[BHS Etree] ADMIN: BHS Update on Zoom Usage, Apr. 8 (Wed)

Wed Apr 8 10:26:04 PDT 2020

PLEASE do not reply to this email.

Good morning everyone,

My heart is heavier than usual this morning as we shared with you the news
last night that our district has put a pause on the usage of Zoom
conferencing to connect with our students.  I know that for some reason
some of you did not receive the Superintendent's email about this, so I am
copying it below.

I want you all to know that while we expected to deal with negative student
behaviors, and in fact were already doing so beginning on Monday, the
incident that prompted this decision was a naked adult male using racial
slurs who appeared in a BHS Zoom meeting that was password protected and
waiting room enabled.  It is deeply concerning to me that even when our
staff member did everything the district had asked in terms of online
safety, Zoom was still not a safe environment for our kids.

We will take this time to evaluate how to safely proceed, as well as to
work out some of the issues that we were already working on having to do
with office hours and scheduling.  I also want you to know how many staff
members have expressed genuine heartbreak that they cannot connect with
their students as much this week as they had hoped.  We all want this to be
better, and safer, and I will keep you informed every step of the way.

Thank you,

Erin

April 7, 2020

Dear Berkeley Unified Community,

<esta información estará disponible en nuestro sitio web en español en la
mañana>

Today Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe announced
<http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/I3TnPiJoTOUfMwvVx7w-wA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRgbnvTP0R7aHR0cHM6Ly9tYWlsY2hpLm1wL2Fjb2Uvc2l4LWJheS1hcmVhLWNvdW50aWVzLWFsaWduLW9uLWV4dGVuc2lvbi1vZi1zY2hvb2wtY2FtcHVzLWNsb3N1cmVzLWZvci1yZW1haW5kZXItb2YtdGhlLXNjaG9vbC15ZWFyVwdzY2hvb2xtQgoAAFNIjV4WcwI7UhFobWluYXNzQHlhaG9vLmNvbVgEAAAAAQ~~>
a regional agreement that school facilities should remain closed for the
remainder of the school year. The joint statement was made by County
Superintendents from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara,
and San Francisco, after consultation with County Health Officers from the
six counties as well as City of Berkeley Health Officer Dr. Lisa B.
Hernandez.

"Closing schools limits the spread of the virus among families, but to make
that decision meaningful, families and children need to continue to stay
home, except for essential activities," said Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez, the
City of Berkeley Health Officer. "I urge parents to avoid playdates and
social gatherings. Our community depends on you."

This is a disappointing but not unexpected announcement, and it does help
us clarify that our plans are likely to be for a longer term. Given today’s
announcement, at the April 15 School Board meeting I will recommend that
the Board take formal action to keep our campuses closed and that we plan
for distance learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.  I
will also ask that the Board commit to revisiting this decision if Public
Health guidance changes.

Town Hall

On Thursday, April 9 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, we will hold an online Town Hall
to provide further updates on school district operations, including
distance learning and support for families, and we will have district
leadership available to answer questions. Please join us at:
https://zoom.us/j/440709412
<http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/YYHnbkzLbbskKBVxFxXj5w~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRgbnvTP0QbaHR0cHM6Ly96b29tLnVzL2ovNDQwNzA5NDEyVwdzY2hvb2xtQgoAAFNIjV4WcwI7UhFobWluYXNzQHlhaG9vLmNvbVgEAAAAAQ~~>
.

Temporary Suspension of Zoom and Google Meet for Student Instruction

You may have heard that school districts across the country are dealing
with issues of “Zoom bombing” in which people join public meetings and say
or do inappropriate things. We put many controls in place that we had
thought would protect our online sessions, but I am dismayed to report
several incidents of inappropriate behavior during our teachers’ office
hours yesterday and today. In two incidents, students behaved
inappropriately, forcing teachers to end instructional sessions. The third
incident involved illegal activity from an adult who appeared on screen
during a Zoom instructional session at Berkeley High School. Berkeley
Police are investigating this incident.  I am asking our teachers to stop
using Zoom and Google Meet for online meetings while we look into whether
we can truly assure student safety in this context. Teachers will continue
providing instruction this week using tools such as Google Classroom and
recorded lectures which do not have a live interaction component. We will
keep you posted as we work toward a solution.

Sincerely,

Brent Stephens, Superintendent

_____________________________

Nicole Chee, Jenny Fosket, and Chaghig Walker are the parent-volunteer
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BHS website: http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/

BUSD 2019-2020 Calendar: http://bit.ly/BUSDCalendar1920
<https://www.berkeleyschools.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BerkeleyUSDCalendar-K12-2019-20-v6.pdf>

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

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