William Huyett, Superintendent           2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way | Berkeley, CA 94704-1180 | 510-644-6348
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Independent Study

Lori O'Connor, Program Administrator
Tara Jones, Program Secretary
Office hours: 8:30 - 4:30
 
Phone: (510) 644-8592
Fax: 486-8803
 
Berkeley Independent Study
2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Ste. 200
Berkeley, CA 94703
 
See a map

Berkeley Independent Study (BIS) is a leader in the Berkeley Unified School District’s provision of educational services for students with limited classroom attendance, strong educational self-reliance, and the need for supportive individualized instruction.
 
Succeeding with Independent Study

BIS is an alternative school; students fulfill the same basic requirements that they would at Berkeley High School, but without sitting at a desk in a classroom all week. BIS also offers a home school program for students from kindergarten to 8th grade. Parents/guardians accompany K-8 students to meetings with teachers and are responsible for some of the teaching process. To succeed, home school and high school BIS students must be very self-motivated and organized.
 
Individualized Academic Excellence

Instead of traditional classes, BIS students receive instruction, get assignments and review work at weekly meetings with teachers at the BIS site. A one-on-one class meets for 30 minutes per week. A small group class meets for up to three hours a week. Additionally, students sometimes need to meet with tutors. Normally, students take 3 classes per quarter and independently complete approximately 10 hours of coursework for each class every week. For each class, students earn semester credit for completing one quarter. Additionally, up to 2 high school courses per semester that are not offered at BIS (such as music and lab science) may be taken concurrently at Berkeley High School.
 
Supporting Self-Reliance

All students participating in BIS enter into an agreement with the school to meet with teachers for regularly scheduled weekly appointments and to complete coursework independently. Students, and their parents/guardians, sign semester-long contracts and course agreements which outline the specific requirements for participation in the BIS program.
 
Applying to BIS

To apply to BIS, stop by the office to complete the required paperwork. You may later be invited to an interview if the program has an opening for you.

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