Berkeley

Whistle Blowing Teacher Says He Faces Firing for Revealing Discrimination

Published

13 years ago

February 26, 2014

Brian Crowell, a Berkeley High School history teacher, is locked in a fight with his school and district over the Berkeley Peer Assistance and Review (B-PAR) program, which was originally designed to help underperforming teachers improve their teaching.

But he says the program – as it operates in practice – is punitive, arbitrary and discriminatory and that it harasses and targets African American and older women teachers and pushes them out of their jobs.

He said he was aware of teachers who are placed in the program “who are forced to resign or retire,” he said. “That’s the real purpose – not to improve your teaching practice. That’s a total lie.”

Crowell has taught 9^th and 10^th grade history classes at Berkeley High School since 2007 and been teaching for 14 years.

An elected building rep – shop steward – for his fellow teachers since 2009 at Academic Choice – the biggest of the schools into which Berkeley High has been subdivided – he began to represent teachers who were subjected to the PAR process and soon began to advocate to shut it down.

“I thought there was discrimination (in the way) people were being referred to PAR,” he said in an interview with the Post.

Berkeley High School. Photo from City of Berkeley Website.

“It’s a horrible process,” Crowell said. “It is not a program for helping teachers. It is a program of forced retirement and discrimination.”

“Nobody has ever said: ‘PAR has made me a better teacher.’ Ever. Nobody has ever said: ‘It helped me,’” said Crowell. Instead what he heard from teachers was: “It’s like being in prison. It’s hell. It’s twilight zone. It made me want to quit.”

Defending B-Par, School Board Director Karen Hemphill told that Daily Californian newspaper that the program is designed to fairly evaluate underperforming teachers and allows teachers to improve their teaching after receiving unsatisfactory evaluations instead of dismissing them outright. The B-PAR panel is made up of both teachers and administrators who jointly make evaluations.

Though he was a building rep, Crowell has not had the backing of his union. The union president serves on the B-PAR panel, and the union does not represent teachers who have complaints about the process, he said.

Crowell, who was popular with students and always received excellent job evaluations, soon found himself in B-PAR’s crosshairs when he began to demand demographic data on which teachers were assigned to the program.

Denied the information despite a Public Records Act request, he finally was able to receive the data after he talked to and received support from the school board president.

Only a few days after receiving the information last spring, his department chair came to his classroom and cursed him out in the hallway, within earshot of his students, said Crowell.

He also received notice he was being placed in the PAR program, accused of “unprofessional behavior” for giving a couple of classes high grades and for 2 weeks of clerical errors in taking attendance, he said.

“Proving retaliation is never easy, (but) there was immediate retaliation,” he said. “They started the investigation on me the same day that I got information,” he said.

What the B-Par data revealed was startling. Almost all (20 out of 22) of the women in B-PAR since 2002 were over 55 years of age. Almost all of the teachers in B-Par had high levels of experience and education, which meant they placed higher than average on the salary scale.

In addition, 24 percent of the teachers in B-Par (10 of 41) were African American, though only 6.5 percent (39 out of 604 in 2010) of Berkeley Unified teachers were Black.

“I’m a whistle blower,” he said. “I’m proud. This is happening because I blew the whistle on this problem.”

However, the constant stress has taken a toll on his health, says Crowell, who has been on medical leave since September.

What it does to your health is devastating,” he said. “When I came back to work (last) fall, they were harassing me. They were trying to get me to curse at them, get me angry so they could fire me.”

It was clear they were saying: “He’s a trouble maker. Go after Brian,” he said. “But I was trying to make the union stronger. I was trying to give the teachers their power back.”

The son of two educators, Crowell is married to an elementary school teacher, and the couple has two children who go to school in Oakland.

The practice of B-PAR, though not necessarily the written policy, makes someone who is placed in the process into a second-class citizen, says Crowell.

“You are evaluated every single year for the rest of your career,” compared to other teachers who are evaluated every second year. “You can’t have a student teacher. You can’t be a union rep. You can’t file a grievance against anything that happens in the PAR process. You’re considered a bad teacher by your colleagues.

“This is how it plays out in practice.”

Crowell says he is going through the legal process. He has filed complaints against the district for discrimination and against the union for failure to represent him.

If those complaints are rejected, he plans to go to court

Berkeley Unified has not responded the Post’s questions about B-PAR, and according to a staffer at the Berkeley teachers’ union, “Because of pending litigation against the union, our attorney has advised us not to comment.”

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Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

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Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

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Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.