Berkeley Unified School District has many reasons to be proud of the achievements of its students. Here are a few of the statistics that stand out as exceptional:
- Berkeley High boasted 18 National Merit Finalists in 2006.
- More than 15 8th graders take classes at Berkeley High School each year.
- Many students are enrolled in AP courses at BHS
- Our students speak more than 40 languages other than English.
The Berkeley School District celebrated its 125th birthday in 2003; over the years many alums have found world-wide reknown. A list of just a few of our more well-recognized alumni includes, alphabetically:
- Elmer Bischoff, Artist
- David Brower, Founder, Friends of the Earth
- Phil Chenier, 3-time NBA All-Star
- Belva Davis, KPIX news
- Shirley Dean, former Berkeley Mayor
- Ron Fimrite, Author, Journalist
- David Gardner, former UC President
- Benny Green, Jazz Pianist
- Elihu Harris, former Oakland Mayor, State Legislator
- Tremaine Hawkins, Gospel Singer
- Gregory Hoblit, Director: Primal Fear, Fallen, Frequency
- Ursula K. LeGuin, Prolific Author, Poet, The Earthsea Trilogy
- Laurie Lewis, Bluegrass Musician
- Billy Martin, Baseball player and manager
- Alison Muscatine, Rhodes Scholar, Speech Writer
- Johnny Otis, Musician
- Joshua Redman, Jazz Musician
- Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Actress
- Galen Rowell, Photographer and Mountaineer
- Morrie Turner, Wee Pals Cartoonist
- Thornton Wilder, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author/Playwright, Our Town
- Helen Wills-Moody, 8-time Wimbledon tennis champion
Many of our current students deserve to be in the spotlight now as their achievements at such a young age are remarkable. We will use this space to highlight the various students for their accomplishments.
Berkeley High School student Naomi Drexler is the winner of the 9th Congressional District Artistic Discovery Contest. Barbara Lee's office will fly Naomi and her family to Washington DC, where her piece will hang for one year. Below is the winning art.
