The fundamental enterprise of Communication Arts and Sciences is for a group of teachers, students, and parents to come together to create a learning community that nourishes and develops the whole student, with an emphasis on social justice, media literacy, communications skills and communication technologies. CAS is built around thematic core curriculum focused on social justice and an experiential pedagogy. We are committed to creating a heterogeneous grouping, by ethnicity and skill level, and our goal is to make school more successful especially for those who have not traditionally done well at Berkeley High.

The strategy of CAS is to personalize education so that each student is able to define his or her goals and pursue them. Students have opportunities to make real world contacts and work experiences in order to understand and pursue career path options.

A second part of the strategy is to promote powerful parent involvement which is why we create mechanisms to bring all families into active participation.

A third aspect of the strategy is to build community central to the CAS philosophy - with students learning to work and develop social values together. CAS uses the small school structure to foster stronger collegial cooperation and the integration of curriculum.

As a result of a commitment to a CAS education, students will develop media literacy (the ability to understand and critique media) as well as expertise in all forms of modern communication, from traditional reading and writing to electronic communication technologies. This includes video, photography, radio, web design, and magazine design. Students develop extensive speaking and writing capacity with authentic audiences (community and peers).

Students completing CAS will also develop a deep and engaged understanding of social justice. Students learn to examine and evaluate the world we live in and to propose solutions for greater social justice. Through service learning practice at every grade level, students learn to make a difference in their community and in the world.

CAS students will graduate UC/CSU eligible, completing the A-G requirements, with the program offering lots of support in getting kids ready for college, as well as with a sense of their own strengths and their capacity to make choices and make a difference in the world. The success of CAS will be measured by our progress in strengthening equity in education.

We believe that choice is essential for this community, that students should be in the small school because they want to and should be free to leave it if their goals and interests change. And we also believe that students should be held accountable to a contract that defines their commitment to the small school and their willingness to complete projects and portfolios at the end of each year.