Communications Arts and Sciences School (CAS) welcomes a new freshman class of 60 students. This is the first class of Berkeley High's new small schools admitted through the new BUSD student assignment plan, crafted to achieve a broad diversity in student assignment, and ensure that the small schools are reflective of the broader student population. This freshman class will be the younger cohort to sophomore and junior classes of 120 students each, and a senior class of approximately 90, to make a small school of 375 to 400 students.

This year marks the most dramatic changes for CAS as it makes its formal transformation from being a program of the large school to more independent small school focused on equity in education.

The freshman and sophomore classes will have all of their classes within CAS-including integrated curriculum between English, Social studies, and media arts; Spanish language classes, Sciences, P.E., the integrated math program (IMP) (sophomores already started in CPM math series will have the choice of which track to pursue, and subsequent classes will all follow the IMP series). CAS will also be piloting community building time built into the schedule that will allow: 1) Advisories-a group of 25-30 students assigned to an adult in the school for academic, social and career guidance-to meet once a week; 2) communications and media-related field trips; and 3) school assembly and intra-grade collaboration time.

The junior and senior classes will finish out the last two years of their coursework straddling courses in CAS and in the large school. Juniors will have U.S. History and Literature, Media Studies, and Chemistry in CAS, with math and a second elective in the large school. Seniors will pursue their CAS Social Justice seminar by examining trends in the media as they relate to economics and government, in preparation for community service internships their second semester.

Parents have been an invaluable resource to CAS by:

  • working tirelessly to meet the equity goals we set out for CAS to live up to;
  • hosting fabulous fundraisers such as the winter Crab Feed to support the media program, and the Café Venezia Brunch to support the CAS Mexico Exchange that takes CAS students each summer to Morelia, Mexico;
  • working with teachers to support field trips relevant to each grade's curriculum (Berkeley Repertory Theater, SF's Mission district mural tours, Pacific Film Archive, etc);
  • chaperoning student-planned events such as CAS dances and welcome assemblies for the Freshmen;
  • staffing or feeding student support services, such as this year's "Check In Café" where students got after-school academic support;
  • establishing internships and community service placements; and as always,
  • helping with our annual film festival that shows the best of the best of CAS films, DJ-ing, and MC-ing.

CAS teachers deserve a huge appreciation this year: with support from the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (both financial, and technical), they have engaged in innumerable hours of staff development, curriculum planning, and collaborative preparation to ensure that all our students can be successful in the program outlined above.

For those of you new to CAS, welcome! For those returning, welcome back! For those in other Berkeley High schools, small or large, we look forward to being your allies in achieving equity in education at Berkeley High!

--Kalima Rose, CAS parent

If you would like to volunteer to help with CAS, please e-mail me at krose@policylink.orgor call 843-0519.