[BHS Etree] ADMIN: Welcome to the 2017-18 School Year

[BHS Etree]

PLEASE do not reply to this email.



Dear BHS Families and Students,



On behalf of the entire administrative team, I would like to extend a very
warm welcome to you for the 2017-18 school year! We have several new
members on the admin team this year; I’ve included a list below to show our
roles and the areas that we each supervise, as well as to give the new
members an opportunity to tell you a bit about themselves. We look forward
to meeting you at various parent meetings and at school activities
throughout the year.



It is as apparent as ever, even in the last several days, that our nation
is in the midst of an unprecedented and often tense conversation about the
very nature of who we are and what we stand for; that debate has been
brought to the park literally across the street from our campus. What I
want you all to know is that we at Berkeley High are ready to welcome your
students, to teach them, to listen to and protect them, and to be part of
the communal effort it takes to graduate students who are exactly what our
country needs to move toward a healthy and hopeful future.



We so look forward to meeting our students tomorrow. It’s going to be a
great year.



Erin Schweng

Principal



*IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:*

Monday, September 4: NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

Thursday, September 28: BHS Back to School Night



*BHS Administrative Team, 2017-18:*



*Erin Schweng*, returning as Principal



*Felicia Phillips*, returning as Vice Principal

(Academic Choice, Math Dept, African-American Studies Dept)



*Carrie Berg*, new Vice Principal

(Berkeley International HS, Visual and Performing Arts)

I am thrilled to be joining the team at Berkeley High School as Vice
Principal. While a native of Tucson and Northeast resident for 15 years, I
now call the Bay Area home. I love learning so am a perpetual student - I
attended Brown University as an undergraduate student and earned master
degrees in international education from Harvard University, teaching from
Long Island University, and school leadership from UC Berkeley’s Principal
Leadership Institute. I began my professional career overseas in education
programs in conflict-affected zones, but missed working directly with youth
so transitioned into teaching. My background is in special education and
social studies in middle and high schools in New York City and later in
East Oakland. Most recently I served as a Literacy Coach and Special
Education Coordinator. I am deeply committed to inclusive and restorative
practices in schools and look forward to working with an equity-minded
staff who believes that all kids can and want to learn.



*Tonia Coleman*, new Vice Principal

(Academy of Medicine and Public Service, World Language Dept, Newcomers,
P.E.)

I am thrilled to join the Berkeley High Staff this Fall! I am an
experienced instructional leader with 19 years in public education, and a
graduate of the UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute. The past
three years I have served as the Assistant Principal at Claremont Middle
School in Oakland, where I led significant shifts with school wide culture
and climate. Before joining the leadership team at Claremont, I spent 16
years at the Oak Grove School District in San Jose. I am passionate about
making public education accessible and relevant for all students. Working
as Lead Teacher for eight years at a community day school in San Jose, I
created systems and structures to support the most marginalized students,
and was able to transform the school from a last chance for disengaged
students to a sought-after intervention for students throughout the
district. My experience at Humboldt State — where I excelled at
intercollegiate basketball and track and field while completing my B.A. —
has informed my perspectives on teamwork and achievement. I see athletics,
the arts and other extracurricular activities as central components to
raising well-rounded children who will succeed in the 21st century.



*Juan Raygoza*, new Vice Principal

(Communication Arts & Sciences, Arts and Humanities Academy)

It is with tremendous joy and honor that I join Berkeley High School as a
Vice Principal this upcoming fall. A bilingual Los Angeles native and
product of LAUSD public schools, I earned my Bachelor's degree from UCLA
and then graduated from its equity-focused Teacher Education and Principal
Leadership Institute programs. I began my professional journey as a social
studies teacher at Locke High School in South Los Angeles and then taught
at El Monte High School and Lawndale High School. I most recently served as
an Assistant Principal at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, where I was
committed to practices such as restorative justice and culturally relevant
teaching and leadership. I am passionate about working alongside my
colleagues serving the whole child with principles of social justice at the
core. I look forward to learning about and working in solidarity with
teachers, students, and families at Berkeley High School, as my family and
I settle in Berkeley.



*Allen Boltz*, new Dean of Attendance

(Attendance, Science Dept)

I am beyond excited to be stepping into the position of Dean of Attendance
at Berkeley High School. Nine years ago, I realized my future was in
education when I worked for AmeriCorps with at-risk youth after completing
my Chemistry degree at Humboldt State University. My student teaching was
at a small charter school that had a thematic approach to education. In
2009, I accepted a research fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
working on energy and air quality research with the Darfur Stoves Project.
I was then recruited by Berkeley High to teach chemistry in AMPS and CAS.
In 2010, I stepped in as co-lead of AMPS and led the transition to a
physical science, chemistry, biology sequence and co-wrote the freshman
forensic science course. In my summers, I continued my research at the
Berkeley Lab, and just completed a five-year Math for America research
fellowship at UC Berkeley. I am currently in a M.Ed. Leadership program at
CSU East Bay and recently was the intern summer school principal at
Longfellow Middle School. It is bittersweet to be leaving the classroom,
but I look forward to supporting and empowering students in a different
professional capacity.



*Kiernan Rok*, returning Dean of Students

(On-Campus Intervention Staff and Program)



*Susannah Bell*, new SPED Program Manager

(Special Education Staff and Program)

I am joining the team this year as Special Education Program Manager. I
have worn many hats at Berkeley High: Special Ed program supervisor, PD
lead, PD coordinator, Special Ed case manager, and Special Ed, General Ed,
and AP English teacher. I taught English in AMPS beginning in 1998,
starting the AP Augmentation program in 2007. In 2012, I moved into the
Special Ed department. Prior to coming to Berkeley High in 1998, I directed
the Omega Dropout Prevention/Retrieval Program at Loften High School in
Gainesville, Florida, where I lived and taught since 1989. I earned my BA
in English Education at Florida State University and my MA in English at
San Francisco State University. I am passionate about equity and building
relationships with students and families. I believe in using culturally
relevant teaching strategies to build community and explicitly teach
academic language structures and functions as well as transition skills.
My spouse and I are the proud parents of a King Middle School 7th grader!

_____________________________

Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Dylan Kaufman are the parent-volunteer facilitators
of the Etree; please direct any questions about the Etree to them at
bhs-owner at lmi.net.



BHS etree archives: http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/

BHS website: http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/

BUSD 2017-2018 Calendar: http://bit.ly/BUSDCalendar

BUSD Non-Discrimination Statement / la Política de No Discriminación:
http://bit.ly/BUSDNDPolicy



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