Berkeley High Student/medical leave
My son may need knee surgery and may need to be out of school for 6 weeks. He is a sophmore at BHS. I want him to successfully finish the academic year but getting around BHS with an injured or post operative knee just isn't going to work for him. Any recommendations for how to get him through spring semester classes? I'm considering finding an online high school, or ideally staying in his BHS class but maybe working with a tutor. Fusion or Tilden (they are so expensive but seem like they could work). Any ideas welcome for keeping him academically caught up. Thx!
Jan 14, 2024
Parent Replies
I currently have a kid on crutches at BHS due to a knee injury and my older child was on crutches at BHS for about two months because of hip surgery. It is not ideal, that is for sure. They get elevator keys and do the best they can. At any given time, there are multiple kids on crutches. Teachers are very accommodating. The fire alarm last week was awful since my kid had to go down the stairs on crutches and that is so dangerous. But that said, definitely reach out to your kid’s vice principal and counselor. Independent Studies may be an option. I don’t know your exact situation, but a lot of kids get around with crutches at BHS just fine. It sucks for sure but they get through it.
Send a letter to request a 504 plan, and also call his counselor. The reason I say send a letter, is there are specific deadlines the school must follow after receiving a written request. Then you can use the tutoring from Tilden or another center so that he will be prepared for his finals.
BUSD has a program called Home Hospital (HHS). It is run out of the Independent School. You just get a doctor’s note. They provide up to 5 hours of in person/remote learning with an assigned teacher. The teacher will assign HW at the level the student can manage. The teacher has full control to assess when/whether the student has become proficient. For my child it was amazing. They were able to complete a large amount of courses in a short amount of time.
If there is ANY way to postpone to summer the surgery that would be your best option. Beyond that, have you spoken to a counselor at BHS? They must have encountered this before. Tilden would work but as you mention is crazy expensive (and also their in-person classes are on the 2nd floor of their Albany campus.) I'm sure you know his sophomore grades will count towards his UC GPA (if he is interested in applying to the UC's), so I'd be hesitant to switch mid-year if at all possible. He could do UC Scout, but it's tough for some kids to do self-paced classes with little help. I'd rely on the guidance of either the BHS counselors or pull in an outside college counselor for some advice. Good luck!