[BHS Etree] INCOMING FAMILIES: Pre Enrollment Site and Other Information

Thu Jan 17 07:10:03 PST 2013

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Janet Huseby
janethuseby at berkeley.net and Fern Royce BHSoutreach at berkeley.net 

The pre enrollment website for families of incoming 9th graders (fall of
2013) who are new to the district  was NOT up and running on Wednesday,
January 16 as advertised.  I am sorry.  As soon as it is up, I will post the
link on the etree. However, good news, the registration packets which must
be turned in the week of Feb. 19 are currently available at the Front Desk.

Below, I am posting, a summary of the Next Steps for all incoming 9th grade
families. Right now, the most important Next Step is the Information Night
on Feb. 13.  This is not a repeat of our Fall Information Night.  It is an
important step in the process of signing up for classes and prioritizing
learning communities. 

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at
janethuseby at berkeley.net or Fern Royce at BHSoutreach at berkeley.net   

1. Information Night 2013

The Berkeley High Information Night 2013 for all incoming families will take
place on Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 from 7-9 p.m. in the community
theater on the Berkeley High School campus.  During Information Night,
representatives from departments and our learning communities will make
presentations and be available to answer questions. The evening will start
promptly and parking can be challenging. Please plan accordingly.

Information Night is an important step in learning about Berkeley High's
many elective choices and learning community options so students can make an
informed decision about Berkeley High School. All incoming students should
plan on attending. Please note, all students must be accompanied by an
adult. Spanish translation will be available. There will be no make-up for
this event. Course Catalogues and Choices brochures for the 2013-2014 school
year will be provided on this night.

2. The District Admission Process for Incoming 9th grade families

Current BUSD Students

Students from King, Longfellow, and Willard are already admitted into the
District and will be automatically registered into Berkeley High. There is
no need to contact either the Admissions office or Berkeley High School.
Parent meetings will take place at the middle schools from 6 to 7 p.m. on
the following nights. Spanish translation will be available.

Longfellow, Feb. 19

King, Feb. 26

Willard, March 5

These meetings will be conducted by BHS administrators and are for parents
from BUSD middle schools only. During the school days following the parent
meeting, BHS counselors will go to the Middle Schools to gather course and
learning community requests from students. Berkeley High will mail home the
student selections for a final parental review before the student choices
are entered in the lottery.

New to BUSD Students

Students who are new to the district must first be admitted into the
district before they can register with Berkeley High and make lottery or
course requests. Entering into Berkeley High is a multi-step process: This
process is only for Berkeley residents. Information regarding inter-district
transfers can be obtained from the Admissions Office at 644-6504.

 Registration into Berkeley High for New to BUSD students

a)  (Please see above, this step is not yet up and running.  Should be very
soon.) 

Pre-Admission: From January ? to  February 18th, 2013, families must log on
at http://berkeley.enrollments.us/StudentAdmissions.aspx to begin the
admission process in the District. If you do not have web access or have
questions, you may use a computer on the BHS campus at the Parent Resource
Center. Go to Berkeley High School, check in as a visitor at the front desk,
and they will direct you to the Parent Resource Center to enter your
information. Pre-Admission is required for admission.

b) Admission: In this step, parents/guardians must go to the Berkeley
Unified School District Admissions Office at 2020 Bonar. Please bring the
student's birth certificate, and three original proofs of Berkeley
residency. In addition, we request proof of immunization, student transcript
or latest report card, and a completed BHS registration packet. Below, we
will explain each item in greater detail. The packet takes approximately 45
minutes to fill in.  You may fill it in ahead of time by picking up the
packet at the BHS Front desk. 

a) Student's Birth Certificate (Original, we will make a copy) Passports are
not acceptable.

b) Three proofs of Berkeley residency in parent/guardian's name The three
proofs of residency must be recent (less than two months old) and must have
the same address and parent/guardian's name. All proofs must be current
originals (dated within 2 months) imprinted with the name and current
Berkeley address of the parent/guardian. If you have questionable
documentation or do not have all of the required documentation, you will not
be allowed to complete the process.

One Utility Bill (from the following list): PG&E, phone (non-cellular),
EBMUD, garbage, internet or cable (must provide entire bill).

AND

Two from the following list of categories. (Cannot be from the same
category).

California Driver's License or California ID

Current bank statement

Action letter from Social Services, CA State or federal offices

paycheck stub a letter from the employer on official company letterhead

Additional Utility Bill: PG&E, phone (non-cellular), EBMUD, garbage,
internet or cable.

(Must provide entire bill)

c) Proof of immunization from health care provider.

d) Transcript from current school or latest report card.

e) Registration Packet. The registration packet will be available to be
picked up at the Berkeley High School front January 7, 2013. You may also
pick up a copy at the admissions office when you come to enroll your
student. Please plan to spend

30 to 45 minutes completing the registration packet. You will also need to
bring contact information for doctors, dentist and emergency contact
information.

Students residing with anyone other than their parents must also complete a
Caregiver Form. Forms are available at the Admissions Office. Homeless
families should contact Nancy Johnson in Room 5, or call her at 644-6529.

Bring the above documents to the BUSD Admissions Office on February 19-22.
We advise new families to adhere to the following schedule to minimize wait
times and help us manage the volume of students we must process in an
efficient manner:

Last Names: Please come to Admissions on.

A-F    Feb. 19    8:00-12 or 12:45-3:00

G-L    Feb. 20    8:00-12 or 12:45-3:00

M-S    Feb. 21    8:00-12 or 12:45-3:00

T-Z    Feb. 22    8:00-12 or 12:45-3:00

Admission is complete when you have provided the appropriate documents,
received an admission receipt, and submitted a completed registration
packet.

3. The Course/Lottery Selection Process

New-to-BUSD Students who have completed the admission process by February
22, 2013 can make course and lottery requests in the BHS Library at 6 p.m.
on the following three different dates. The process will take at least 1.5
hours. Please bring your Admission receipt on the night you make course and
lottery requests.

March 4 - Last Name A-L

March 11 - Last Name M-Z

March 18 - Makeup session

If you cannot make your assigned night, we will accommodate you in one of
the three sessions, but please try to attend during your allotted time.
Students will have their choices mailed to them for verification and will
have one week to request any changes by hard copy to Berkeley High School.

All current BUSD middle school students and newly admitted students enrolled
by February 22, 2013, will enter the BHS lottery at the same time and be
given the same priority in the BHS lottery. If you have not been admitted
into the Berkeley Unified School District by February 22, 2013, you must do
so after March 18th, 2013 by visiting the Berkeley Admissions Office from
8:00-4:00. Students who are admitted into the District after March 18th will
be in the second round of the lottery.

Berkeley High is divided into five learning communities. Two are large: AC
and BIHS. Three are smaller:AHA, AMPS,and CAS. Assignment is by lottery but
students may indicate a preference. Incoming 9th grade students will have an
opportunity to list their preferences in the spring when they sign up for
classes. King, Longfellow, and Willard 8th grade students will do so during
the day at their middle school. Students coming from non BUSD schools will
do so at an evening meeting March 5, 12, or 19 (if they have registered with
the BUSD by Feb. 22, 2013. (See below for students who register after Feb.
22.)

All student requests will be mailed home to their parents/guardians for
approval.

Your child may list as many as five or as few as two learning communities.
Students MUST list AC and BIHS, the two large programs, in the order they
prefer. If the student only wants AC or BIHS then s/he only lists those two.

If s/he wants one of the smaller learning communities (AMPS, AHA, or CAS)
s/he lists the small schools desired, in the preferred order, and then
finishes off with AC and BIHS, in the preferred order. The student may list
one of the smaller communities followed by AC and BIHS; two of the smaller
communities followed by AC and BIHS; or three of the smaller communities,
followed by AC and BIHS.

We will mail you the results of the lottery in late May or early June.

If you miss the lottery and register late spring or in the summer, you will
enter a second or third lottery. There is no final cut off date for
enrollment at Berkeley High School. When you have established residency,
please go to 2020 Bonar Street to start the process of registering and
enrolling at the high school.

4. High School Tours

 The "touring season" for prospective students runs from October to March.
The small group tours leave the Front Desk at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday through
Friday and 10:45 on Mondays. The tours are by reservation only and last a
little over an hour. The tourswalk by classrooms-many of which have open
doors -but they do not go into rooms for observation. The tours are not
"orientationtours." There are student-led tours for our incoming students in
August during registration/orientation (August 20, 2012 date to be
confirmed).  Prospective students are welcome on the school day tours but
ONLY if accompanied by their parent or guardian.

Tours are by reservation only.  To sign up, please email
bhsoutreach at berkeley.net. Please indicate several days that work for you and
the number of people in your party.

It is not possible for students to  visit Berkeley High on their own or to
"shadow" a current student.  The school is focused on the education and
security of our currently enrolled students. We are simply too large a
school to accommodate unsupervised visitors.

5. Additional Information

 The 2013-2014 calendar has not yet been set.  We will post the official
dates as soon as we can.  In the meantime,  Freshmen orientation will most
likely take place Monday, August 19. The first day of school is tentatively
scheduled for Wednesday, August 28.  During orientation students will meet
administrators, pick up their class schedule, textbooks, picture ID, and
locker assignment.  In addition, there will be campus  tours and an activity
fair.

World Language and Math Placement

1. Berkeley High offers five world languages: Spanish, French, Kiswahili,
Mandarin and Latin. New-to-BUSD students who wish to enroll in in a level
other than beginning must take a placement test that will be offered on
Saturday, April 20th from 10 to 12 a.m. in Portable 11 (entrance on Milvia).

There is no language placement test for students who enroll in the beginning
level of any of the five languages. Placement for Longfellow, King, and
Willard students currently studying French or Spanish will be determined by
their current teacher.

2. Math placement will be determined by teacher recommendation, grades in
current math class, and a math placement test. All incoming New-to-BUSD 9th
grade students must take a general placement test. All students, including
current BUSD students who are interested in enrolling in an honors math
level will take an additional honors math test. The test will be offered for
current BUSD middle school students on April 9  (Longfellow), April 11th,
(Willard) and April 16th (King). New-to-BUSD students will take the general
test and, if desired, the honors test in the Berkeley High School library on
April 8thth, April 15th, or April 23rd beginning at 3pm. Content on the Math
Placement Test: the Algebra content covered by the placement test is the
California content standards for Algebra 1 which can be found online at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/documents/rtqalg1.pdf 

Finally, we are asking all current 8th grade math teachers to submit a
placement recommendation for their students. For New-to-BUSD students, we
are requesting the teacher fill in a short online questionnaire. As soon as
the web address for teacher recommendation is available it will be posted on
the etree

__________________________________

Diane Douglas, Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Lisa Sibony are the parent-volunteer
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