[BHS Etree] PTSA: Interview with BIS/BTA Principal Heidi Weber

Tue Jun 30 11:02:29 PDT 2020

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*Heidi Weber is the first principal of Berkeley Independent Study (BIS) and
Berkeley Technology Academy (BTA) since they were restructured in 2018 to
be under one administrator. BIS continues to be a learning community within
BHS and serves around 175 students. BTA remains an alternative high school
distinct from BHS and serves around 75 students. Both schools share a
campus on Derby at MLK.  *

*Your entire career in education has been in BUSD, right?*

Almost. I got my teaching credential at Cal, I student taught at BHS and
King, and then for the next 20 years I taught English and English Language
Development at BHS in AHA, AC, and the multilingual EL program - I was its
teacher leader. After getting my administrative credential through Cal’s
Principal Leadership Institute, I was a vice principal at a high school in
Pittsburg for a year before I was lured back to BHS to become its first
Dean of Attendance. I was in that position for 2 years, was the BIS
coordinator for a year, and I’ve been the BIS/BTA principal for 2 years
now, a total of 6 years out of the classroom.

*How did the shut down and distance learning impact BIS and BTA students?*

I think engagement was really difficult. Students didn’t feel great about
shelter-in-place which amplified their feelings of isolation, and they
struggled with learning. Having regular contact with teachers is important.
A lot of things that can impact mental health happened and were exacerbated
by shelter-in-place. Some students’ families struggled because members were
losing jobs and livelihood was at state. BTA students took on jobs as first
responders in places like grocery stores, which made their learning harder.
These things impact student mental health and they aren’t new to us, but it
was different because students didn’t have access to support and resources.
Our therapists rallied and offered tele-therapy in lieu of in-person
sessions; it was pretty amazing that this work continued.

*How did BIS and BTA teachers mobilize to address shelter-in-place and
distance learning?*

I’m very proud of how our teachers responded. They were quick to turn on a
dime and use Google Classroom if they weren’t already doing so. We made an
agreement that not just academic but social-emotional check-ins were
equally important, and all teachers made a point of doing them. We had the
Berkeley Mental Health therapist explain to us how to look for signs of
well being and how to promote the Warm Line for students in need of
support; with the BHS health center closed, the Warm Line was established
so students could call a number and talk to a therapist (see below).

Additionally our teachers embraced using new technology platforms beyond
Google Classroom such as Zoom and Google Meet. To further engage students,
teachers had students use Flip Grid to record themselves in a less than 5
minute video to show their ideas. Using Google Classroom Forum for some
assignments facilitated student collaboration and building on each other
ideas, and students used Padlet which lets students see others responses to
a question their teacher asks of all.

*What do you foresee will happen on the BIS and BTA campus next year?*

Currently BUSD and BFT are in negotiations about what next year will look
like for all schools, including how many hours teachers will be able to do
direct instruction through distance learning. In addition, the City of
Berkeley Health Department is in close communication with BUSD about what
is possible; Berkeley is one of two cities in the State to have its own
health department.

We hope to have some sort of hybrid for BTA students so that all students
can come in on some basis. Classes can’t last more than an hour or you
start breathing each other’s air. BTA has more classrooms than BIS which
doesn’t have enough space for social distance spacing in its classrooms, so
BIS students will continue with distance learning. I anticipate that
students will receive regular grades versus pass/fail, and what was
optional during shelter-in-place will be required. All is being negotiated
and will be ultimately be decided upon by the school board.

*What about mental health?*

Our teachers will continue to have social emotional check-ins with
students. Student safety and mental health are important to us, and
distance learning is not going to help. We’re going to have in-person
mental health counselors for 1:1 counseling on the campus; I’ve met with
the Berkeley’s Mental Health Services and we’ve had a walk-thru and
identified spaces that will work. The Warm Line will continue as will
tele-therapy. Health protocols have not yet been identified, and questions
arise about how students and staff will be screened every day. But it will
be similar to what’s happening in elementary and middle. It will all have
to be uniform.

*What might the teachers do differently?*

We’re looking at project based learning as well collaborative
interdisciplinary projects that teachers will design and then assign
together. It’s a conversation that hasn’t happened before, and it’s
exciting because it means the quality of our instruction can improve. At
BIS, finding and trying out new technologies as a means to promote student
collaboration will continue. At BTA, we will continue to work on our CTE
pathways in Public Health and Computer Science. We’re hiring another
teacher to develop our health pathway and our current computer science
pathway will be grown. Schooling is going to look different but it isn’t
going to change our overall school goals and plans for moving forward.

*Thank you Heidi for your leadership and your commitment to addressing the
mental health needs of your students. *

*The Warm Line* is a phone-based mental health resource provided by the BHS
Health Center to support Berkeley’s high school students, families,
teachers and administrators by providing emotional support,
psychoeducation, consultation, referrals, and other general information
during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides Information about mental health
and coping skills as well as support for anxiety, depression, stress, and
other mental health needs, and it can connect callers with ongoing mental
health services and/or community resources

*The Mental Health Warm Line phone number is 510-981-5240.* It operates
Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM until 4:00 PM (during the summer break
as well as the school year). The Warm Line is operated by licensed mental
health clinicians and services are available in English and Spanish.

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