Worried about Berkeley High School after Touring

You'll get a lot of replies I'm sure! My two kids have had good experiences overall at BHS. Yes the size weighs on the operation of the school, and yes there are students smoking weed in the bathrooms, etc. But one of my girls went to private middle school and many of her friends are at a well-known religious high school in Berkeley - she feels they have a far worse drug problem. My kids really enjoy going to basketball, football and soccer games with their friends. There's not as much rah-rah athletic pride, but IMHO that's a good thing - you're as likely to have pride in the film program or the jazz band. I think it all boils down to your kid and your family - kids who are motivated and supported can get through without any danger or distractions. There will definitely be bad classes every semester and dirty bathrooms, but there is every opportunity to find a large niche. Never once have my girls felt pressured to dress a certain way, or feel body-shamed, or be part of an 'in' or 'out' clique. They've stayed motivated and feel very ready for college.

Good cause to be concerned with BHS. My two sons went there the previous two years. Both played on varsity athletic teams. My kids would agree that a "third of students are either drug dealers or high at school". Halls smell of weed, and you can't go to the bathroom without someone selling. Class sizes are large and it was difficult to get individual attention. Both had straight A's without much effort. They transferred to private schools for this school year and it is night and day compared to BHS. They miss their friends but understood it was not an environment for learning. Unfortunately it was not a good experience. Moved on...

You are not wrong to be worried. My kid is a senior at BHS and I really wish I had made a different choice for him. 

On the plus side:  yes, there are sports and hundreds of different groups and activities to join and if a kid finds one of those niches works for them it can be fun and rewarding. The huge size of the school does allow for all different kinds of kids to find their tribe as well (unlike a small school that can be hard for some to feel part of.)

The negatives are far greater in number and importance:

#1 I bought into the story everyone tells about how a very smart driven kid can get a great education there because of all the AP classes. It's not true. No matter how "advanced" the class (with the exception of physics and calculus—they were appropriately challenging) the material has been closer to middle school level and A's are passed out like candy on Halloween. I worry about my kid starting college next year at a serious disadvantage to the kids who went to more academically-oriented schools.

#2 Yes, the campus is grim. Maybe not worse than the average urban public school but dreary, dark, and prison-like nevertheless. The school prides itself on having security guards in most of the hallways. It might be a good idea to question why this is necessary.

#3 Yes, drug use is as described. I would estimate more like 50% but my guess would be that's the case at most every high school in the U.S.

#4 Rather than being kicked too early into adulthood I would say BHS has created the opposite problem. The lack of structure, academic seriousness, and culture of wokeness (sorry, but it's true) creates an atmosphere in which kids are never accountable for anything and every bad behavior is forgiven. It's much more like a poorly run elementary school than adulthood.

If I had the chance to do it again I would RUN, not walk, to a private school no matter what it cost us. I would have rather spent our savings there and taken out loans for college.

The tour guide's comments would also apply to when I was a student a Berkeley High, late '70s-early '80s. And your question is very interesting... kids being kids and a normal high school experience. Those of us who attended Berkeley High wouldn't know any different. Then and now, about 25-30% of Berkeley High students do very, very well. About 25% do poorly and have resulting problems for many years. Most are somewhere in the middle.

My daughter is a recent graduate of a smaller local public high school, and it still had some of the same issues as Berkeley High, just on a smaller scale because there were fewer overall students. It was also a closed campus, which, according to my daughter, helped some with improving student behavior.

In my opinion, it all comes down to the student and how they handle the Berkeley High culture and environment, and how you trust her to make good choices.

Hi there, I am a "bonus" ("step", "secondary", etc) parent of a sophomore at Berkeley High. I know a number of people who work at Berkeley High, and if you feel comfortable, I would like to know the name of the parent volunteer -- that is atrocious and an insulting summary for the school student population and athletes, and the tour guide is doing a disservice to the whole school in presenting it as such.

My kid is having a good experience there, and we were worried not because of the reputation or rumors, but because he was coming from another school district, entering without having any friends at the school. His first year he had mostly successes although we had hoped he would get involved more with extra-curricular activities (he joined one club that he quit halfway through the year because it didn't seem very organized). This year he's joining a sport for the first time and has friends, and he is happy to be there. Freshman year, kids start in "pods" where they have classes with mostly the same group of other students, and I think that helped him make friends. Sophomore year and on, they're split into "schools" (pardon, I don't know all the terminology or mini-schools), and while homework can be a lot, he's managing it.

The school is large -- it's like a college campus. I've volunteered at the school and met student athletes that were very dedicated; and also some musicians and artists and dancers too. The school does have to balance student safety - with ever-present national concern about violence, they do have to be careful. There are all types of students with all types of backgrounds there-- it's a public school. I honestly think having such an institution in Berkeley is a gift, not without flaws or incidents, but there are just TONS of resources at the high school. Good luck with your high school venture! 

I have two BHS kids - one who graduated from AHA and a senior in AC. Even though they are very different people and one attended K-8 in BUSD and the other a small private K-8 school, they both found their place at BHS and had/is having a great experience. I think because BHS is so big, each student can find their niche and their community of friends. My older child never went to or participated in any sporting events but did go to every performing arts show. My younger participates in a variety of programs and has gone to many student events/activities (like basketball games, volunteering, dance performances, Homecoming) and has friends from a diversity of sub-communities that he never had the chance in his homogenous private school. Despite a lot of effort on the part of the staff and faculty, there are still students who aren't engaged, who are vaping in the bathrooms, pulling fire alarms and skipping classes, but by and large, these students are not disruptive in the classroom and neither of my children have felt that they couldn't learn.  Yes, the teachers are hit and miss -- some are amazing and some are just so-so, but my kids have gotten all fours and fives on their AP exams, so they are definitely learning (and more importantly learning how to get help when they don't.) Sounds like your child is adept at self-advocacy - that's a good skill to have (or to learn) at BHS and beyond. My oldest attends college in a big urban setting and they navigate the streets like a boss but also treat others with kindness and equity -- all of which I think are artifacts of spending four years at BHS. Good luck to your child!

My child graduated some time ago - 2014 - but many of the same issues were there then. She came to BHS from King, which is a pretty big middle school. And participated in the IB program. She had been playing soccer since kindergarten and played for 3 years, then took senior year off to do other things (work after school, particiate in the Vagina Monologs). The school has EVERYTHING and it's not for everybody (it would have been too easy for my second child to slip through the cracks there and get into trouble, which is why we chose another school for them.) But my daughter got a lot out of the school, and she says it prepared her well for college. And today, in her late 20s, her largest friend group is made up of kids she went to high school with. And she lives in New York! I'm sure you'll get a lot of similar feedback from parents on this topic. Berkeley HIgh is an amazing place, and it's a difficult place, and everything in between - much like life. If you have some grit and can seek out the good stuff, it'll serve you well. Good luck to you.

My student graduated from Berkeley High and is now in a top graduate school program in their field. My question to you is: What is a normal high school experience? If you define it by football, BHS is probably not normal. My child did not attend any football games. They did attend many plays, dance performances, and concerts. They had a group of close friends they hung out with, mostly to talk about shows, and graphic novels, and Science Fiction or Fantasy novels. And to bake elaborate creations. They went hiking with friends, and did a bit of camping with friends junior and senior year. Some of the friends were athletes, but most didn't pursue competitive sports after high school. They knew a few people who took drugs/drank but this group of friends (who I admit, had the kinds of parents who stuck around when the kids were over) did not have significant drug use. They were not significantly impacted by the presence of the unhoused, although they probably learned to be more street-smart because of that. The school was very good preparation for college. Not every moment or teacher was perfect but overall it was a very good place to learn how to negotiate a bigger world. 

However, you and your son need to determine what he needs to thrive.. If he is easily influenced, or there is a lot of substance abuse in your family, there could be problems. Or if one of his goals is to pursue football at a college where it is competitive to join the team, it might not be the best preparation. The BHS students we know had an easier time getting being recruited for crew, and soccer.

Caveat: I have a ninth grader at BHS, so am not as experienced as some other parents. I can tell you of our experience so far. First of all, Berkeley High athletics does very well. With such a large school, they have a huge pool of talented athletes to draw from. The football team was 1st in the league this fall and the Girls Cross Country team won the state championship. Last year, boys basketball was number 1 in the league and boys soccer was #2 ... girls soccer was #1, etc., etc. The club sports do well, too -- the mountain biking team is often #1 in their league. So I'm not sure what that parent was talking about.

Another thing about sports is that because the school is so big, sports is one way of students finding their people -- I know it helped my child's transition to high school immensely to be on the Cross Country team in the fall. Plus, at least for that team, the coaches and student athletes are so supportive and they emphasize nutrition, injury prevention, and rest in addition to personal performance. I can not speak highly enough of the cross country and track coaches -- they are amazing. I've heard similar good things about other sports, though not all.

As far as drugs go, yes there are people who use and deal drugs there, perhaps more than other schools, I don't know. Perhaps it just seems like a lot since it is such a big student body. I can't imagine there is any high school in the area with no access to drugs -- and don't think the private school are more sheltered -- they have a reputation of having even easier access to drugs! I think it is something you have to have constant conversations about with your child and definitely be aware of who they are hanging out with and where they are going. That said, it is definitely possible to graduate from Berkeley high and not be a regular drug user. The majority of kids fall into that category. (My child says it's more like a tenth of the kids use or deal drugs, not a third, FWIW.)

There is school spirit at Berkeley high and students do attend football games. There is also "unity week" in the fall which is mostly fun, but can be fraught on Friday when it is "Red and Gold" day and the upperclassmen target freshman -- my child was really worried about it, but in the end it seemed to be overhyped and not a big deal. In general it seems like a fun week when students can show their school spirit. I'm not sure if this is what you mean by a "normal" high school experience.

I do think your post hits on a weakness at Berkeley high -- which is that kids can fall through the cracks and it tends to segregate the high-performing students from the kids with more headwinds. If your child is a good student and involved in sports, I don't think this should be a big worry. It is a big school, and some students may feel lost -- joining a smaller of the small learning communities in 10th grade would help as would getting involved in clubs or sports. 

Good luck on your decision -- I do think BHS is a good school with lots to offer.

You're wise to bring up some of these issues. I had a child graduate BHS in 2021 and we weren't really prepared for the prison-like atmosphere of the school. In my kid's time there, the campus was never used for "hanging out." There was only one break in the entire day, 45 mins for lunch, and the kids all dissipated into downtown Berkeley. The schedule -- same classes every day in the same order, with only a single 45 min lunch break -- was monotonous and exhausting. That single 45 minute break was the only time during the school day that students had to participate in clubs, or seek help from teachers. BHS was also extremely rigid and unforgiving about attendance and homework. 
In my kid's time, no one went to football games -- I think there was a ban on spectator attendance due to fears of violence. There was no homecoming dance. The school spirit week was a chaotic time where students dressed up and screamed in the hallways -- for a gregarious kid this is great, my kid not so much. There were frequent fire alarms and students would be evacuated due to fires set in bathrooms. I would not say my kid felt safe and confident walking through BHS.
That said, not all of the parent volunteer's comments seem accurate. BHS has some very strong sports teams, including the excellent crew and soccer programs. Many students have wonderful experiences in some of the clubs and activities, including jazz band and the Jacket. Our kid tried both sports and clubs and they were definitely the best part of the school.
Yes, my kid learned to navigate a chaotic bureaucracy, and learned some valuable self-advocacy skills while at BHS. She did not learn much in the way of academics, however, and the humanities curriculum in AC, even AP classes, was extremely poor. At the end of the day I'm not sure whether it was worth the "life skills" learned. 

My kid is a freshman and definitely bought into the allure of cannabis. He was addicted to nicotine by September. I had a hard time figuring what to even do about it. He has mostly stuck to cannabis, but says that you can get lean (codeine + sprite) and percs (Percocets) anywhere. A month ago I would have said the problem is the school. They could DEFINITELY do more to address it, but I had a conversation last night with a friend who sent her daughter to Albany high and that it was worse.

Honestly, I think that if my kid was into sports it would go a long way, because there are a ton of teams and there's strong community on the teams.

We got calls from our son's teachers very early in the semester, letting us know that he was struggling or seemed clocked out in class. The faculty are very invested, and I think genuinely want to support him. I'm not in a position to judge the academic content because my kid is making absolutely no effort. I think with  half-hearted push, he could easily get Bs. He's got FS at the moment.

I don't think the "prison" feel is something that I or my kid sees. Kids spread out to the Cal campus and the YMCA and generally I don't hear kids complain about the campus itself.

I've been trying to get the school to address the bathroom problem. It sucks for everyone. Kids who just want to use the toilet have no where to go (or they leave campus and go to the Y). Apparently they are checked every five minutes but my kid says you can just hide in a stall.

Wherever you end up, have a lot of honest conversations with your kid about drugs, addiction and brain development (or don't take my advice? My son was recently aghast that his Stoner Sidekick didn't even understand why his parents were so upset. "I had to explain about, like, pruning and adolescent brain development" -- so he knows all this stuff and he's still doing it. 😢) and be prepared to intervene.