[BHS Etree] PTSA: January - June 2022 Bulletin

Sat Jun 11 18:04:37 PDT 2022

Please do not reply to this message. If you have any questions, please
contact ptsaberkeleyhigh at gmail.com.

*PTSA January - June 2022 Bulletin*

*Graduating Seniors*

The PTSA extends congratulations to all BHS 2022 seniors. Within our ranks
we’re saying farewell to two of our student execs. VP Marco Levine will be
going to UC Santa Cruz next year. Secretary Hanim Nuru will be going to the
University of Chicago.

*A-G College Readiness Data Analysis*

Looking through the lens of graduating high school students who meet the
A-G requirements of California’s 4-year public universities and breaking
the data down into different ethnicities has yielded surprising results.
Former BHS math teacher Peter Bloomsburg, currently getting a PHD in Data
Science from the University of Michigan, shared his research with the PTSA.

*About 25 years ago, I analyzed standardized test scores for White, Asian,
African American and Hispanic students from several school districts in the
county, including Berkeley and Oakland. I found that Berkeley had some of
the best scores for every ethnic group. That was not true this time,
twenty-five years later.*

Peter’s unprecedented use of A-G data to assess BHS’s ability to prepare
its students has yielded eye-opening findings which are in his paper *"College
Readiness of California High School Graduates"* now on the PTSA website.
https://www.bhs.berkeleypta.org/infonew

*Notes on 2022 Meetings*

January - Emotional Health Follow-up

Mental health resources on the PTSA website’s new Wellness tab were
discussed. They include those provided by the City of Berkeley. BHS alumni
Eli Marx-Kahn presented on the neuroscience that supports the benefit of
mindfulness underlying his Holistic Learning website, which he made
available to BHS students this year.

February - Black History Month Celebration

The tone of the meeting was one of celebration and engagement with guests
Spenser Pritchard, Dawn Williams, and Laura Babitt, a presentation from the
Black Student Union. The meeting culminated in a fun-filled Kahoot that
brought light to the traditions and culture of Kwansa and African American
history. Check out the student winners of the PTSA’s Black History Month
Art Contest https://www.bhs.berkeleypta.org/2022-winners

March: The PTSA Reorganizes into Working Group Model

BHS needs clear avenues for parents, students, and teachers to collaborate
and participate in the school’s well being. For this reason the PTSA has
restructured its parent and student leadership into a working group model.
This meeting introduced participants to the three working groups being
launched by PTSA leaders:

   - Community, Culture, and Hospitality - Sandra Loving & Bridgett
   Bernhardt
   - Emotional Health - Monique Buffler
   - 504 and Admin Policy Reform - Mimi Pulich & Tatiana Guerriero Ramos

April - the scheduled meeting was canceled/postponed

May - Block/Bell Schedule Redesign

Vice Principal Harrison Blatt delivered a presentation to parents at our
May meeting on what is now referred to as the Bell Schedule Redesign. The
intent of this proposal is to create more on-campus time during the school
day to better serve BHS students. At the PTSA’s November meeting on
emotional health, several teachers and counselors shared their perspectives
on how having a Block Schedule would afford Berkeley High students more
opportunities to get teacher and emotional health support while on campus
during the school day. At the PTSA’s May meeting, parents expressed
concerns about how the proposed change might disrupt academic rigor at BHS
and they questioned the value of the BHS Redesign Survey findings because
there were so few responses to it. Like the U9, the bell schedule redesign
is a teacher initiated proposal. If it goes forward, it will be implemented
in the 2023-24 school year.

More information, including the presentation given at the PTSA meeting can
be found on the BHS website:
https://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/bell-schedule-redesign/

*Working Group Updates*

The focus of the working groups launched this year has been to identify
goals for next year.  All groups will be updating the PTSA website this
summer to communicate their plans and provide information for incoming and
existing BHS families.

Emotional Health

The 2021-22 school year has highlighted the need for more services for BHS
students. Already group leader Monique Buffler has gotten the ball rolling
on a parent lecture series and reviving the MEET program in her pursuits as
she gathers knowledge of resources, networks with BHS staff and students.
If you have or know of any resources that will support our students,
families, and staff, this is the group you want to connect with.

Community, Culture, and Hospitality

Be it coffee one morning for the Safety Officers or getting the food trucks
back to Back to School night, any opportunity to build community, celebrate
our cultural diversity, and further acts of appreciation is within this
working group’s domain. It has attracted a lot of parent interest that has
yet to be tapped into, but “2022-23 is the year we will make things
happen,” says Sandra Loving, group leader.

504 and Administrative Policy Reform

The 504 working group’s identified goals for the upcoming school year are
to: illuminate the 504 process and identify the holes, provide missing
resources for families, students, and staff, and  identify and reform BHS
administrative policies that don’t put students’ needs first.

*Join Our Efforts*

If you’re interested in joining one of the PTSA’s working groups or you
have ideas about creating another please contact us.
ptsaberkeleyhigh at gmail.com

The PTSA’s student president, Anaya Loving, will be a senior next year and
at present is our only student exec. Students with a vision to make
Berkeley High better either through leadership or as part of a working
group should contact Anaya at bhsptsa.students at gmail.com

*About the PTSA*

Meetings take place via Zoom; meeting information is on the PTSA website.
https://www.bhs.berkeleypta.org/meeting-resources

Watch this short video to learn more about the PTSA

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HYqHncSaqqbthEGu0fFu46DDF2mEHtaK/view?usp=sharing

The PTSA does not actively fundraise, instead we ask for member donations.
You can join and support the PTSA on our website
https://www.bhs.berkeleypta.org/join

*_____________________________*

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