Berkeley: Thought Exchange And Planning For The Future

Press release from Berkeley Public Schools:

May 15, 2020

Dear Berkeley Community,

Yesterday Governor Newsom provided a state budget which includes significant cuts to public school education funding due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The only good news is that the cuts are somewhat less than the worst case scenarios we’d been bracing for, but clearly we are facing yet another challenge as we try to plan for the coming school year. Nonetheless, I remain confident that we will confront this challenge by drawing upon the skills, thoughtfulness, creativity and caring of our educators and our community.

I’d like to ask you to continue to engage with us as we work to develop solutions. If you weren’t able to attend the May 13 virtual Town Hall, you can view it on the BUSD YouTube channel, as well as view the slide deck we used at the Town Hall which outlines the District’s planning process for school in the Fall of 2020.

We talked about the likelihood that in the fall of 2020, we will have to greatly reduce the number of students in classrooms and on school busses to reduce risk of spread of coronavirus, and that also means that we will need to plan for continuing a distance learning program through the fall of 2020 as well.

At the Town Hall we considered two questions, and I’d like to invite you to respond to these questions as well by using a platform called Thought Exchange.

1. Students’ time on campus may be very limited in 2020-2021. What thoughts do you have about the best ways to use our school facilities to support children and families? https://my.thoughtexchange.com/776850038
2. Distance Learning will have to be part of the plan for 2020-21. What are your thoughts about ways to sustain students, staff and families for a longer period of time? https://my.thoughtexchange.com/280125156

To answer these questions, and to see responses from other members of the community, please do not respond to this email – please go to the links provided above and provide your thoughts there, and then please spend some time giving your rating of 1 to 5 stars to each of about 20-30 thoughts that others have suggested. This helps us get a sense of what issues are of particular concern across our community. We are also holding additional outreach, including a meeting hosted by PCAD (Parents of Children of African Descent) on May 26, a Spanish language Town Hall on May 28 and a Student Town Hall (date tbd).

Thank you all for your thought partnership as we prepare for our future together. It is appropriate to quote Malcolm X, as we head into the three-day weekend that is marked in his honor: “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.” Working together, I know we will find solutions that will strengthen our community and support our children.

Sincerely,

Brent Stephens
Superintendent

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