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Last week the City Council boasted strong support for the Berkeley High Achievement Plan and Tuesday they acted on it. 

The council approved $40,000 for the program that is designed to intercede in the academic lives of Berkeley High School freshmen who are in danger of failing math and English classes. The council also committed up to $25,000 in city services, including truancy reduction assistance and case management. The program was developed by a recently-formed group of parents. 

The council adopted the recommendation by an 8-1 vote with Councilmember Betty Olds abstaining. 

The sponsoring organization, Parents of Children of African Descent, first met in November to discuss scholastic problems related to their high-school-aged children. The group soon put together a program to assist Berkeley High’s failing freshman. School and city officials have found the plan so infectious that very little has stood in PCAD’s way since. 

The idea is to identify the students who are having trouble and then enroll them in the program in which they will have access to classes with low teacher-student ratios. If their parents are unable to participate, the students will be assigned mentors who will closely monitor their academic progress. 

In two-months time, PCAD has received about $184,000 in assistance from a variety of private individuals and organizations including $100,000 from the School Board and $40,000 from the city. 

The program has already hired three high school qualified teachers and signed up 48 students who began taking classes Tuesday, according to PCAD members. PCAD says that 242 freshman at Berkeley High are in danger of failing a math or English class and 83 freshman are in danger of failing both.  

Two key elements of the plan are parent involvement and a community-wide partnership. parent Michael Miller, who is on the PCAD steering committee said the program is about much more than the money. 

“Millions have been spent on this problem already and our kids are still failing,” he said. “It’s more than money, it’s the community believing in and working with the students.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington had requested $100,000 to match the School Board’s contribution to the program but praised the city manager’s quick response. The council had asked the city manager to find as much money as possible within a week’s time for the spring semester, which began Tuesday. 

As soon as the council approved the recommendation, Councilmember Polly Armstrong made a motion, which the council also approved 8-1 with Olds abstaining, to earmark an additional $60,000 from the mid-year budget. The money could be allocated in two weeks when the budget is discussed. 

“We can’t know if this program is going to work,” Armstrong said. “I know how hard it is to get parents involved. But I’m dying to hear that you succeeded.” 

Arrietta Chakos, chief of staff in the City Manager’s Office, said there is no plan yet in place for truancy reduction or case management components of the recommendation.  

She said that it’s likely truancy reduction will focus on kids who are on campus but not in class and the city might offer assistance with calling parents at home to let them know their kids are not attending class. 

“The case management element could be anything from seeing that the kids have enough to eat to helping them with health care to counseling them for family problems,” Chakos said.