About CAS

CAS is a learning community that nourishes and develops the whole student, with an emphasis on social justice, media literacy, communications skills and communication technologies. The following links will take you to some core CAS documentation:

CAS Values and Agreements (pdf file requires Adobe Acrobat or similar program)
Download "CAS Values & Agreements.pdf"
This document is our first work on defining the shared values and agreements of the CAS learning community. It names the contributions asked of every CAS student, parent, and staff member to help create an equitable, empowering, and high achieving school culture. The document is not a formal contract, but rather a setof expectations and personal commitments that each CAS member is asked to work toward.

CAS Vision Statement
INTRO - Vision Statement
The fundamental enterprise of Communication Arts and Sciences is for a group of teachers, students, and parents to come together to create a learning communitythat 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.

Introduction to the Course of Study
INTRO - Course of Study
A key aspect of CAS is the integration of curriculum. In examining the CAS curriculum compared to the large school, you will see that we have come together and agreed on content and skills that will be taught during each year as the student progresses through high school. These goals, as to what students will know and be able to do, are planned to progress in a logical way through the years. This is called "articulation." We also plan for students to get reinforcement for concepts and insights between the various classes. So not only will a student encounter certain concepts in English and history but it will also come up in Spanish, math, science, and even physical education. We are developing a much more integrated media program - with all the assignments and projects for media in grades 9 and 10 arising from the core classes. And at many points through the year, students will be pursuing projects that earn credit for two or more classes. This includes not only media projects but also service learning and other community based activities.

Essential Questions
INTRO - Essential Questions
In CAS overall, we pursue a series of Guiding Questions or Essential Questions (EQ's) throughout the four years. That is, certain open-ended, exploratory questions guide the curriculum planning, class discussions, and writing through the four years.

Standards - Social Justice
INTRO - Social Justice Standards
Social Justice Pedagogy is founded on the notion that social justice lies at the heart of education in a democracy, toward a more vital, more dynamic democratic society. Democracy is not a frozen monument but an ongoing project, requiring participation and creative input from all.

Standards - Media
INTRO - Media Literacy Standards
Point of View -- Recognize the diverse ways of viewing an event. Understand that various points of view define history, communication. Demonstrate various points of view in representing the same event, issue, or story.

Download the entire Request for Authorization that CAS submitted to BUSD board in June, 2003 (requires Adobe Acrobat or similar program).
Download "RFA June 2003.pdf"
The fundamental enterprise of Communication Arts and Sciences is for a group of teachers, students, and parents to come together to create a learning communitythat nourishes and develops the whole student, with an emphasis on communications skills and communication technologies.

CAS is a "small school" within Berkeley High School. Find out more about small schools and CAS here:

Berkeley Daily Planet article on small schools at BHS
BHS Small School Plans
Small schools first sprang up in big cities during the early 1980s, but the movement has mushroomed during the past few years, bankrolled with hundreds of millions of dollars from Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

PTSA article from June, 2004
PTSA news, June 2004
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.