Special Education & Learning Differences at Berkeley High

Parent Q&A

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  • Is there anyone out there who can speak to the experience of having a kid concurrently enrolled at Berkeley High School and Tilden Preparatory School in Albany?

    Some background: Our daughter is about to finish middle school at an independent school in Berkeley. She has ADHD, which shows up particularly as difficulty with executive function and attention (esp. in classes that do not interest her), and a degree of slow processing. Her social skills are good, she is both self-reflective and thoughtful about the needs of others, and is creative and fun to be with. During the pandemic, she found it impossible to learn much of anything on zoom, and so we arranged to have her take two of her most essential classes--English and Math--at Tilden Prep, while maintaining her enrollment at her current school. It was a game-changer, and to this day, she is still being tutored twice a week by a most beloved teacher at Tilden (who has also become a very important all-around mentor in her life).

    Looking at our high school options, one idea (and the one that she is leaning towards) is to have her enroll at BHS, but take 2-3 of her core classes at Tilden. We've been told that this is something that people do, and so we would love to know more about that experience. Does attending two schools mean the best of both worlds? Or does it mean never fully belonging in either school? How do you get your child from one school to the other during the school day (when both parents work)? Does it make more sense to have her enroll full time at Tilden for 9th grade, and then transfer her to BHS beginning in 10th grade, when she can take advantage of the "small schools" there?

    Other options we are considering: Latitude HS (a new charter in Oakland, emphasizing the connection between classroom and real-world learning--very appealing for a kid who likes to experience what it feels like to do things with what they have learned, and to learn by doing) and Bayhill HS, a small and highly respected high school designed for kids with learning differences.

    Would be grateful to hear from parents (or students) who would be willing to share their thoughts and experiences.

    I cannot speak to Tilden Prep or BHS, but I know quite a bit about Latitude HS (from personal experience and insider knowledge) and can give you some insight on that. Feel free to contact me directly.

    ~Mailisha 

    Regarding your question about getting your child from/to Tilden Prep and BHS when both parents work: Your child is more than old enough to do this on their own. AC Transit’s 18 bus stops one or two blocks from each campus (Albany campus for Tilden). BART stops close to BHS, and about a mile from Tilden, with a pleasant walk along the greenway between them. I believe Tilden’s WC campus is also BARTable. This is an opportunity for your teen to learn how to get herself around via public transit. The Albany campus can also be reached via a 15 minute bike ride from BHS. 
    Our kid is now 25, but started taking themself from our S.F. home to school on MUNI in fourth or fifth grade, and by late middle school rode BART to their grandparents’ home in Berkeley every Friday afternoon. 
     

    One of the many benefits of raising children in an urban environment is that you don’t need to chauffeur them everywhere. Your daughter will appreciate that you trust her to get herself to school, and will learn how to navigate their community independently. Win-win!

    We tried for months to have concurrent enrollment in Tilden Prep approved by BHS and were unsuccessful, despite BHS not being able to provide the educational supports our daughter needs (and has an IEP documenting those needs). My understanding from a special ed advocate is that other school districts are much more flexible about concurrent enrollment.  After a lot of frustration and circular meetings, we've pulled her from BHS and she's finishing this semester at TIlden while we figure out what to do.  The folks at Tilden have been fantastic and supportive in every way (similar to your experience).  Happy to share more about our experience if that would be helpful.

    Reading your post, the one thing I would be concerned about is her college plans. While private colleges might give more leeway in terms of where and how coursework was met, I wonder how the UC"s, for example, would look at a student who had dual enrollment at a public and private and wonder why not one or the other, since the classes you are looking at are not specialized (like a language or specialized science course not offered at a public) and are offered by either school. I know this is not what you are specifically looking to answer, but I would just caution you to investigate this topic as well before you consider this kind of dual enrollment.

    Strongly recommend Bayhill over trying to piece together two different school situations, not to mention the time spent commuting between the two.

    Bayhill has executive functioning support built into its pedagogy and curriculum in ways we never were able to achieve when our kid was in public school.  It also has very small class sizes, which results in more personal attention.  Plus no one stands out as the kid with an IEP or the kid with support, or even the kid with ADHD.  Instead, they learn to identify and talk about their learning differences and their strengths, and advocate for themselves to access the supports they need.

  • How is Berkeley High for students with executive function challenges? My child qualified for an IEP due to his executive function challenges.  Do the teachers guide or support students with time management challenges, loosing assignments, forgetfulness, etc.? Or are the students on their own to figure things out even with an IEP?  Is Berkeley High a sink or swim environment?  If you are not self-directed, you will be in trouble?

    This question made me laugh- my daughter with Dyslexia did fine at BHS. She knew how to advocate & we fought for a 504 & she told teachers what she needed. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD since 5th grade & easily got his 504.  He told his Spanish teacher he needed a quiet room for his first upcoming test as a freshman. She told him to go to his counselor to make those arrangements. He went to the counseling office, his particular counselor wasn’t in & was told to see a vice principal. On the way there he saw a parent he knew working the front desk- chatted with her, went to his next class & didn’t realize until the next day that he never arranged a quiet room. This was a typical example to answer your question. He never used his 504 & transferred to a private school for junior/senior year. He didn’t use the 504 there either but he was less distracted in general.

    BHS is definitely a sink or swim environment. This type of place does teach important self-advocacy skills, but if a student has executive function difficulties it will still be up to them to navigate BHS. In our experience most teachers don't have time to guide individual students. When we saw how much self-advocacy was required of our neurotypical kid at BHS, we opted to send our second child with ADHD to a private school. 

  • We have a 14-year-old freshman at BHS and it is becoming markedly clear already that BHS is just going to be too much (or not enough, in some respects) for him. We've had another child go through BHS, so we know the deal. 

    Our child has dealt with severe anxiety/depression throughout the pandemic, which has gotten much better but he still struggles a lot with anxiety at school. Remote learning was a sum-zero situation for him. Just didn't work; he doesn't learn via Zoom. He struggles with ADHD—executive function and auditory processing are especially challenging for him and he is already failing most of his classes at BHS. He does not have any behavior problems at school.

    Until distance learning started in middle of 7th grade, he was an A and B student. In elementary school he was always really good at math and a passionate reader. Writing has always been a bit challenging for him. He's a very social kid when he feels comfortable; he really wants to be around his peers as much as possible.

    We are looking at both Bayhill and Orinda Academy in search of a smaller, calmer, more supportive learning environment where he can get a bit more individualized attention and some help with executive function. We'd love to hear from parents who considered both of these schools, or are at one or the other and can speak to how it is serving their child's needs.

    Though I have little experience with Bayhill or Orinda Academy, I highly recommend Holden High. It is small, extremely supportive and many kids are like yours. My child is really beginning to thrive, is highly engaged in her classes and has found kind, supportive friends and teachers

    Our son is quite similar to your son from the description you wrote. We considered Bayhill and Orinda Academy last year for his first year of High School to start this year. I will start by saying that regardless of what my husband and I thought about either school, our son did not have buy-in, so neither school ended up anywhere past the online introductions or Zoom welcome for parents considering the school. He ended up at Oakland Tech (he had imagined going there since he was young) and we are working with his teachers for his IEP accommodations. It's far from perfect, but we are muddling through.

    Both schools seemed to be quite on-point about bringing students through their programs with lots of teacher-led support and allowing students to work at their own pace. Both schools differ in class size and programs that occur outside the classroom. Both had administrative staff that were engaged and friendly. We liked the arts programs and teachers we saw online for both. Orinda appeared to have a robust social interaction model. We dealt with Bayhill more and saw the campus in-person in Jan of 2020, and felt that they would be a good fit for our son. We did not have a chance to visit Orinda Academy in person but I sense they had more outdoor spaces.

    I really think it will come down to his interest, which school environment he thinks might feel more comfortable to him, how much stress or anxiety he will experience if he has a long commute, if he feels curious or drawn to either, etc. 

    Hope that helps. Good luck with the search.

    My son has started his third year at Orinda Academy. He is thriving there. The teachers and administrators are skillful and supportive, the environment is calm, and small classes mean individualized attention. The curriculum is the same standard curriculum as BHS and they have honors classes for kids who need more of a challenge.  There is none of the hallway chaos that caused so much hyped up behavior and anxiety at larger schools. I highly recommend OA. It saved our kid. 

    My daughter attended Orinda Academy and loved it! She struggled with anxiety, like your son, but immediately felt comfortable at OA and looked forward to going to school each morning. The classes at OA are small and they teachers do a good job of tailoring their classes to the abilities of each kid. My daughter was well-prepared for college (and just graduated.) The only downside of the school that I saw was the size - there aren’t many clubs or sports to choose from - and the boys outnumbered the girls significantly.

  • Berkeley High IEP/504 Parent Group?

    Aug 24, 2021
    0 replies

    Hi there,

    Is there a current group of parents that support kids with disabilities at BHS? I tried several times to email a group called BOLD I found in the archives, but no response. I have a 9th grader with an IEP and would like to form a support group if there isn't one. I attended a 504 mtg before I knew if my kid would qualify for an IEP but can't find that info.

    Anybody out there?

    Tks!

    No responses received.

  • Does anyone have experience with Collaborative Learning Center: Academic Support and Transition at Berkeley High? Our 8th grader has an IEP for dyslexia/adhd and we just discovered that he's been put in this for one of his 9th grade electives. He's getting 3s/4s in school, but has time management issues. I am not sure this class will solve that issue and we would probably prefer him to be able to take electives (which he was excited about) rather than an academic skills course that he may not need. We do plan on supplementing 9th grade with a private executive functioning tutor. I still haven't received any real information about what the class includes, but in the BHS catalog, it's just listed as a weekly class, rather than daily, so I'm confused about ... well, everything. I'd love to hear about any experiences with this and of any families who were able to select NOT to participate. Thanks!

    Before you opt out find out more info. It may be an opportunity for him to just get work done, & lighten the load for 9th grade to just 5 classes. Having had 2 kids at BHS with LD (no IEP but 504s) its quite a stimulating environment. My ADHD boy transferred to private school this (his junior yr). Too overwhelming for him to do his best academically.

    Sympathy. We are in a similar position and are still struggling with these issues. It is so unfair that in order to access needed services & accommodations your child has to sacrifice an elective. Our son refuses to take the CLC class when school goes back in person so we are going to try to renegotiate our IEP. Your son's case manager at BHS can and should explain to you in detail exactly what the CLC entails (and it should be detailed in the IEP itself). It's also worth getting in touch with DREF (Disability Rights and Education Fund) - they responded to us quickly with expert advice but ultimately our situation is complex enough that we're hiring an independent education advocate & maybe a lawyer. https://dredf.org/

  • Our 13 y.o. daughter recently received a UC Berkeley's neuropsych evaluation indicating that she is gifted but also has specific learning disorders in reading, writing, and arithmetic, along with long-diagnosed ADHD. She has been receiving informal accommodations at her private middle school, which has been OK, and has gotten writing tutoring since 2nd grade. We can no longer afford private school, so she is entering Berkeley High this fall. We have been turned down for an IEP at BHS, and we have been told that the types of services the neuropsych folks want for her are not really available there. We understand that a 504 (assuming we can get one) would not generally be in place for several weeks after school starts. We worry that letting our shy, diminutive, grudge-holding daughter flounder unsupported in a huge school could seriously backfire.

    We are hoping folks in the BPN network can give us perspectives and advice on how to proceed, particularly around getting at least some accommodations in place from the first day of school, and providing our kid the support she needs beyond what a 504 will deliver. Thanks!

    Dear Kate,

    My experience fighting for accommodations for my brilliant daughter was indeed challenging, frustrating and difficult. It wasn’t until she was hospitalized for major depressive disorder at the end of her sophomore year that the school district psychologist finally completed their own neuropsych! Then she was finally given an IEP for her junior & senior years at El Cerrito HS. BPN just posted that Albany HS is taking transfers and you may encounter a friendlier experience there than BHS. Otherwise you’re going to have to firmly persist that BUSD complete a neuropsych on your daughter for accommodations. BHS is overwhelmed with special ed students and understaffed with case managers. I taught at BHS for a few years and was daunted by how many special ed students I had. While they do have wonderful and caring counselors there, just not enough of them and the gate keepers do what they can to deny accommodations. Do your best to educate yourself about the legal details of IEP’s and 504’s so you’re prepared for battle. I recently learned of someone arming themselves with an attorney to get another school district’s attention for their special needs student. Good luck Kate!

    I can only give you my experience with Berkeley High when my stepson was there. He had a 504 plan that was utterly ignored, and even when there were accommodations in place, there was zero oversight, and teachers with grudges against other teachers or departments would basically do whatever they wanted and by the time any of us (four!) parents got involved and wended our way through the byzantine route from principal and security-dude to the actual teacher, it was months after the fact and the kid had already just given up on whatever it was that had happened in the first place. He nearly flunked out and was injured in an attack by another student directly related to his issues. 

    His mom managed to get him switched over to El Cerrito High, where he had a counselor dedicated to his issues, another counselor dedicated to another set of issues, and teachers who were responsive and helpful. He immediately began getting straight As and was happy and made friends and discovered a love for theater that we didn't even know about before that. 

    This soured me on Berkeley High. I get that lots of people enjoy their time there, but for a kid with issues, I would do something like their independent study program and come up with some other option. I'm just moving out of the district before my younger kids get to high-school age. Sorry! Don't mean to be Debbie Downer, but I cannot allow any more kids like mine to be hurt by Berkeley High. It's not what it used to be. 

    My son is a senior at Berkeley High and is also bright and has some learning differences. He struggled his first and second year (more in stress than grades). He had been evaluated by a neuropsychologist and and we requested and were given a 504. There was no problem getting the 504. We then found that some of his teachers did not respect the 504. We encouraged him to push back, which worked for almost all the teachers. The exceptions were teachers who called exams "quizzes" and refused to give him extra time, and the teachers that did group quizzes that sometimes refused the extra time. This was frustrating and affected his GPA (A's became B's). By his senior year he had figured out how to work within the system to get what he needs. He is an excellent student, but the year of transition cost his GPA a little. In the end he is going to be attending the college of his choice, he has developed great self-advocacy skills, and he learned a lot about what learning environment is best for him. If I had it to do over again I would have pushed harder early on to make sure the 504 was respected. The lack of extra time of quizzes made a difference for him and was aggravating. 

  • BIHS for IEP student

    Jul 4, 2016
    2 replies

    my grand daughter who has an iep and is shy with social fears was placed in ib her 4th non choice. She will know many students there but they have gone on to others etc. I understand that the teaching is geared to academically advanced students and worry she will not comprehend. There is some problem in that area also. She wanted aha mostly or cas where she won't know anyone but likes art and video and the idea of a small school. Would like some feedback about ibs and iep and students such as my GD. Thank you

    Your granddaughter might just flourish in the BHS IB program! She won't see anymore or less of her old friends there & she will be busy  with interesting school projects & make new friends.  I doubt they'll let you transfer now but if it's unbearable after the first school year, you can put in for transfer to AHA, which also has a good reputation.  From our experience at BHS, the IB program gets better every year. Good luck! I urge you to encourage your granddaughter to get to know her advisor. 

    I have a son with an IEP who is in IB. It really is not that hard. Even he admits he did very little homework in Fresh and Sophomore years. Stay on top of the IEP! If they want to drop it, say you want an IEE and mean it! Then they may say to just stay with the IEP - if it really is needed.

RE:

Hi--no current experience--just commending you on thinking this through NOW.  We had to make a similar decision for my son 12 years ago.  He insisted he did not need the structure at Orinda Academy, and was in a Small Learning Community at Berkeley High School.  Teachers there were excellent--BUT he got by with "least effort necessary" , had good grades and reasonable SAT's, chose University of Puget sound for college--and was NOT prepared for the academic requirements, nor the social complexity, despite a coach etc--ended up with severe depression and a medical withdrawal late first semester.  We're still on the journey... (BTW, he eventually was ready for classes at our local Community Colleges--there are some excellent options--I think those of us with neurdivergent kids need to be careful about balancing appropriate expectations/accountability with love, encouragement, realism, and flexibility....)

You didn't mention public or private. I just toured the Sterne School in Chinatown, which has a great reputation. Also looking at Bayhill. Orinda Academy is beloved but apparently they're having some financial difficulties so parents aren't putting all their eggs in one basket. Fusion and Tilden are great if your kid needs individual attention. 

We've found that while public schools are legally bound by IEPs when it comes to the EF struggles of students with ADHD the support just isn't there. At least not at Berkeley High. 

Hello! I had a kid at Bayhill, and he only lasted there for two weeks.  However, he was primarily there for his severe dyslexia. The school was too small to give him what he needed for his ADHD. He transferred to BHS, eventually graduated, and even took some classes at BCC (although I had to read his textbooks out loud to him).  

Our girl with severe ADHD (but no LD) ended up thriving at one of the SMALL SCHOOLS at Berkeley High. However, since Berkeley High has stopped offering the small school option to 9th graders -- a bad decision on their part, IMHO -- I would consider placing your child in a private school (whether Bayhill or another, like St. Mary's High School, which is not far away) for 9th grade, and then consider transferring to BHS in 10th grade, but REQUESTING A SMALL SCHOOL (not AC or IB, which are large).

What I liked about BHS was that our teen had the same cohort, and *many of the same teachers*, throughout her four years there. King had instituted a 504 Plan for her towards the end of 8th grade, and it was a lifesaver for us.  We had 504 meetings once a year, that included her private therapist as well!  Her counselor, Dwayne Byndloss, was always available to help.  (For example, we were able to switch math programs in 10th grade when her small school program was just not working out.) 

I was also in frequent contact with her teachers, to make sure that I knew what her assignments were, so that I could help her stay on task during homework time.  One of her teachers said to me, "I don't mind you contacting me, because your support ME!"  

As you might imagine, I was spending a lot of time supervising her homework every night, but she got pretty good grades throughout high school; she ended up in the top 12% statewide, which for her was an accomplishment.  She enjoyed taking chorus and Afro-Cuban dance classes as electives, and she ended up excelling in chemistry, which we never would have predicted. 

Good luck!  (And check out St. Mary's -- I know a number of teens who've gone there, and they just absolutely loved it.)

My kid has an IEP at Berkeley high for adhd and dyslexia. The program there will definitely not provide a lot of structure or reminders to stay on task. And the drama program is ok, but there is only drama classes. They don’t have annual drama productions. We get outside help and constantly think about moving to a different school. But so far we have stuck with it because of money and because we know that if he goes to college, he will need to figure things out on his own. 

Hello,

My son has ADHD, slower processing and exec function challenges. He also went to private middle school and is now a freshman in high school. Every student is different but I can share our experience. We toured Orinda Academy and Maybeck. Every single part of the process for Maybeck signaled that would be where he would go. They gave us very positive feedback every step of the way, his middle school teachers and staff advised it would be a great school for him, and his interview ended with "you seem like a great fit for Maybeck". I was honest and transparent about his ADHD and learning supports needed (pretty minimal). He didn't get in and although I asked very considerately for feedback a couple times, they never got back to me with any response, which to be honest was a big let down.  We wanted him to go there because we liked the academic and social climate. 

For us Orinda Academy felt too small and expensive. 

My son is going to Berkeley High. He is getting all A's and one B. He likes it enough. It's not perfect but it's free and a solid education. He has a good friend there with him which makes a big difference. We set up a 504 in the first month. The 504 coordinator was responsive, listened well and ultimately gave him all the accommodations we asked for. However, my son, isn't needing to implement most of the accommodations yet, so I can't speak to that. Most of his teacher's have been very responsive over email. My son says the classroom can be a distracting environment but he does get most of his work done during class. 

Also, Classroom Matters, offers workshops and private tutoring for academics and executive functioning skills. My son didn't want to use their services but for a kid that is open to it, I bet they would be super helpful for outside support. One to one tutoring in math on a regular basis might be super helpful for your daughter. 

Socially, I think a smaller school might have been nicer for my son, but maybe not. It's still early days. There are lots and lots of clubs and opportunities at BHS. There are also smaller learning communities they can be in grades 10-12. Plus in year 9, they are in hives of about 125 kids per hive. This means that hive will have 4 teachers for the core subjects with one lead teacher. They will likely have some of the same kids in each class. I've been very impressed with my son navigating a school as large as BHS. (Also, I have a daughter, who doesn't have learning differences, that graduated BHS last year, and it doing well her first year of college). 

Not sure if I answered your questions but our situations sounded similar so I thought I'd share our experience so far. Good luck, I know it can be a stressful process. 

BTW, we also applied to St. Mary's. I heard from students and teachers there that it is a calm supportive environment. A smaller school without being super small, more affordable. and I thought they seemed supportive of learning differences. But BHS is where my son landed and for now, I actually think it was the best place for him and our family. Feel free to contact me directly if you have more questions. 

Our child went to 9th and 10th grades at Berkeley High with a similar situation, with a 504 Plan. The teachers varied greatly, a few who were extremely responsive and helped with accommodations and support, some who would not respect them (one who said tutoring was not allowed outside of school!), and most somewhere in between. He floundered, couldn't keep up with homework, and then the pandemic hit, so we took him out. He's now at Berkeley Fusion, which is AWESOME for him.  He's doing great, but it's an extremely small school with all 1-on-1 classes, so it's really not a typical high school experience.  He's very sad about that, although he's made friends. 

Our other child has started at Maybeck, and it seems really great for kids with learning challenges of some types.  Also small (~30 per grade) but has typical classes that are very interactive and teachers are very focused on the whole child. 

Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to speak further about either school. 

Our daughter is 2E, having a high IQ combined with ADHD, slow processing speed, and specific learning deficits in some areas, especially math and spelling.  We knew she had ADHD by 2nd grade, but didn't understand the extent of her intelligence and deficits until several years later. She was in a private school through 8th grade and now attends Berkeley High, where she has a 504 plan.

Private schools are not required to deal with learning problems.  Most will do what they can, but since they are typically small and operate on a shoestring, their options are limited.  Our daughter's private school gave her the informal equivalent of a 504 and some additional help.  We were OK with what we received, but some other parents of kids with ADHD were deeply dissatisfied.

The teachers our kid had at Berkeley High in 9th grade were uniformly excellent, and she loved them.  In our short experience we have found BHS teachers on average to be as good as the best we encountered in private school. What gave our some difficulty was the sheer size and hubbub of BHS, because she's not very good at screening out noise and stimulation.

On the advice of the people who did her private, pre-BHS neuropsych assessment, we sought an IEP.  BHS denied this because, even though in some areas our kid is at least two years behind what her IQ should allow her to achieve, she's not behind her average peers.  Special ed at Berkeley High, moreover, deals with unilaterally and often profoundly disabled kids.  While there are enough 2E kids at Berkeley High that they should be able to give them targeted support, given budget constraints this isn't happening.  So far we are OK with her 504.

Regarding the choice between private and public schools: in general neither one is really set up well for 2E kids, and that's sad given the potentially unrealized potential of these kids.  A private school may be more likely to listen to your concerns but won't be compelled to deal with them.  There are a few private high schools out there for 2E kids but I suspect they're very expensive.  Some friends of ours have found that Bishop O'Dowd High School has been quite supportive of their kids with ADHD.  O'Dowd is a large parochial school and charges (I think) around 2/3 the cost of most local private high schools.  For any private school, make sure you know what they can really do for your child before you hand over the money.

Finally, if your kid attends public school, you can put some of that private-school tuition money into targeted tutoring for your child.  That's the choice we made.

I can only respond with personal experience about Berkeley High. My stepson had very specific special needs that were totally ignored and in fact exacerbated. He was nearly flunking out when we transferred him to El Cerrito High; once there, he got straight As, personal attention, and was no longer lost in the shuffle between in-fighting teachers and departments competing for students' time. I'm glad we got him out but the low grades were an issue at college-application time. As in, he didn't get into any UCs. That's all I can tell you. 

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions  

Accommodations at BHS for ADD & learning issues

March 2012

 

We are looking at transferring our daughter from St. Mary's High to BHS for Fall 2012 entering 10th grade and are wondering what kind of experiences people have had at BHS with the school providing accommodations for kids with special needs. Our daughter was diagnosed with ADD and has some other learning issues, and St. Mary's has been great about providing her with accommodations, extended time on tests, a quiet room to take tests in etc. I have heard that at BHS these kind of accommodations are not offered and would love to hear from parents who have had positive or negative experiences in relation to this issue. Thanks



My son had a 504 plan at BHS for extended time on tests and reduced work load. It boiled down to my son needing to speak up to his teachers to make these arrangements, or remind them of his 504 plan particulars, which he never did. My son was shy and unmotivated. The teachers do the best they can, but they have many students and many demands. I do think your child can get the accommodations needed, but he/she may need to participate in the process more than was needed at private school. Work closely with the counselor, and start early getting testing accommodations approved for the SAT or ACT. mom



My son was diagnosed early with ADD. He went through the Berkeley school system with some accommodation within the middle and elementary schools that helped. At high school it all fell apart with the raging hormones, the abundance of pot and the general chaos of 3300 students. The councilors made some interventions but the impression I get is that the resources are simply not there in public education due to lack of funding. In 10th grade he was getting F's. He switched to Berkeley High Independent Study (IS) which was a godsend. He graduated last year as a straight A student. IS is not for all students, just as the main school is not, but IS does provide quiet that can be helpful for the distract-able ADD kid. AM


 

504 Plan at Berkeley High - How to do it?

Sept 2010

 

My son is in 8th grade, and has been educated solely through private schools thus far. While I do not believe he is a good candidate for BHS because of his learning profile, I want to at least do my due dilegence and explore BHS opportunities. We had him assessed for an IEP through BUSD at the end of 6th grade, and he did not qualify. I would like to see if we could get him a 504 Plan to facilitate his potential education at BHS. Who do I contact at BUSD to set this in motion? I was given a name by the people who conducted our IEP but when I called that person last year I got nowhere. It is now time to get really serious about this, so if anyone can please steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Also, if you've read this far, if you happen to have insights into which small school at BUSD works best for kids with learning disabilities (slow processing, working memory, long-term memory recall, and executive function deficits) I would appreciate your thoughts. To succeed academically my son needs his teachers to know him and care about him. Is this possible at BHS? Thanks. Anon



It is very difficult to get and implement a 504 plan at BHS. You go through your child's counselor. It's hard to set up an appointment, then you have meetings and you give the counselor your documentation. We paid for a neuroeducational psychologist to evaluate our child and he gave us a document with results and recommendations. This is reviewed and the counselor emails the teachers. Basically all our son received was extra time on exams. The communication was poor between the counselor and teachers, so there were screw ups. Some teachers questioned the disability. BHS is too big for this to be effective. On the other hand, I have heard of parents and students who were satisfied with their experience. If your child takes charge of the situation and owns his disability, I think it might work better. My son eventually dropped out of BHS his senior year and went to Tilden Prep to graduate. Start early to get extra time for PSAT, SAT etc-you go through the college board-BHS ran out of forms for this, by the way, and we almost didn't make the deadline because we had to wait for them in the mail. Best of Luck. BHS parent



We were able to get a 504 plan for our daughter directly through her academic counselor. It is likely that the biggest hurdle you will face is that BHS often change students' counselors and each one varies SO much in how they operate. The original counselor that we started working with was really unresponsive, rude, and incredibly negative. When she was switched to a new counselor the process worked quickly and smoothly. The plan has helped her quite a bit although some teachers push the limits of following the plan requirements. Good luck. Write again with your contact info if you would like more info. Anonymous



After reading the responses to this post, I wanted to add my experience with a 504 plan at BHS. Until her sophomore year, my daughter was able to get informal accommodations-- mostly extra time on assignments to give her time to meet with her tutor--but her math teacher was completely rigid even though the tutor and I had met with him at the beginning of the year to lay out her issues and talk about how to help her succeed. He kept saying he couldn't (wouldn't) give her extra time on assignments unless she had an IEP or 504 Plan. She doesn't qualify for IEP, so I called her academic counselor, set up a meeting, brought copies of her assessments, and negotiated a 504 plan within three weeks, one of which was spring break. As others have found, everything depends on the diligence of the counselor and we lucked out with a good one. From then on, I copied her 504 plan on brightly colored paper, added an introductory cover memo, and put them in her teachers' boxes at the very beginning of school. Her final year I even put a photo of her on the cover memo. I then contacted her teachers to set up informational meetings to go over the 504 plan and her issues. I always brought extra copies of the plan. It was amazing how many teachers couldn't find her 504 plan even when I could see it (from the colored paper) in their file on her! Just like ''managed health care'' where you have to manage your own and your family's care yourself, you just have to persevere to get your student's needs met at BHS. Good luck!



We have had a good experience with getting and using a 504 at BHS. We went in early - the spring before - and delivered files to Diane Colborn. She gave no assurances but it was good to meet. She is busy and overloaded and not chatty so be efficient. I think it would have been harder if this advance work had not been done as counselors are outrageously overloaded and some are far better/kinder than others. Each year teachers have been cooperative and reasonable. Some have more strict rules and it has been fine that the students need to work within those teachers' different rules as long as the rules are in keeping with the 504, e.g. some do not stay after school, some do not offer lunch for extended time, but they will honor extended time. Some teachers forget the details and the student needs to remind them, good practice for learning to self-advocate. Have not met a stonewall yet. Some are cranker than others - good practice for the real world. Powerschool makes it easier to stay on top of your student's work. There is of course one very controversial counselor. If he was the problem for the person who posted last week or for others, the school and the PTSA say they want to hear it but of course it cannot be anonymous. Not a witch hunt, but this is a good time to step forward if that counselor did a poor job of serving your student or refusing to meet with you or was inappropriate in other ways. Anon BHS parent


 

Can kids with learning disabilities succeed at Berkeley High?

May 2010

 

I would like to hear from parents of kids with LDs who have IEPs about their experience at Berkeley High. I have a 7th grader in a very small private school (Raskob) and am wondering about the reality of Berkeley High. anon



My son spent some time at Raskob and some time at Willard for middle school. He is now a freshman at BHS. He loves it. He is extremely social and athletic. He has LD's which make life very difficult for him academically and BHS is a challenge that he meets with a lot of support!

First every child is different, so what works for mine, might not work for yours. All LD's are not created equal. My son repeated Algebra, and only took 3 academic courses this year. He keeps his grades up but has tutors for each subject who essentially help him do his homework. He has an IEP and so far the school district via Diane Colburn (BHS special ed manager) has been pretty cooperative with providing good teachers and understanding his needs are not the typical profile of the kids they have in CLC (the special ed study hall so to speak).

Being different or known as someone who uses special ed resources is a huge source of conflict for my son. He's OK with the tutors but not any obvious aid sitting in class with him or working with him in public places.

He has lots of regular ed friends who are great and the sports outlet certainly helps to motivate him and keep him on task (to the best of his ability). It is not easy for us or for him, but in general he seems to enjoy his classes. Some of his teachers are great, some engaging which save the day, and some horribly in his face (which is a complete turnoff) although they care greatly about his success. So that all being said, we are taking it day by day. Sometimes I freak out about sophomore year where he will be doubling his academic workload and then there is the question of a language. His therapist/mentor tells us not to future trip. Each year gets a little better, so we try to chill, but as a parent it is difficult.

So our experience so far is that BHS is doable with a lot of help. There aren't too many good choices out there. All I can recommend is that knowing your child, you get what you need to make it work for him or her. BHS is a BIG school with lots of kids in a class. It's great if your kid can navigate it. Terri


 

Getting BUSD to pay for Bay Hill High School

May 2010

 

Would like to hear from other families who have experience with BUSD in supporting their teen at Bay Hill HS. Would like to hear from parents that were both successful and those that were not. welcome advice asap!



Our son (bright with good grades through middle school) bombed at Berkeley High. We spent two years trying to get him appropriate services for his learning differences and finally hired an attorney (Lynn Hansen in Oakland) and went through the mediation/fair hearing process to get the district to pay for Bayhill. It took a long time and was extremely stressful, but better than watching our son flounder and fail. (Not sure what the tuition is but it's in their information packet.) Good luck!


 

High School student with Asperger's

August 2009

 

Re: Student with mild aspergers looking for high school
As an MD and parent of two teens, one with mild LD, one without; one currently in BHS, one who went to a competitive private high school and is now a junior at an Ivy League college, I wanted to respond both to the HS for ''mild AS'' question and the private vs public HS, because I think there are some key principles here:

1) knowing your child and what they need for both support and appropriate challenges (and helping them recognize and advocate what they need for themselves)

2) recognizing that our understanding of LD/ADHD/AS/ASD is primitive; that diagnostic labels are imprecise shorthands for complex individuals who have a wide spectrum of specific difficulties and strengths, which also vary from quite mild (and occasionally overdiagnosed) to profoundly challenging.

So our child with LD/AS feels great about doing well academically at BHS. He has done well in part because of the study skills and routines he learned at his private elementary and middle school; in part, he has been in one of the small school programs and has had excellent responsive teachers--as good as most of those we have had in private schools. BHS has been accepting and even welcoming of his social eccentricities.

We expect we will be utilizing tutoring help in the future, and he has done pragmatic speech groups for social skills work. We looked at Orinda Academy, which I think would have been excellent for him, but he felt he did not need that level of structure--so far, he seems to be correct. But for other teens, Bayhill or Orion may be the environment in which they can thrive and learn.

Our experience of private schools has been positive--but far from ''real world''--of course there are great kids, families, opportunities--but the one overwhelming impression that sticks with me is--too much money and consumerism. Our older son felt underprivileged (FAR from true) when he wasn't spending spring break in Barbados. Of course your family is the primary determinant of culture--but I was troubled by the peer messages... even more true in private colleges--the amount of spending money many kids have is striking. And in retrospect, I'm sure our older son would have done just fine in public high school with good AP classes. learning as we go....


 

Getting BUSD to pay for special school

March 2009

 

Hello, Berkeley Parents of Teens -- I'm a brand-new parent of a teenager, as I've just been named the guardian of my godson. He'd been attending high school in Contra Costa County, but to my great joy, I managed to enroll him in the 11th grade at Bayhill High School, and he began classes last week.

As some of you may know, Bayhill (www.bayhillhs.org) is a private high school on Lake Merritt dedicated to students with diagnosed problems in reading (dyslexia), auditory processing, etc. As such, my husband and I would like for the Berkeley Unified School District to pay his tuition.

Has any of you succeeded in getting the BUSD (or OUSD) to pay for your child to receive receive the kind of skilled teaching and attention not available in the public school system?

If so, I'd greatly appreciate hearing from you. Thanks in advance. LM



Hello, Please note that I am speaking not as the parent of a child with an IEP, but because I know several parents (both BUSD and outside of) who have navigated (or are navigating!) these issues. If the experience of these folks is at all ''the norm'', you are in for a very long, very expensive proposition.

First off, does your student even have an IEP? If not, that's the place to start. BUSD will have their own people evaluate him; you can also hire private professionals to do the same, and those evals may or may not be ''accepted'' or used by BUSD. BUSD will try very hard to have your student stay within BUSD, by providing whatever ''special'' or other educational components he needs, before paying to have him go outside of the district (particularly if its to a private school, rather than another district's public school; not sure which yours is that you mentioned?) You may end up in a legal battle over the whole thing; you'll likely need ''advocates'' on your side (and there are people who do this kind of work, but for a fee of course) - psychologists, educational specialists, an attorney, etc. etc.

I'm sure there are resources on the web to learn more about some of this; wish you the best of luck and your son a successful schooling! Know only 2nd hand



I didn't see the original post, but navigating the special education process is thorny. However, there IS free help. Every state has Parent Training and Information Centers, and the one for Alameda (and Contra Costa) counties is the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF). They have terrific Education Advocates, all of whom have children with disabilities and therefore understand exactly what you are going through. Call 510-644-2555 and ask for an Education Advocate. You'll do a brief intake and then an Advocate will call you back. Check the website, also: http://www.dredf.org/special_education/index.shtml. DREDF can walk you through the process. (I work there, and it is a fantastic resource--my daughter would not have completed high school without it.) Julia


 

Berkeley High School for LD kid?

October 2006

 

My son, who has attended private schools since kindergarten, has dysgraphia and a social skills deficit similar to NLD. He is now in 8th grade at a very small school. He is a highly- motivated person who does well in school with accommodations and forms close bonds with his teachers. He is just this year starting to learn about advocating for himself. My question is whether anyone has a child with similar characteristics who went through Berkeley High. He would need to use a computer in all his classes for note-taking, assignments, and tests. I'm concerned about getting his accommodations and also about whether a kid who cannot read social cues would be safe there
Worried Mom



I\xc2\x92m a BHS grad with NLD and vision issues who attends Cal . Your son and I sound very similar in terms of both are strengths and weaknesses . After the first few weeks of Ninth grade I was able to find my way around BHS and also find a group of kids that I got along with well. The programs at BHS you should look at are Academic Choice and BIHS because these in my experience would be the best choice for a kid with NLD or similar issues. If he were to take a language, I would recommend German because of the teacher is knowledgeable about neurodevelopment (she was trained as a doctor in Germany). Academic Choice and BIHS both have strong Academic liberal arts focus. Although AC is large, the teachers are willing to work one on one with students. You should check in to if your son is elegible for an IEP or a 504 Plan. Also, the singe reason I was able to maintain a \xc2\x93B\xc2\x94 average in math was that I took it at Independent Study. You may have to have a letter to Independent Study to explain why you think for your son his only option to complete math successfully would be to go to IS. I was safe at BHS even with my issues,I am a female. He make be able to get an Instructional aide who is one on one with his needs.
BHS Grad \xc2\x9104



Hello, I have no first hand knowledge about BHS and LD, but I wanted to tell you about Orion Academy. It specializes in working with students with NLD and Aspergers. You may already know about the school, but if not, you can contact Orion at orionacademy[at]worldnet.att.net. Jamie


 

LD Assistance at Berkeley High?

September 2006

 

My son, currently in 8th grade at a small independent school, really wants to go to Berkeley High next year. I would like to support this, but I am worried about how he would handle it. He was diagnosed a few years ago with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, which means that he has a great deal of difficulty organizing, negotiating complex situations or directions, and is not highly attuned to social cues. He often forgets to write down assignments and isn't good about seeking help -- he'd rather cruise under the radar and hope that everything will turn out okay. On the plus side, he's a very positive kid, works hard and wants to do well. He's a voracious reader who delves deeply into politics, history and geography in his free time. Since we are at a small school now, we can work with teachers to make sure that they understand his limitations and can bring out the best of his abilities. My concern about Berkeley High is that he would get lost. What kind of support does the school offer to ensure that this doesn't happen?
8th grade mom



The difficulties you described that your child has with school are exactly the kind that will cause him to fall through the cracks at Berkeley High. BHS is an amazing experience for motivated, organized kids who can advocate for themselves and navigate a complex and gigantic bureaucracy. Kids who want to be below the radar will be allowed to stay that way, even if they are failing. The average teacher at BHS has over 150 different students each year and really reaching out to and/or keeping track of those who pull back is extremely difficult. Unless you can get into one of the small schools, I would seriously reconsider.
-- a BHS teacher



Dear 8th grade Mom,
I\xc2\x92m a BHS grad with NLD and vision issues who attends Cal . Your son and I sound very similar in terms of both are strengths and weaknesses . After the first few weeks of Ninth grade I was able to find my way around BHS and also find a group of kids that I got along with well. The programs at BHS you should look at are Academic Choice, CPA and BIHS because these in my experience would be the best choice for a kid with NLD. If he were to take a language, I would recommend German because of the teacher is knowledgeable about neurodevelopment (she was trained as a doctor in Germany). Academic Choice and BIHS both have strong Academic liberal arts focus. Although AC is large, the teachers are willing to work one on one with students. Also, the single reason I was able to maintain a \xc2\x93B\xc2\x94 average in math was that I took it at Independent Study. You may have to have a letter to Independent Study to explain why you think for your son his only option to complete math successfully would be to go to IS.
BHS Grad \xc2\x9104


 

Having a hard time implementing IEP at BHS

Dec 1999

 

I would like to start a dialogue here about the experience of BHS parents with the special ed program. What's good, what's not, what could be improved and how?

Some background: I am the parent of a BHS freshman special ed student -- a bright essentially mainstream student who suffers from some specific learning disabilities, neurological and emotional issues that resulted in special ed placement (regular classes, with accomodations). My child went to King Middle School and the special ed folks there were great, especially Elaine Eger (who wears at least a couple of hats in BUSD -- resource teacher at King and head of the District assessment team) and Bill Liebman (King school psychologist). Looking forward to the demands of high school, and having been through a rocky 8th grade year, we established an IEP (individualized education plan) specifically aimed at getting our child off to a good start at BHS. A primary part of the plan was that there would be a meeting or meetings between BHS special ed, our child's teachers and us within two weeks of the beginning of the school year in order to educate the teaching staff about the situation (our child's problems are not self-evident) and to establish a clear understanding about accomodations and lines of communication between teachers and parents.

Needless to say, since I'm writing this, none of this happened. It is now after Thanksgiving and we are still trying to set up the "initial meeting." Meanwhile our child is in the midst of a spectacular flameout. On an ironic note, I heard Principal Saunders tell a group of parents (I think at the last PTSA meeting in the Spring, but maybe at frosh orientation) that teachers would be proactively calling any parent whose child was having problems in class. So far no teacher has contacted us even though half our kid's mid-term grades were D/F -- the rest were A/B.

My impressions of the BHS special ed department so far are ones of overburderned (27 kids per resource teacher) well-meaning resourse specialists in the midst of complete administrative breakdown and chaos. All freshman special ed students were assigned to a "long term substitute" with NO special ed background (he's a math teacher) and no particular personal qualities to recommend hiim for the job (no offense, a nice guy but not a hire anyone but a bureaucrat filling a slot would try to justify -- round peg in a square hole). Then the administration forgot to tell him this was a long term position so he made other plans and left after a month. Apparently the department has been interviewing to fill the position permanently since the summer (the inside word is they're dragging candidates in off the street, more or less).

So, what gives? Parents, what has your experience with BHS (or BUSD) special ed been? Is this year unusually fouled up? If so, why? Principal Saunders, what gives?

Let me say in conclusion that it is not my nature to rouse rabble or throw bombs, so to speak. I am prepared to tolerate quite a lot and to work within practical limits. At the moment, however, I wonder whether BHS and BUSD are prepared to make any real effort.



To the parent inquiring about BHS & BUSD Special Ed:

I would suggest writing a letter to BUSD Head of Special Ed, Joan Biondi, Program Supervisor for Secondary, Sharon Pincus, & BHS Special Ed folks expressing your concern about lack of adherence to your child's IEP. You can also call for a new IEP to address these issues.

There is a legal advocacy group in SF that helps families with special ed kids. I highly recommend CASE (Community Alliance for Special Education) in San Francisco at (415) 928-2273 as an advocacy group and legal resource for families with children in special ed. The attorneys and paralegals are very helpful.