Click here for more information on the new Universal 9th Grade at BHS.
Click here for the bilingual letter sent to all 8th grade BUSD families in November, 2017 about 2018-19 high school enrollment.
Click here for the Math Placement FAQ Doc.

Page Contents

• Information Night
• Stay Informed!
• General Information on Enrolling at Berkeley High School
• Step 1: Enrollment with the Admissions Office
• Step 2: BHS Registration and Course/Lottery Selection
• Back to School Registration Information – Fall 2019
• High School Campus Tours
• Placement Tests
• Additional Information

Information Night

Fall Information Night
Berkeley High’s Fall Information Night for Incoming 9th grade families is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20, 2019, in the Berkeley Community Theater located on the BHS campus. The event will start in the lobby with a variety of information tables at 6:00, the formal presentation will begin promptly at 7:00. While we welcome everyone, the evening will be of particular interest to those who are new to the Berkeley Unified School District. Students are welcome as long as they are accompanied by an adult.

There is no longer a learning community lottery process for incoming 9th grade students. All 9th grade students at Berkeley High School now participate in the “Universal 9th Grade” program. More information on the 9th grade program is available here.

Berkeley High School Profile 2017-18: Each year a school profile for Berkeley High School is sent to colleges where our students seek admission in order to provide academic, extracurricular and student achievement data. You may find this information useful as you seek to learn more about Berkeley High School.

Stay Informed!

Stay informed on the BHS E-tree. The E-tree is an essential source of information about orientation, registration, school events, sports, Student Daily Bulletin, College Advisors’ Bulletin, messages from the Principal, volunteer opportunities, and more. Please watch for postings with the subject line: Incoming Families. To subscribe to the BHS E-tree, send an email to bhs-request@lmi.net with the word subscribe in the subject line.

General Information on Enrolling at Berkeley High School

NEW to BUSD Students:
Students must first enroll in the district through BUSD through the BUSD Admissions Office at 2020 Bonar before being able to meet with a counselor and submit course requests. For enrollment in the 2019-2020 school year, please refer to Step 1 below.

Continuing BUSD Students:
Current BUSD 8^th grade students must re-enroll through the BUSD Admissions Office at 2020 Bonar to be able to submit course requests. This process is only for Berkeley residents. Information regarding inter-district transfers can be obtained from the Admissions Office at 510-644-6504.

Students Entering Grades 10-12:
The BHS Course Catalog gives you an overview of the range of possibilities for students in the five learning communities that make up Berkeley High School.

Step 1: Enrollment with the Admissions Office

Enrollment is required for ALL incoming students, including current BUSD 8th Grade students and new-to-BUSD students.

Enrollment dates for Fall 2020:

Parent preference forms and registration packets will be mailed home to current BUSD students on November 1st. Parent preference forms are also available online here.

December 2 – December 20, 2019: High School Enrollment from 8am-4pm at the Berkeley Unified District Building at 2020 Bonar Street.

(Note: The Admissions Office will be open on Saturday, December 14th 9am-3pm.)

High School Enrollment will not open up again until March 23rd.

Enrollment location:
The requested documents must be submitted in person by parents or legal guardians to the BUSD Admissions Office at 2020 Bonar St., Suite 108.

Registration packet:
We advise you to complete your packet before you come to BUSD offices.

• Continuing BUSD families: Registration packets will be mailed out to families of current BUSD families on November 1st, 2018.
• New-to-BUSD families: Registration packets can be picked up at the BHS front desk starting December 1st, 2018, if you would like to fill this out prior to going to the district office.

You may also pick up a copy at the BUSD Admissions Office when you come to enroll your student. Please plan to spend 30 to 45 minutes completing the registration packet if you do not fill out the packet ahead of time. You will need to include name/phone numbers/addresses for doctors, dentist, and emergency contact information.

Enrollment documentation:
Please bring the completed registration packet and documents listed below when you come to the district office, so we can make copies at the time of enrollment.

All documents must be current originals (issued within the last 2 months) imprinted with the name and current Berkeley residential address of the parent/legal guardian. A student can use only one residency address for purposes of establishing Berkeley residency.

Proofs of Berkeley Residency
Proof of Berkeley residency is required for ALL incoming 9th Grade Students, including current BUSD 8th Grade students and new-to-BUSD students.

Only personal accounts will be accepted (No care of, DBA or Business accounts). Must submit one from each of the three groups (A, B and C) listed below.

Homeless families should contact our McKinney-Vento Counselor, 644-6529.

Enrollment deadlines:
The first deadline for new to BUSD students and for continuing BUSD students to have their enrollment and re-matriculation completed is December 21, 2018 (see above noted December enrollment dates). If you miss the December deadline, you must enroll and/or re-enroll when enrollment reopens on March 26, 2019 by visiting the BUSD Admissions Office from 8am-4pm. Students who are admitted into the district in March will be in the second round of course selection and enrollment.

Admission is complete when you have provided the appropriate documents and submitted a completed registration packet.

Step 2: BHS Registration and Course/Lottery Selection

The 2019-20 course catalog can be found here.
Continuing King, Longfellow and Willard BUSD Students:
In February and March, a BHS administrator and Hive Lead will meet with all 8th grade students at their middle school to explain the Universal 9th Grade structure. There will be NO evening information nights for parents of BUSD middle schools. During that same week, BHS counselors will go to the middle schools to gather course requests from students via an online form. BHS will mail home the student selections for final review and families/guardians will have one week to request changes by hardcopy to BHS.

BUSD Student Course Selection (during the school day)

NEW-to-BUSD Students only:
Course Selection: New-to-BUSD students who have completed the admission process by the December 20, 2019 deadline can make course requests in the BHS Library on the following three evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Please try to attend during your allotted time. If you cannot make your assigned night, we will accommodate you in one of the three sessions. BHS will mail home the student selections for final review and families/guardians will have one week to request changes by hardcopy to BHS.

WHAT TO EXPECT: New-to-BUSD students will be meeting with BHS Guidance Counselors. Prior to the meeting, students can prepare by reviewing the BHS Course Catalog paying close attention to our elective options. Students will have the opportunity to ask Counselors questions prior to making elective request choices.

Students Entering Grades 10-12:
Berkeley High is divided into five learning communities. Two are large: AC and BIHS. Three are smaller: AHA, AMPS, and CAS. Assignment is by lottery but students may indicate a preference. Incoming 10-12th grade students will have an opportunity to list their preferences in the spring when they sign up for classes. All student requests will be mailed home to their parents/guardians for approval.

Your child may list as many as five or as few as two learning communities. Students MUST list AC and BIHS, the two large programs, in the order they prefer. If the student only wants AC or BIHS then s/he only lists those two.

If s/he wants one of the smaller learning communities (AMPS, AHA, or CAS) s/he lists the small schools desired, in the preferred order, and then finishes off with AC and BIHS, in the preferred order. The student may list one of the smaller communities followed by AC and BIHS; two of the smaller communities followed by AC and BIHS; or three of the smaller communities, followed by AC and BIHS.

We will mail you the results of the lottery in late May or early June.

If you miss the lottery and register late spring or in the summer, you will enter a second or third lottery. There is no final cut off date for enrollment at Berkeley High School. When you have established residency, please go to 2020 Bonar Street to start the process of registering and enrolling at the high school.

Registration Information for Fall 2019

Seniors – Monday, August 19
Juniors – Tuesday, August 20
Sophomores – Wednesday, August 21
Freshmen – Friday, August 23

Registration hours on Mon, Tues & Weds:
Last Name A – G 8:30 to 10:00 am
Last Name H – O 10:00 to 11:30 am
Last Name P – Z 1:00 to 2:30 pm
10th, 11th, 12th graders are to report to the Jacket Gym. Please note that doors will be closed from 11:30 – 1:00

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Freshmen Orientation and Registration – Friday, August 23, 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
All incoming 9th graders should report to the Donahue Gym by 8:00 am for the start of their orientation. Orientation/Registration will consist of an assembly, small group sessions facilitated by Link Leaders, a campus tour, and a Club Fair. Students will receive their course schedule, photo ID, planner and locker assignment. Link Leaders are trained upperclassmen students who will guide a group of 9th graders through orientation until the end of the school year.

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Make-Up Registration Session Thursday, August 22, 8:30- 11:00
Doors will open at 8:30 and close at 11:00

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New to BHS 10-12th grades — Mini-orientation on Thursday, August 22 from 10:00-11:00 am. We will meet at the main courtyard on the steps of the Berkeley Community Theater. The orientation will include a campus tour, question and answer period, and community building activities.

Please RSVP with Mr V: johnvillavicencio@berkeley.net for more info on how to sign up.

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First Day of School, Monday, August 26, 9:57 am
Please note: there is no “0” period on this first day only. Mondays are always “late start” 9:57, days at BHS. Tues- Friday 1st period starts at 8:27

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Students Who Miss Registration Week: On the first day of school (Monday, August 26), please check in at the counseling office in the Admin building, starting at 8:30, where students can get a printed copy of their schedule. Schedules should be available on Illuminate the weekend before school begins.

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For More Info — BHS E-Tree is an essential communication tool for administration, staff and community. Don’t miss out on important BHS information. To subscribe, send an e-mail to bhs-request@lmi.net with one word only in the subject line: subscribe

BUSD 2019-2020 School Year Calendar

Please consider checking Berkeley High’s website bhs.berkeleyschools.net or calling the school directly at 510.644.6121.

Information about ASB Leadership is available at https://berkeleyschools.net/leadership

High School Campus Tours

The “touring season” for prospective students runs from October to March. The small group tours leave the Front Desk at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10:45 on Mondays. The tours are by reservation only and last a little over an hour. The tours walk by classrooms – many of which have open doors – but they do not go into rooms for observation. The tours are not “orientation tours.” There are student-led tours for our incoming students in August during registration/orientation. Prospective students are welcome on the school day tours but ONLY if accompanied by their parent or guardian.

Tours are by reservation only. To sign up, please email bhsoutreach@berkeley.net. Please indicate several days that work for you and the number of people in your party.

The last tour of this season will be offered on Thursday, February 13, 2020.

Many people have asked if they could visit Berkeley High on their own or if their student could “shadow” a current student. This is not possible. The school is focused on the education and security of our currently enrolled students. We are simply too large a school to accommodate unsupervised visitors.

World Language and Math Placement Tests

World Language Placement
World Language Placement: BHS offers five world languages: Spanish, French, Kiswahili, Mandarin, and Latin.

The World Language May Placement test HAS BEEN CANCELLED. NEW DATE IN AUGUST TO BE DETERMINED WHEN POSSIBLE. Please email coryhenrickson@berkeley.net or denisefullerton@berkeley.net with questions.

• Students with little or no previous language experience are placed in level 1.
• Students who have completed two years of the same language in middle school will be placed in Level 2.
• If they would like to place into Level 3, you will need to take the placement exam.

Math Placement – Read 2019 FAQ Doc Here!
The majority of BHS students will be placed in Math 1, a course covering algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. Some students may test into an accelerated version of Math 1. The test will be comprised of topics and skills covered in 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade common core math. This means that previous coursework must include familiarity with both Algebra and Geometry topics.

• If you are currently enrolled in BUSD (King, Willard, or Longfellow) you will take the placement test at your school in April.
• If you are new to BUSD and are interested in taking the test for Advanced Math 1, you will come to BHS (date to be determined) in April.

The test will be approximately 1 hour. Additional time for students who receive accommodations will be provided. If you have an IEP/504 plan and need test accommodations please email your recent plan to Sumeyye Cardakli, Math Coordinator, sumeyyecardakli@berkeley.net. You may also email her for questions regarding math placement.

Multilingual Placement
A Multilingual EL student, recently arrived in this country, is “less than reasonably fluent” or has a score of 1-3 on the ELPAC, is placed in the Multilingual Program. A student with an initial score of 4 is given the option to participate in the Multilingual Program or not. An EL student who has been here for more than 5 years can be in any of the learning communities, regardless of ELPAC level. Parents may also request a placement in or out of the Multilingual Program. Multilingual students gain one level every year on the ELPAC and some skip levels. A Multilingual who comes into BHS at ELPAC level 1/2 can stay longer at BHS and have a “fifth year” of high school to become more proficient in English.

Additional Information

Freshmen Orientation:
Freshmen orientation will take place in August 2019. During orientation students will meet administrators, pick up their class schedule, textbooks, picture ID, and locker assignment. In addition, there will be campus tours and an activity fair.

Free & Reduced Lunch Information:
Apply here: www.ezmealapp.com
For more information about the Free & Reduced Lunch program, click here.
For more information about Nutrition Services, click here.

Athletics Registration:
Visit the BHS Athletics page to register for a fall sport.

BHS Band and Orchestra:
Visit the BHS BAO page for information.