281 1/2 Amherst Ave
Berkeley, CA 94708

This is our fourth year with El Cerrito High School and we've been extremely happy. My kids both went to K-8 in another district, where test scores are sky-high but there is little to no real diversity. We were excited to send them to a school where the student body better reflected the diverse Bay Area community and the real world. The teachers at El Cerrito High are talented and committed. The James Morehouse Project (the student wellness/mental health support center) is a godsend for teens going through the ups and downs of adolescence. The PTSA is dedicated to helping make the school as supportive a place as possible for students and teachers. Principal Norrington is an outstanding school leader--he's extremely communicative; cares deeply about the students; is equally committed to helping support academics, sports, and the arts; and leads the school with integrity. My youngest is graduating this year and she's grown academically and personally thanks to her experience at El Cerrito High.

This school really needs younger and more socio-economically diverse representation. They seem really out of touch to the life of modern working parents and it operates like a quasi-private school. Communications come from so many different sources so that it becomes really hard to stay informed. I was very disappointed to find there is also a lot of screen time going on in the classroom (maybe a problem everywhere these days?) Many of the teachers are burned out and retiring. Drop off and pick up is a pain because you have to park at the bottom of a large hill and it's a bunch of tight one-way streets. With that said, the new afterschool program (LLS) is the best addition; the staff are energetic, engaged and make school fun.

I worked at Korematsu as a student teacher for the first semester of my teaching credential and it was a terrible experience. This is largely due to the bitter and negative mentor teacher that I worked with, Diana Jenkins. She has a negative reputation at Korematsu for being controlling--something that is very apparent after only a brief period of time spent working with her. While working with her, she would constantly complain, sharply badmouthing both staff and students. Teachers should not engage in arguments or quarrels with children. Nor should they sharply rebuke or criticize staff for trivial things when students are nearby. Her behavior and persona were so bad that I switched mentor teachers before the semester was over. If anyone has a child or relative that is assigned to Diana Jenkins for physical education, the best thing for them to do is to switch out of her class as soon as possible.