The current principal is Jim Slemp, who is in his third year at the head. In the years preceding Slemp, Berkeley High was plagued by the lack of a consistent principal, and arson fires, which have forced the remodeling of several buildings (C,A), the demolition of one (B), and the building of a new administrative center and food court.
Small Schools
In order to better serve the large student body, Berkeley High School comprises a number of smaller schools, as well as a program within the large school Academic Choice (AC):
The Berkeley High School campus covers four city blocks between Milvia Street and Martin Luther King Jr Way. It contains several buildings, built between 1901 and 2004, which display a variety of architectural styles.
In the late 1930s, Berkeley High was remodeled and old buildings were replaced with newer ones. The Florence Schwimley Little Theater, The Berkeley Community Theatre, and the science buildings are prime examples of the Streamline Moderne style designed by architects Henry H. Gutterson and William G. Corlett. The rebuilding was financed largely in part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal program the WPA.
Notable faculty
Marcia Singman - dance teacher (d. 2000) [link] & [link]
Rick Ayers - CAS English Teacher, founder of the CAS Small School Program
Billy Martin, 1946 - second baseman for five Yankee World Series champs in the 1950s, and manager of four playoff teams, (Twins,Yankees, Detroit, A's) including one championship
In [Caucasia] (a novel by Danzy Senna), the character Cole Lee reveals in the final section ( Wonders of the Invisible World ) that she attended Berkeley High in the early 1980s.
