Mid year transfer into BUSD?

My son and I live in El Cerrito, he attended public school here through Covid and definitely fell behind. We were offered almost a full scholarship to a private school with very small classes and jumped at the opportunity to get some extra support. Said school unexpectedly announced its closure two days before the holiday break. I had all my son’s required documents uploaded to the Contra Costa District Website within 24 hours and headed to Korematsu to confirm his placement. I found out the school is full and has a waiting list and was offered a document to take down to a jr high in Richmond. Instead I put in for a request to transfer to the Berkeley School district because I own a small business in Berkeley and my son has friends at every middle school in Berkeley. Someone from the Contra Costa transfer office called me on Friday to confirm they had all the necessary documents and they told me they thought it was unlikely that Berkeley would accept a mid year transfer and recommended I get my son enrolled in the virtual school Contra Costa is still offering. I woke up this morning and felt crushed at the thought of my socialite child sitting at home in front of a computer again… I watched him deflate over the course of the pandemic. I know it’s a completely different outside world and he would be able to spend lots of time with friends outside of school hours but it still makes me want to cry. No kid who lived through that should have to do that again… yet the idea of having to drive him across Richmond to a school where he knows no one also doesn’t feel like the thing to do. Has anyone managed to get Berkeley to accept their student mid year? Where is the line between persistent advocacy for my child and crazy mom? Calling? Emailing? Showing up at the school? Thank you for any advice!