The Berkeley public schools rank second to last among 5000 districts in the nation when it comes to the achievement gap between white students and those of color.  Yes, Berkeley is a university town with high-achieving students, but so are thousands of other U.S. communities.

After checking, members of the social justice council learned that there’s a high poverty level in Berkeley (greater even than that in Richmond, CA), helping to explain the discrepancy, since poverty and educational levels usually rise or fall in sync.

Social justice means educational justice and we need social, civic and economic equality in this country, and they won’t happen without education. We at UUCB can help.

Supporting Equity in Berkeley Schools, works with Berkeley Schools Volunteers, a program of the Berkeley Public Schools Fund, inviting people to help during this growing educational crisis, a crisis becoming even more critical as state and federal funds are withdrawn from the schools. The Schools Fund is a non-profit organization that has supported Berkeley public schools for more than 40 years. The organization funds grants to educators, runs volunteer programs and creates student programming focused on equity and closing opportunity gaps.
There are two ways to volunteer:  

  • Be a School Support Volunteer.  This program supports students, families and educators outside of the classroom, and offers both one-time and on-going opportunities. Much of the work supports meeting families’ basic needs, including staffing monthly school-site food pantries (food provided by the Berkeley Food Network).  Click HERE to see current volunteer opportunities.
  • Be a Classroom Volunteer.  You can help in classrooms, in school gardens or libraries — from preschool, K-12 classes to adult education. Volunteers make a weekly commitment throughout the school year.  There is a wide range of opportunities, in most all school sites and subject matters.  Click HERE to see examples of the types of Classroom Volunteer needs.

To learn more and apply for either program, click the Berkeley Schools Volunteers page of the Schools Fund website. 

And then please let Helen Toy and Lonnie Moseley (socialjustice@uucb.org) know when you begin your much-needed support for students who so greatly need our help.

Below is a testimonial from UUCB Member, Natalie Campbell about her volunteer efforts as a School Support Volunteer:

“Last summer I had the privilege of volunteering at the Hopkins pre-school food distribution through the Equity in Berkeley Schools program. I really enjoyed the experience from start to finish. The people from Berkeley Schools Volunteers and Berkeley Food Network were extremely organized, and helped all of the volunteers get familiar with the situation, and told us exactly what to do. The food that was being handed out was all so healthy and looked delicious.

But the best part of the day was getting to meet the families that stopped by and picked up food. It was such a joy to see how excited some of the kids were, to help their parents select the fresh fruits and vegetables. The families were all very friendly, it felt great to be able to help out, even in that small way. When the distribution time was over, the food pantry folks once again directed us in exactly what was to be done, and we were cleaned up and out of there right when they said we would be.

All in all, it was an extremely well planned out and executed volunteer experience. The chance to get to interact with the local families was icing on the cake!” — Natalie Campbell