items are exempt from formal bid requirements and suppliers who are able to provide the organic, locally grown, sustainable ingredients needed for our program are limited.  For the 2017-18 SY staff is requesting authority to purchase perishable food items from suppliers as follows:

• Crystal Dairy to provide milk and juice, not to exceed $275,000
• Raison d'etre to provide fresh baked breakfast items, not to exceed $250,000
• Greenleaf to provide fresh produce and other perishable goods, not to exceed $475,000
• Fourth Street Bagel to provide fresh baked goods, not to exceed $175,000

Contract for non-perishable food items are subject to formal bid requirements.  However, BUSD is a member of the Alameda Districts Food/Paper Cooperative, which competitively bids for these items and therefore, staff is able to purchase non-perishable food items from various suppliers.  For the 2017-18 SY, one contract will exceed the formal bid threshold.  We are requesting authority to contract with the following supplier:

     Sysco Food Services to provide non-perishable foods and supplies, not to exceed $525,000

FISCAL IMPACT:
$1,700,000 is within the Cafeteria Fund Budget

POLICY/CODE:                                                                
Board Policy 3310
Ed Code 29873

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve contracts for food supplies as listed above.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:       Board of Education
FROM:         Policy Subcommittee
Dana Clark, Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator
DATE:          June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     Revision to Board Policy Regarding Complaints

We have reviewed the policies and processes of other districts in California, and we consulted with the California Department of Education (CDE). So far, we have not found another district with as complicated a complaint process as BUSD’s.[1] We are proposing changes that will consolidate our four different and overlapping complaint processes into two primary processes: Uniform Complaints, and Williams Complaints.  We are also proposing changing the levels of appeal/review, with traditional Uniform Complaints having a right of appeal to the CDE within 15 calendar days of the Compliance Officer’s decision, and other complaints having a right of appeal to the Superintendent or designee within 15 calendar days.    

Most districts, large and small, have a “Uniform Complaint” Process (UCP) and a “Williams Complaint” Process. Indeed, CDE has informed us that many districts do what we are proposing here –i.e., use the UCP and Williams processes for all complaints. However, we were also informed that, in such cases, it generally does not work to have an internal appeals process because Uniform Complaints must be fully responded to (including internal reviews, administrative decisions, and appeals) within 60 calendar days, after which there is a statuary right of appeal to the CDE. 

Our current general complaint process exists now because not all complaints are in the bailiwick of Uniform Complaints.  By law, Uniform Complaints cover situations that implicate civil rights, such as sexual harassment or, for example bullying that has a discriminatory animus (based on race, disability, gender identity, etc.), or otherwise constitute a violation of federal or state laws. We are retaining the Superintendent-level appeal for general complaint issues that are not eligible for CDE appeal.   

To summarize the changes, we are putting all complaints (except Williams) within a 60-day window (which is based on UCP requirements) for review and response. Those that are within the ambit of Uniform Complaints can be appealed to the CDE.  Those that are within the ambit of our previous general complaints (about polices, practices or personnel that don’t raise a discriminatory concern, for example) can be appealed to the Superintendent.

We presented on May 31, 2017 for first reading and the Board’s discussion a proposed new Uniform Complaint process.  The Policy is presented tonight for adoption.

Upon adoption of this Policy, the Policy Subcommittee will continue to work with staff and community stakeholders to complete the substantial work involved in updating the associated administrative regulations (AR) and forms, at which point the Policy will become effective.

The Policy Subcommittee discussed and revised the attached policy at four meetings: February 10, March 9, April 14, and May 25, 2017. These discussions benefitted from comments from community members, teachers, and District staff, and we are grateful for this engagement.

It is important to note that, as the attached policy indicates explicitly, it covers only formal District complaints, not the informal resolution of problems at the site level. We have also heard from community members that the process for informal resolution of problems at the site level may need clarification and improvement.  We will add a discussion of this issue to the Policy Subcommittee’s agenda for consideration later this year.

Recommendation: Adopt Policy

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:             Board of Education
FROM:       Board Policy Committee
DATE:        June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:  Board Policy 5117: Inter-District Attendance 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Every school district needs accurate and up-to-date policies in order to govern effectively. The Board and school administration periodically review existing policies comprehensively to make sure they are legally compliant with current state or federal laws and makes local adjustments accordingly. 

The Board Policy Committee has been reviewing its board policies (BP) related to interdistrict enrollment. The proposed revised version of BP 5117 (Interdistrict Attendance) is very detailed and gives guidance to district staff as to the process to be followed when interdistrict students are accepted into Berkeley Unified School District. The Policy Committee has agenized and discuss BP 5117 at least six times this year. 

The District currently grants a very limited number interdistrict permits to non-residents students. Most permits that are granted are to children of employees, with a much smaller number of permits being granted to sibling or

for extenuating circumstances. (The most recent interdistrict permit report was presented to the Board on October 19, 2016.) Furthermore, it appears unlikely that, at least in the near future, the District will decide to increase the number of interdistrict permits it grants in a year given, among other reasons, that space is not available.

However, in reviewing BP 5117 it became clear that, were space to become available and the District decided to increase the number of interdistrict permits it granted, there needs to be a better defined to process for granting interdistrict permits in order to provide clarity to staff and to non-resident families applying for an interdistrict permit.

After extensive discussion and debate, the Policy Committee unanimously approved the changes to BP 5117 with one exception: Priority #6, which would give priority (but only after first going through five other priorities) to non- resident students with a parent/legal guardian who graduated from high school in the district. Thus, in addition to soliciting general feedback and guidance from the Board on BP 5117, the Board specifically being asked to weigh in on whether to keep, modify, or remove this priority.

On May 31, 2017 the Board discussed BP 5117. This final version of the Interdistrict Policy includes the suggestions provided by the Board on May 31,2017 and retains Priority #6, for which a majority of the Board expressed support.

POLICY/CODE:
Education Code: 46600-4661, 48300-48316, 48350-48361, 48980, 52317 

FISCAL IMPACT:
None

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Board Policy 5117 (Interdistrict Attendance).

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:                       Donald Evans, Superintendent
FROM:                 Timothy White, Director of Facilities
DATE:                  June 14, 2017
REGARDING:      Resolution 17-066 to Establish the 2017-18 Tax Rate for the Special Tax: Berkeley Schools Facilities Safety and Maintenance Act of 2010 [Measure H of 2010)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Berkeley Schools Facilities Safety and Maintenance Act of 2010 (Measure H) renews the function of a prior facilities and safety maintenance act (Measure BB of 2000), providing revenues to “maintain school buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, roofs, electrical systems, and address fire and safety hazards.” 

The legislation establishing Measure H of 2010 permits an annual cost-of-living increase in the rate, beginning with FY 2013-14. The annual COLA increase allowed is equal to the annual percentage increase of the State of California statutory inflation adjustment as defined in Education Code Section 42238.1(b) (Para. 3C). 

The statutory cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) based on the District and County Office Financial Projection Dartboard produced by the School Services of California in May 2017 has been determined to be 1.56 percent. 

POLICY/CODE:
Berkeley Schools Facilities and Safety and Maintenance Act of 2010 [Measure H, 2010, Para. 3C]

FISCAL IMPACT:
The revenue for Berkeley Schools Facilities Safety and Maintenance Act of 2010 is projected to be approximately $5,951,200 for FY 2017-18, an increase of about $90,800

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the approved COLA increase for Berkeley Schools Facilities and Safety and Maintenance Act of 2010 for FY 2017-18.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT  

TO: Board of Education
FROM: Judy Appel, Director 
DATE: June 14, 2017
SUBJECT: Approval of Resolution 17-067 in Support of Maximizing Quality Learning Time for All Students Towards 100% Graduation by Supporting Senate Bill 607

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In California, students can currently be suspended or expelled from schools for “willful defiance,” which in many places is used for students acting out in class or elsewhere on campus without consideration of the root causes of the student’s behavior. Research confirms that students of color, minorities, disabled or LGBT students are disproportionately suspended or expelled for low level subjective offenses.

In 2013 the Legislature passed AB 420 to eliminate the suspension of students in grades K through 3rd. Since AB 420 passed, suspensions in elementary schools dropped 60%. Between 2013-2015, more than 15,000 suspensions of K-3 students were prevented, incentivizing schools and districts to adopt alternatives to suspensions and expulsions and keep students in schools.

New funding has assisted schools in adopting alternatives. For instance, $28 million in the 2016 budget proposal supports a grant program to implement restorative practices and social emotional learning programs to fix the root of the problem for kids.

A growing body of research demonstrates that suspending students, no matter what the age, not only fails to improve student behavior it also greatly increases the likelihood that the student will fail and/or drop out. SB 607 seeks to keep students in school, increase student success rates and reduce drop-out rates.

SB 607 will improve student outcomes and encourage schools to adopt alternatives to suspensions by:

• Eliminating suspension and expulsion for disruption/defiance for students grades K-12.
• Encouraging schools and districts to adopt non-punitive alternative to traditional school discipline practices.
• Repealing the July 1, 2018 sunset provision in AB 420 indefinitely

RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution 17-067 in support of maximizing quality learning time for all students towards 100% graduation by supporting SB 607.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:          Donald Evans, Superintendent
FROM:          Natasha Beery, Director of BSEP and Community Relations
DATE:          June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:      Approval of Resolution 17-068 to establish the 2017-18 tax rate for the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2016 (Measure E1 of 2016)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The legislation establishing the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2016 (Measure E1 of 2016) authorizes the levy of a special tax of thirty-seven cents per square foot as stipulated in Section 4 of the Measure.

This shall authorize the District to levy a Special Tax of thirty-seven cents ($0.37) per square foot on all Improvements beginning July 1, 2017, and continuing for a period of eight (8) years. This Special Tax shall be levied on the Square Footage of all Improvements, including all Buildings and Structures, on Parcels of Taxable Real property in the District..

The revenues raised by the special tax are to be used to improve the educational achievement of Berkeley Unified School District’s (“District”) public school students by providing high quality educational programs as specified by the Measure.

Beginning in 2018-19, the second year of assessment of the Special Tax, and each year thereafter, an annual cost-of-living increase in the rate is permitted to maintain the programs. This increase shall not be applied in the first year of the Measure, but in subsequent years may be increased from the rate levied in the prior tax year by a cost-of-living adjustment equal to the annual average percentage change in the Bay Area Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area over the prior twelve months, as of December 1 of the prior fiscal year, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

POLICY/CODE:
The Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2016, (Section 4)

FISCAL IMPACT:
Revenues are projected to be $29,300,000 for FY 2017-18. 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the approved resolution setting the tax rate for the Berkeley Public Schools Educational Excellence Act of 2016 for FY 2017-18.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
FROM:        Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services
DATE:         June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:  Resolution to Authorize the Contracts with California Department of Education for the Child Development Programs for 2017-2018

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Each year the District enters into a contract with the California State Department of Education (CDE) for funding for the Child Development Services for California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and Child Care Services (CCTR).   Funding is based on actual student attendance with each full day of student attendance generating revenue of $43.43 per day.  Partial day rates are pro-rated to the full day rate.

The current contracts for services for each program are $2,643,063 for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and $1,629,950 Child Care Services (CCTR). This funding does not fully pay for the current program provided in BUSD and an annual contribution from the General Fund has supported the program for the past five years.

In order to enter into the contract, the Board is required to approve the attached resolution. 

POLICY/CODE:
Child Development Division
California Ed. Code Title 5

FISCAL IMPACT:
$4,273,013 in potential revenue for the Pre-School Child Development and School Age Child Care Program.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the Resolutions to Authorize the Contracts with the California Department of Education for the Childhood Development Programs for 2017-2018.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT  

TO: Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM: Timothy White, Executive Director of Facilities
DATE: June 14, 2017
SUBJECT: Approve a Contract With Nema Construction to Replace the Exterior Lighting at Seventeen Sites and Approve Resolution #17-069

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On April 26, 2017, the Board authorized staff to advertise a project to replace the exterior lighting at seventeen sites. The project was advertised on May 5th and May 12th. On June 5th, 2017, one bid was received. The bid is qualified. Staff has evaluated the bid and feels that the low bid is a good value to the district. Staff would like to recommend that the Board award the base bid plus alternates #1, #2, #3 and #4 to the apparent low bidder, Nema Construction in the amount of $286,000. This project is $69,000 under our estimated budget for construction.

POLICY/CODE:
Public Contract Code 20110 – 20118.

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

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Accept all bids waiving any minor irregularities. Approve a Contract with Nema Construction and Resolution No. 17-069 to replace the exterior lighting at seventeen sites in the amount of $286,000.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO:             Board of Education
FROM:          Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent
Erin Schweng, Principal, Berkeley High School
DATE:            June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:      Approval of Proposed Berkeley High School Redesign for 2018-2019

INTRODUCTION
On May 17, 2017, the Board heard a first reading and held a public hearing on the proposed redesign of the 9th grade program at Berkeley High School beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. This document again reviews the extensive information provided to the Board and the community ahead of the May 17 meeting and public hearing; additionally, it again provides a detailed summary of the proposal itself and the process through which it was brought to the community over the past two years. The Board will vote tonight on whether to adopt the proposal.

BACKGROUND
In what constitutes the first major redesign of the Berkeley High School program (BHS) in over a decade, staff is pleased to bring a comprehensive proposal to the Board this evening for adoption. This proposal creates a universal 9th grade program for all incoming freshmen, beginning in the Fall of 2018, which, in the view of staff, creates unprecedented levels of personalization and support for all students, especially those who are struggling, as well as those who are simply making the sometimes challenging transition from middle school to Berkeley High School.

The proposal, should it be approved, will assign all incoming 9th grade students to “houses” of approximately 120 students. Each of those houses will be staffed with four core teachers (Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies). The increased collaboration structures the proposal puts in place for those teacher teams create opportunities for educators to develop more cohesive and refined learning goals and objectives in terms of both academics and social and emotional learning. The structure and size of the houses also works to ensure that student outcomes and progress relative to learning goals and objectives are reviewed in more calibrated ways and at more frequent intervals; moreover, this increased progress monitoring and collaboration means that responses to those student outcomes are likely to be more customized, empathetic, differentiated, and relevant to students’ immediate needs and challenges.

This proposal comes to the Board following two years of an in-depth and inclusive process that has included extensive research analysis, consultations with educational scholars and fellow educators in other districts, collaborative programmatic planning, and widespread outreach to stakeholder groups that included teachers, parents, students, and community members, as well as future BHS families. No fewer than twelve community meetings have been facilitated during this two year process, as well as eight all-staff meetings and a host of subcommittee discussions on particular components of the proposal. Additionally, with two Board meetings dedicated exclusively to this project, one in May of 2016 and one in February of 2017, as well as a public hearing on May 17, 2017, staff feels confident that it has developed and designed this proposal through an extensive and inclusive process that has generated a significant amount of useful and relevant input and feedback.

*For more information see the section heading Additional Details on Stakeholder Engagement and Process below.

Summary of the Proposal

The proposal is summarized in the chart below, which contains the most salient components of the proposed Universal 9th grade program. Again, note that neither current students, nor the incoming 9th grade class for the next school year,  2017-2018,  will be impacted by these proposed changes.  The new 9th program will take effect beginning with the 2018-2019 school year.  Also worth noting is that the recently-approved changes to the science course sequence at BHS will also be implemented schoolwide in 2018-2019 with all incoming 9th graders taking a freshman Physics course within their assigned houses. 

Background:

Spring 2015 - Spring 2016

In the Spring of 2015, a group of teacher leaders, inspired by an educational lecture from Linda Darling Hammond, proposed to pursue the redesign of Berkeley High School. The purpose of this proposal was to solve the following problem: The current structure of BHS was not created intentionally to meet the needs of all students. This structure is not aligned to what a broad body of research tells us is effective high school design toward the success of all students. The research, combined with our school and community outreach, led staff to focus on four main areas of redesign: Personalization, improving our student assignment system, the transition between 8th and 9th grade, and collaboration time for teachers.

During the Academic Year 2015-2016, a 40-member Design Team with staff, student, and community stakeholders was formed to devise a research-based initial proposal that was later presented to the school board in May of 2016. This was after a thorough, year-long vetting by Berkeley High staff as well as presentations to, and feedback campaigns with, the wider community. The initial proposal included a Universal 9th grade, with students diversely placed in houses; a 7 period day that included collaboration time for all teachers in a modified block schedule; an advisory in the 9th and 10th grades; and a merger of the two large school programs, Academic Choice (AC) and Berkeley International High School (BIHS), into houses for grades 10-12. There was strong support for this proposal both from the community and also from the Berkeley High staff.

Summer 2016 - Fall 2016

In a subsequent process, the Design Team leadership collaborated with District administration to explore funding options for the $1.3-$1.6 million cost of adding a 7th period to the BHS school schedule. An October budget meeting of the Design Team and District Staff included the Superintendent Donald Evans, Deputy Superintendent Javetta Cleveland, Assistant Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi, Fiscal Director Pauline Follansbee, BFT President Cathy Campbell, and school board directors Karen Hemphill and Ty Alper. 

Despite a general belief that this set of reforms, comprehensively implemented, would be beneficial for Berkeley High School, fiscal challenges required the team to consider alternatives. District administration engaged the Design Team with a request for a subsequent proposal that would more closely align with the district’s fiscal realities, yet remain an effective structural shift toward improving student outcomes. The current proposal for a redesigned Universal 9th grade program across Berkeley High School reflects the smaller scale effort dictated by these cost constraints; however, it nevertheless represents an opportunity to develop one of the most critical components of the original and larger scale proposal into a significant and effective restructuring of Berkeley High School.

Fall 2016

The Design Team changed its structure to accommodate the tasks specific to each element of the proposal. Committees formed, led by staff and students, to specifically address the following redesign components: Advisory, Lottery/Student Placement, Performance Based Assessments, Humanities Scope and Sequence, Bell Schedules, and Campaign/Communication.  

This current proposal for a Universal 9th Grade program was influenced by, and in its near final proposal reflects, key elements of the research base that the design team has engaged with since the beginning of this process. This base of research was developed by Professor Linda Darling-Hammond at the School Redesign Network at Stanford University.   (See “Redesigning High Schools, What Matters and What Works,” Linda Darling-Hammond, 2002.)  That research concludes that the following components are among the most critical where the design and structure of effective high schools are concerned:

1. Personalization for ALL students
2. Ample and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and high quality professional development
3. High quality instruction based on best practices in the areas of differentiated instruction, cultural competency and continued work around the development of academic Language across all content areas
4. Rigorous academic experiences for all students
5. Meaningful performance assessments across all courses and grade levels
6. Heterogeneity across grade levels and courses
7. Democratic decision making
8. Engaging communities and families in the school

Staff believes that where these components are concerned, the program and structure presently being proposed for 2018-2019 will better position the school to pursue and develop these components where they are lacking. Additionally, the new structure will make it easier to refine, improve, and expand upon areas where these meaningful elements are already present at BHS for the benefit of all students and families.

While the current proposal represents a substantive structural and programmatic change in the view of staff, it will not in and of itself be a singular solution for all of the school’s needs or improvement areas. However, staff believes that this proposed program and structure will better position the school to make progress in several critical areas, most notably in its ability to:

• transform the experience for 9th grade students entering BHS
• maintain consistent and coherent pedagogy and practices for all 9th grade students
• provide a more personalized experience for all 9th grade students
• create opportunities for academic support for students within the school day

• provide an opportunity to establish a common school culture for entering 9th graders
• create more opportunities for collaboration for 9th grade teachers
• interrupt false narratives in the community around the BHS lottery and various learning communities
• shift pedagogy and teaching towards culturally responsive teaching practices
• maintain students ability to select advanced mathematics coursework in the 9th grade

Winter 2017

January 25 Board Meeting

At the January 25, 2017 meeting of the Board of Education, staff presented an outline of the current iteration of the redesign plan, along with preliminary concepts for funding streams to support it financially.  The goal of the discussion at the January 25 meeting was to allot ample time for each Board member to answer the following question: “What do you need to know in order to determine your level of support, at the Feb. 15 special meeting, for the current redesign proposal?”  

Staff compiled the questions and responses to that query, and worked with the redesign team to provide the requested information on February 8, of 2016.  That information/ set of responses was made available to the public via the internet (and in hard copy if requested) at the same time it was provided to the Board on February 8, 2016. Further clarification and elaboration on those questions were then provided at a February 15 special meeting of the Board that was devoted exclusively to the Berkeley High redesign. The responses to those questions are linked to at the bottom of this document,are available as attachments to this item in the Board Agenda, and are available at http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/bhs-school-redesign-process/.

February 15 Special Meeting of the Board of Education

On February 15, 2017, following the solicitation of and response to questions from Board members on January 25, the Superintendent and the Board held a public special meeting to discuss the proposed redesign. While the Board had a number of clarifying questions the answers to which remained to be developed and refined, the Board unanimously moved the core elements of the proposed redesign forward and gave staff direction to return with answers to the clarifying questions, a first reading of a formal proposal, and funding options on May 17, 2017, which would provide sufficient time for the Board to vote on a final proposal at its meeting tonight.

May 17, 2017 Public Hearing

On May 17, 2017, the Board conducted a public hearing at which members of the public were invited to speak at a dedicated public comment period regarding the redesign proposal.  This public comment period was followed by an extensive Board discussion. 

During the public comment period, many members of the community representing a wide range of stakeholders, spoke out both for and against the Universal 9th grade. Supporters lauded the increased personalization for all students, the additional year to choose the right path, and the consistency in building a common academic and social school culture. Those who spoke out against the universal 9th grade were primarily from the small schools at Berkeley High and were concerned with the loss of an already articulated four year program, the fear that the 9th grade would not be a safe space for all students, and the constraints that this change would create on teacher schedules.

Additional Details on Stakeholder Engagement and Process

Throughout the development process the Design Team Coordinators, Berkeley High teachers Hasmig Minassian and Matt Meyer met weekly to plan the after school Design Team Executive Cabinet meetings funded by a strategic impact grant from the Berkeley Public Schools Fund. The Coordinators thoughtfully planned out a year long calendar that would include all staff input and also the ongoing work of these implementation teams.

In addition to the work around design and planning through the implementation teams, the design team members also planned and facilitated several broadly inclusive Berkeley High all-staff meetings throughout the year; specifically:

All School Professional Development meeting on October 10th, 2016

All School Professional Development meeting on November 7th, 2016

All School Professional Development meeting on January 9th, 2017:  Humanities Meeting

All School Professional Development meeting on January 23rd, 2017

All School Professional Development meeting on April 17th, 2017

The Design Team Executive Cabinet met every other week since September of 2016. These cabinet members served as members and leaders of the Implementation Teams and were vital to developing and shaping key elements of the proposal. The executive cabinet is made up of the following people representing different areas of the school:

• Advisory: Claudia Gonzalez/ Dana West
• Bell Schedule: Tamara Friedman / Chris Young
• Campaign Communication: Ramona Coates / Lea Baechler-Brabo / Hasmig Minassian
• Lottery/Student Placement: Nya Sandeford and Erin Schweng
• Electives, Non-Cored, CTE: Hasmig Minassian and Robin Van der Vegt
• Humanities Scope and Sequence: Matt Meyer
• Performance Based Assessment: Tamara Friedman
• 9th Grade House Structure:  Matt Meyer
• LEAP Academic Development:  Hasmig Minassian
• Science consult: Nick Pleskac
• Counselor consult: Teri Goodman
• Math consult: Kate Garfinkel
• Special Education consult: Susannah Bell 

Design team leaders have held meetings with the wider BUSD community and stakeholder groups  including a recent series of information nights  at all three district middle schools. The following meetings were held during the month of May to engage and discuss the proposed programmatic changes :

King Middle School - May 8, 2017

Longfellow Middle School - May 9, 2017

Willard Middle School - May 11, 2017

Public Hearing and First Reading of Redesign Proposal with Board of Education - May 17, 2017

As referenced in the introduction, the Design Team’s outreach to the community included a diverse group of community partners and stakeholders. The following meetings were facilitated by the Design Team over the course of this inclusive two-year process: 

Parent Forum at BHS for Current BHS Families - May 4, 2016

Chicano Latino Bilingual Family Forum - May 5, 2016

Parents of Children of African Descent (PCAD) Forum - May 7, 2016

Longfellow Middle School Family Forum - May 11, 2016

Willard Middle School Family Forum - May 18, 2016

Chicano Latino Family Forum - May 22, 2016

King Middle School Family Forum - May 25, 2016

Student Engagement

Students have been part of the redesign effort since the beginning of the process. The initial design team had eight student members, one from each learning community,  plus one special education representative and two students from the from newcomer program. Student members joined the Design Team on school visits and presented at staff meetings; additionally, student members facilitated lunch time student forums during the 2015-2016 school year.

The Design Team has presented to multiple classrooms (large school and small school) throughout the school to solicit  feedback on redesign and block schedule options, and conducted polling of the whole student body on block scheduling. The term “Hives,” the informal nickname for the proposed 9th grade houses, was coined by a student member of the design team. Students have also commented at board presentation public comments.

Funding

District staff estimates that an additional cost of approximately $550,000 would be needed on an ongoing annual basis to create the new structure associated with the redesign.

The projected total costs of $550,000 per year will primarily support the proposed Universal 9th grade program’s new house structure. In each 9th grade house of 120 students, three of the four core teachers will have, in addition to their preparation period, an additional period (.2 FTE) to provide a flexible student support class (LEAP) for the small group of students with the highest needs in that house. The fourth core teacher will serve as that house’s leader, coordinating curriculum, student support, and planning for their house as well as serving as the liaison to the community of house leaders across the 9th grade program. Each house will therefore require .8 FTE on top of their core class allocation for a total 4.8 FTE across each of the six 9th grade houses. The remaining balance of those funds will cover variances in these teacher personnel costs, and potentially cover some of the professional learning and coordination needs in years 1 and 2 of the implementation. 

Earlier this year, the Board directed staff to include in its budget priorities proposal sufficient funding to allow the current proposed redesign to be implemented by Fall 2018.  Pursuant to that direction, staff has proposed that $300,000 of these proposed costs be accommodated by the general fund, with the remaining costs to be borne by a combination of BSEP and LCAP funds. A proposal to designate $300,000 from the general fund beginning in 2018-19 was included in the Superintendent’s proposed budget priorities on May 3, 2017.  Staff will be requesting that the Board formally approve that allocation once the redesign itself is formally approved.

Staff plans to fund the additional $250,000 in annual ongoing funding required to support the new 9th grade structure through a combination of LCAP Supplemental funding and BSEP Classroom Support funds. In this year’s LCAP Supplemental budget, a third intervention counselor at BHS was funded for 2017-2018 with the understanding that the funding for that student support position would roll into funding to support the Universal 9th grade program in 2018-2019. Essentially this means that staff will still need to identify approximately $150,000 from some combination of BSEP, LCAP, or general fund to complete the annual funding need of $550,000 attached to this new 9th program and its staffing and collaboration structure.

In the 2017-2018 school year, staff will dedicate approximately $100,000 to prepare for and support the implementation of the proposed new BHS program in 2018-2019. At present, $60,000 in one-time general fund dollars (recently approved in the Superintendent’s proposed budget priorities) will be coupled with a proposal to allocate $45,000 from the forthcoming College Readiness Grant to provide the equivalent of a full time teacher on special assignment to support planning and development through the 17-18 school year. 

Next Steps

Following both the first reading of this proposal and its accompanying public hearing on May 17, 2017, staff tonight requests action and approval of the proposal so that preparations for implementation in August of 2018 can begin immediately. It is essential to remember that beginning the program in the Fall of 2018 means that final details, staffing, scheduling decisions, and a host of other fine tuning will need to be completed before information nights and community outreach begins in November of 2017 for the parents and students that will make up the 9th grade class in the 2018-2019 school year.

While this proposal represents our best current thinking, and represents a critical and impactful component of the original, larger scale redesign that included an expansion of the house and advising concepts into the 10th grade as well as a merging of the two larger programs (AC and BIHS) in the upper grades, the Design Team, along with BUSD Administration, present this plan with the intention that should future funding become available, we will return to the Board and community with proposals to develop additional  features from the original and more expansive vision for redesign at Berkeley High.

FISCAL IMPACT:
The budget for the redesign is estimated to be $550,000 per year annually. Staff is proposing to provide $300,000 in ongoing funding from the general fund with another $250,000 coming from a combination of LCAP Supplemental funding and Classroom Support funding through Measure E1 (BSEP).

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the proposal for redesigning the 9th grade program at Berkeley High School beginning with the 2018-2019 school year.

Appendix

The documents included below provide additional detail on various components or impacts of the proposed Universal 9th Grade program.

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Related to BHS Redesign

U9 House Structure Details

Most Recent Five Year Timeline

High School Redesign Roll Out By Class

LEAP Class Narrative and Details

Metrics and Evaluation

Public Responses to Board Member Questions from January 25, 2017

Summary of Research on Successful High Schools

Bell Schedule Update

All of the preceding documents are attached to this memo and are also, along with other information, available at this website: http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/bhs-school-redesign-process/

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:                Donald Evans, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM:          Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent
Pat Saddler, Ed.D., Director, Programs and Special Projects
DATE:           June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Draft #2 - Public Hearing 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On April 26th, staff presented draft recommendations for the 2017-2020 LCAP. On May 31st, staff presented the first draft of the new LCAP template and the executive summary with recommendations for the additional funds received from the Governor's May Revise budget. The version tonight reflects the recommendations from the Board and stakeholders. The new funding will provide an additional .4FTE at Longfellow and .2 FTE for math intervention at both LeConte and Thousand Oaks. These schools have the highest number of unduplicated pupils. 

The new state-mandated LCAP template is divided into seven sections: the Plan Summary, Annual Update, Stakeholder Engagement, Goals, Actions and Expenditures, Increased/Improved Services for Unduplicated Students, Addenda and LCAP Expenditure Summary. This plan is a continuance of the current LCAP, however the template requires that each action must include identification of the targeted student group.  Additionally, Berkeley Unified School District must highlight each action that will target the subgroups that had red or orange scores on the California School Dashboard.

• Suspension Indicator:  Students with Disabilities - Red, African American - Red

• EL Progress Indicator: Overall - Orange

• Graduation Rate Indicator:  English Learner Students - Red, White Students - Orange

• English Language Arts Indicator: Students with Disabilities

• Math Indicator:  Students with Disabilities - Red, African American - Orange

Highlights from the 2017 LCAP Planning Cycle:

Stakeholder Engagement:

With the guidance of the stakeholders, the impact on the LCAP was as follows: The Stakeholder groups (PAC, DELAC, and EAC) requested more data presentations where every data point was broken out by Unduplicated student groups in order to quantitatively see the impact of the LCAP on each group.  Each priority point was measured by applicable metrics.  The stakeholders also requested that district staff develop clearer roles and responsibilities for all LCAP Funded Positions. This will be explicitly communicated to site administrators to increase accountability and to ensure fidelity with implementation of the actions and services at each school site.  The Parent Advisory Committee worked with district staff to create a user friendly template for the LCAP Supplemental Funded Actions and Services.  After a review of the student academic data, there was consensus from all stakeholders that there needed to be a larger investment in math intervention.  Reflectively, the stakeholders continue to support an increase in access to Restorative Practices, positive school culture and climates, stronger coordination of english language development and academic language development delivered in both designated and integrated instructional models,  increased access to instructional materials and intervention materials, and increased parent engagement and education opportunities, and a goal for increased school attendance by Unduplicated students as well as a decreased numbers of expulsions and exclusionary discipline.

Increased Actions and Services:

• Stronger implementation of a Response to Intervention and Instruction (RtI2) system of academic supports for students who are struggling to meet grade level academic standards across all grade levels TK-12.  This will be supported by the Coordination of Services teams at each site, and their adoption of the Professional Learning Community data review and discussion model.

• Provide innovative intervention, support classes and summer school.

• Provide additional support classes at the Secondary level in mathematics to address the student needs.

• Provide math support to students at LeConte and Thousand Oaks

• Implement Positive School Culture/Climate Teacher Leaders at all TK-8 Schools, who will coordinate Restorative Practices, Toolbox, and Positive Behavior Intervention Support.

• Increase opportunities for Instructional Classified Employees to receive professional development on common core curriculum and effective instructional strategies.

• Provide equity based professional development for all classroom teachers to equip them with instructional strategies to increase academic achievement for all students.

• Create a classified teacher pipeline program to support the district’s commitment to increasing the number of teachers of color.

• Hire an African American Success Project Manager to create a research based service model that will explicitly develop a system to support, mentor and advocate for AA Students in grades 7 thru 12.

• Establish a progress monitoring system for English Learner Students to ensure consistent progress towards reclassification and academic success.

• Implement a new curriculum AVID - EXCEL for Long Term English Learners in grades seven and eight.

• Provide professional development for all teachers on "Integrated ELD instructional model", including all special education teachers.

• Additional Intervention Counselor for Berkeley High School. 

Proposed LCAP Staffing Summary

Proposed LCAP Budget for 2017 

POLICY/CODE:
BP 0649

FISCAL IMPACT:
None at this time

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Review the draft of the Local Control and Accountability Plan and Budget.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

TO: Board of Education
FROM: Donald Evans, Ed.D, Superintendent
Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent
DATE: June 14, 2017
SUBJECT: Future of the Thousand Oaks Bilingual Program 

Staff brings this item regarding the future of the Thousand Oaks Bilingual Program to the Board tonight for information.  Most of what is contained in this document has been communicated to the Thousand Oaks community in a letter from the Superintendent that was sent on June 8. We have scheduled a community meeting to discuss the future of the bilingual program at Thousand Oaks on June 20 at the school.  On June 28, we will bring this item to the Board for action. A decision is necessary by June 28 in order to realistically have a plan in place for 18-19 and to avoid a perpetual discussion about the future of this program. 

Background

Thousand Oaks Elementary has a long history of serving the Latino community in Berkeley, and over the years has been proud to offer bilingual education for Spanish-speaking students. The  dedicated staff of bilingual educators at this school teach and advocate for their students and families, and the bilingual program has served multiple generations of local families. 

As the Board is well aware, shifting demographics have kept the overall enrollment in the bilingual program low. The bilingual program at Thousand Oaks was designed for classrooms of native Spanish speaking English Learners and native Spanish speaking bilingual students only. In recent years, the District has been more flexible about the levels of Spanish proficiency required to access the program, but the small number of requests for the program by fully fluent Spanish speakers again this year requires us to consider creative ways to evolve the program at Thousand Oaks.   

The English Learner (EL) Master Plan that the Board approved in 2013 states that “[t]he goal of the [bilingual program at Thousand Oaks] is to enable Spanish speaking students to become English proficient by supporting them in their native language.”  (Page 2.)   It goes on to state that the program is “designed for classrooms of native Spanish speaking English learners and native Spanish speaking bilingual students only.”  (Page 31)  Although the Board-approved EL Master Plan restricts the enrollment of students in this program to native Spanish speakers only, the number of native Spanish speakers in the District has been on the decline for some time now.  For the 16-17 school year, in an effort to keep the bilingual program afloat, the District added both non-native Spanish speakers and English speakers to the kindergarten class, which was a deviation from the EL Master Plan that staff ultimately felt should not be continued.

As the Board is aware, the bilingual program will continue during the 2017-2018 school year by utilizing combination classes in the bilingual strand to offset the low enrollment. The Board has already approved the BSEP teacher template for 17-18, which includes combination classes in K-2 next year at Thousand Oaks.  In 17-18, there will be 5 bilingual classes at Thousand Oaks: K/1, 1/2, 3, 4, and 5.  Staff will be proposing funding one-time support in the form of curriculum development hours to assist with planning over the summer to support the bilingual combination classes. Additionally, the District is considering allocating additional funding to support Thousand Oaks as a whole, in addition to other schools, through supplemental funding in our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).  That decision will be made when the entire LCAP budget is approved at the end of June, but the proposed allocation is on the agenda tonight for discussion. 

As a result of changing demographics, multiple years of enrollment data indicate that it is no longer possible to maintain full-sized classes in the bilingual maintenance program at Thousand Oaks that are consistent with the EL Master Plan.  Therefore, we are proposing to develop a Heritage-based program to replace the bilingual program for the 18-19 school year.

Proposal

The proposal is to phase out the bilingual program at T.O. and replace it with a Latino heritage program with strong language components. 

This Heritage-based program would include Spanish language instruction for all incoming Kindergarten students at Thousand Oaks beginning in 2018-2019 and would also develop units of study across core subjects that would honor and highlight Latino culture throughout the year. Additionally, the program could include, among many other possibilities,  a customized music and arts program, a series of trips and cultural events that could focus on artistic, political, and culinary traditions, as well as age-appropriate explorations of topics like immigration, globalization, labor, and geography.  The development of this program would also provide an opportunity to offer world language instruction to the entire school while also acknowledging the tradition and history of the Thousand Oaks program.  We are excited about the potential for this program and see it as the only viable way to evolve the existing bilingual program at Thousand Oaks. It may also serve as a pilot for world language instruction in elementary school across the District. 

The BUSD community would be notified that the Kindergarten class in 17-18 is the last class of the T.O. bilingual program as currently constituted, and that all entering Kindergarten classes in 18-19 would be full-sized (i.e., 22.5 student) classes that would have Latino heritage and explicit Spanish language instruction infused throughout the school day. The existing bilingual program strands would continue, with combination classes as numbers necessitate until the program was eventually phased out. (This is similar to the way Two-Way Immersion has been phased out at Rosa Parks and Cragmont.)

The development of the heritage program with strong language components would be tasked to a committee that would examine the content, cost, and sustainability over time and, after working collaboratively with Thousand Oaks staff and stakeholder groups, make recommendations to the Board.  

The committee would begin work along the following tentative timeline:

• Charge the committee with convening in August 2017

• Discuss, design, and research a proposal from Aug-Dec 2017

• Advertise to families basic proposal w/o details (K-Fair in December of 2017)

• Present proposal to T.O. community for feedback in January 2018

• Six months to refine program (Jan-June of 2018)

• New Program Starts SEPTEMBER of 2018 

We considered the possibility of simply phasing out the program altogether and replacing it with a general education program.  And if the committee was for some reason unable to come up with a viable program (that is essentially cost-neutral), then the Kindergarten class entering in Fall 2018 would indeed be a standard general education Kindergarten class.  However, we are hopeful that the Thousand Oaks community will see this moment, as we do, as an opportunity to evolve its program and honor its history while simultaneously piloting the instruction of elementary school world language.

We also considered continuing to fill the program’s classes with non-native Spanish speakers and/or monolingual English speakers, but we do not view this as a viable option.  Not only is it contrary to the mission and purpose of the bilingual program and inconsistent with the Board-approved Master Plan, it also would essentially create a lone strand of Two-Way Immersion (TWI) at Thousand Oaks, which is contrary to the Board’s decision to consolidate the TWI program at LeConte, and would detract from LeConte’s program.

Finally, we considered allowing the program to continue at Thousand Oaks with classes made up of native Spanish-speakers below the BSEP minimum class sizes approved by the voters in November.  However, this is not a viable option, either, for both programmatic and financial reasons.   Because the new BSEP measure, Measure E1, requires maintaining a school-wide average classroom ratio of approximately 23:1, small class sizes in the bilingual program would have to be offset with unacceptably large class sizes in other classrooms at this site.

Staff is looking forward to working with the Thousand Oaks community on the development of a program that will represent a creative and dynamic new era of education for students at Thousand Oaks, an era that both respects the school’s legacy and develops its future as a sustainable model for the inclusion of world language and world culture in elementary education.

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive as information.

BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

TO:              Dr. Donald Evans, Superintendent
FROM:         Pasquale Scuderi, Assistant Superintendent Educational Services
DATE:            June 14, 2017
SUBJECT:     New Berkeley High IB Environmental Systems Textbook for Consideration

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The following IB Environmental Systems and Societies textbook is being recommended for adoption: Environmental Systems and Societies IB Diploma Programme Course Companion, (2015 edition).

Title, Author: 

Environmental Systems and Societies IB Diploma Programme Course Companion, (2015 edition). Authors: Jill Rutherford and Gillian Williams.

Description:

Berkeley High School is recommending this textbook to be used in the IB Environmental Systems and Societies (IBESS) course. Since the publication of the previous IBESS course textbook (2010), the IB organization has revised the IBESS syllabus.  This textbook was developed directly with the IB organization, and is completely aligned with the revised syllabus (first assessed in 2017). 

In the IBESS external assessment, students are asked to complete particular tasks, such as: to synthesize information, to apply concepts, to analyze environmental issues, and to evaluate solutions.  This textbook presents current case studies and related activities that prepare students for the aforementioned tasks of the IB external assessment.

In conclusion, this textbook provides comprehensive support for environmental literacy, lab skills transferrable to the twenty-first century workplace, and student preparation for the IB external assessment.

POLICY/CODE:
Board Policy 6161.1
Ed Code 60400

FISCAL IMPACT:
$3,680.60

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Review the new textbook for Berkeley High School for the IB Environmental Systems and Societies course.

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.