Page One

Few glitches on
first day of class 

Teachers at John Muir Elementary School earned ‘As’ in heavy lifting and selflessness Tuesday after a leaky pipe flooded two classrooms and threatened to disrupt the first day of school. 

School staff who arrived intending to put the final touches on classrooms instead rolled up their pant legs and trekked through puddles to salvage supplies and furniture. They set up makeshift classrooms for kindergarten- and fourth-grade students whose rooms were drenched. 

“It was an incredible display of strength and perseverance,” said Principal Nancy Waters. “The entire staff worked on and off all day.” 

The teachers at John Muir were not the only ones working hard this week.  

As Berkeley’s 9,000 public school students strolled, grumbled and giggled their way back to classrooms Wednesday, teachers chalked up several classroom improvements that reflected their summer toil. 

At Rosa Parks Elementary School in west Berkeley, science teacher Nancy Bynes spent the first two weeks of her summer working with the school librarian and other teachers to integrate science curriculum into the classroom. 

Now, instead of teaching unrelated lessons, classroom teachers and librarians will join science lab work into regular classroom activities, such as book reports and vocabulary lists. 

“Before kids would come [to the lab] and have a great lesson on the anatomy of an earthworm, but if they didn’t hear about it again they’d forget it,” Bynes said. 

By reinforcing science labs during classroom lessons, students will better remember the information and more easily grasp new concepts, Bynes said. 

At Berkeley High School, the transition from a seven- to a six-class day led two science teachers, Kate Haber and Vern Spohn, to devote some of their summer to writing a new, advanced biology curriculum to compensate for reduced class time, co-principal Laura Leventer said. 

Several math teachers also worked this summer, to design a double period of algebra for students who were at risk of flunking the subject. 

“It’s crucial that students are given every opportunity to learn Algebra,” Leventer said. “They can’t be eligible to attend university unless they pass.” 

Parents at Rosa Parks said the devotion of many teachers had not gone unnoticed. 

“The teacher’s here [at Rosa Parks] are all amazing. Last year my daughter’s teacher took the time to visit the houses of all her students,” said Tom Killilea, whose daughter Marie started the second grade Wednesday. 

In addition to the wet welcome at John Muir, the whole district had it’s share of drama when a computer glitch accidentally dropped several middle school students from their classes. The error was remedied quickly, said Superintendent Michele Lawrence. 

“There was the normal first day of school chaos but overall, everyone was just terrific,” Lawrence said. 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net