Berkeley: Important Update On Campus Closures And On Distance Learning

Press release from Berkeley Public Schools:

April 7, 2020

Dear Berkeley Unified Community,

Today Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe announced 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.

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, Ed.D.
Superintendent

This press release was produced by Berkeley Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.