Page One

At the meeting of the Board of Education tonight, Berkeley Unified School District officials are expected to announce the name of the interim superintendent who will oversee the district when the current superintendent, Jack McLaughlin, leaves at the end of January. 

The interim superintendent will hold the position until a permanent superintendent is selected.  

The school board is currently conducting a nationwide search and the selection is estimated to take place by July 1.  

The board interviewed candidates in closed session last Friday, and will discuss the appointment of a new superintendent in closed session, beginning at 6 p.m.  

School Based Dental Program 

Staff will present the Healthy Start Dental Program to offer dental services to Berkeley first, second and fifth graders.  

According to reports from the county and state, 37 percent of second graders and 43 percent of tenth graders suffered from untreated dental decay. Although dental sealants – which protect teeth with extra covering – can prevent the large majority of dental decay, less than 10 percent of Alameda county 15 year olds have received that treatment.  

The Healthy Start dental program would provide education and on-site dental exams and services to students in school, as well as community referrals for outside dental care. 

Intervention Proposal 

Parents of Children of African Descent, a Berkeley High parents group, will present their proposal to intervene on behalf of students failing one or more classes in their first semester at Berkeley High.  

The group hopes to implement a comprehensive plan to affect the vast gap in student achievement between white students and students of color at the high school. They are asking for support and resources from the board of education and the community at large to implement their plan, which would create a intensive math and reading courses, and provide individual case management for each failing student. 

Two Way Immersion Program 

The board will review proposals on how to extend the two-way immersion program, teaching students in both Spanish and English, during the fourth and fifth grades at Rosa Parks and Cragmont elementary schools.  

Currently the immersion program serves native English and Spanish speakers at Rosa Parks, Cragmont and LeConte schools. 

Expulsion closed session 

Also in closed session tonight, the board will discuss the expulsion of eight students from the Berkeley Unified School District. Prior to the case being reviewed by the board, each student’s case was reviewed by an expulsion committee, which can then recommend either expulsion, or suspension of expulsion.  

“There’s clearly some situations that require a school district to recommend expulsion,” said Alex Palou, former director of student services, in an interview earlier this month. But, he said, “It’s a measure of last resort.” 

After the expulsion committee reviews a students’ case, the board of education reviews it, and can determine whether or not to expel the students. If a student is expelled from the district, the district is required to find a new place for the student in another school district, or in the Rock LaFleche Community Day School, which provides services to troubled youth.  

The most a student can be expelled from district is two semesters for any one incident, at which point the school district is required to accept the students again. 

The board will meet in public session at 7:30 in the Board meeting room on the second floor of the School District building, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.