Berkeley schools report rising enrollment, major construction and program wins

Berkeley School District leaders told the State of the Cities breakfast that the district is in "the year of construction," with multiple campus projects, workforce and student supports underway.

Assistant Superintendent Megan Ashkanani said the district’s student enrollment is increasing and cited several student-success measures: 68% of the class of 2025 took at least one Advanced Placement course, and 87 graduates received technical or industrial certifications. The district also has deployed comfort dogs across elementary schools; Ashkanani said there are 11 comfort dogs in the program.

Ashkanani reviewed construction and facility work happening across the district. The high school saw its science labs turned over ahead of schedule, the pool received significant upgrades and is hosting competitions, and a new maintenance building is complete. The district is proceeding with a multi-phase Bear Complex project that will include an indoor field house and a 100-yard turf field behind the high school.

Elementary schools are receiving cafeteria and multipurpose-room additions at Burton, Pattengill, Angel and Rogers elementaries; Burton appeared closest to completion at the time of the presentation. The district also purchased Cana Church to expand the campus for the adult transition program and a robotics practice and build space; work is underway on interior remodels.

Financially, Ashkanani credited the director of operations and the director of cleaning for the district's solid standing and noted custodial staff maintain roughly 600,000 square feet of facilities each day. The Berkeley Education Foundation reported raising $118,000 in the 2024'25 school year to support students, including funding for eighth-grade college visits and career events.

The district emphasized safety steps taken this year, including a school resource officer (Sergeant Dave Arnie), de-escalation training for front-office staff, restorative-practices training for administrators and partnerships for student mental-health support.

"So much to celebrate in the Berkeley School District," Ashkanani said, thanking district staff and community partners for support.