Berkley School District

In 1840, the Blackmon School was the first school established in Berkley. It was built at Coolidge and Catalpa and its school district was called Royal Oak Township School District #7. It was the only school in the city until South School was built at Eleven Mile Road and Coolidge in 1901.{{cite web| author= Berkley Schools| title= History| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/about/history/| access-date= February 20, 2025}}

1918 saw the district's transition to a modern graded school district. Berkley Elementary was built in 1919, and in 1926, a high school section was added to it. By 1930, Angell, Burton, and Pattengill Elementaries had been built. The present high school opened in 1949.{{cite web| author= Berkley Schools| title= History| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/about/history/| access-date= February 20, 2025}}

Except Angell Elementary and the former Tyndall Elementary, all school buildings in the district were originally designed by architect Earl G. Meyer.{{cite magazine| title= Work from the offices of Earl G. Meyer architect| date= September 1957| magazine= AIA Monthly Bulletin, Michigan Society of Architects| page= 17| url= https://usmodernist.org/AIAMI/MSA-1957-09.pdf}} Burton Elementary and Pattengill Elementary were designed by his predecessor architectural firm Lane, Davenport, and Meyer. Angell Elementary was designed in 1924 by architecture firm Smith, Hinchman and Grylls,{{cite news| last= Calihan| first= Dan| title= James B. Angell School - 100 Years Later| publisher= Berkley Historical Society| date= Dec 2021| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/downloads/angell_elementary/angell_100th_anniversary_newsletter.pdf}} with later additions by Meyer.

In December 1965, Tyndall Elementary opened.{{cite news| title= Class as usual as 180 move to new school| date= December 2, 1965| publisher= The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.)| page= 17}} In the 1966-67 school year, the district's enrollment reached a peak of about 9,000 students. The Loren A. Disbrow Physical Education Complex opened at the high school in 1976, paid for by a 1973 bond issue. It included a pool and a 2,400 seat gym.{{cite news| title= 'March Madness' starts Feb. 28| date= February 18, 1977| publisher= The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.)| page= 14}} But by 1977, enrollment had fallen to less than 6,300, and Tyndall Elementary was closed in June of that year and converted to a community education center.{{cite news| title= Tyndall closing likely in Berkley| date= April 5, 1977| publisher= The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.)| page= 1}}{{cite news| title= Berkley Bd. To Convert Tyndall Into Community Ed. Center| date= July 12, 1977| publisher= The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.)| page= 1}} When enrollment continued to decline, Berkley Elementary was closed in summer of 1978.{{cite news| title= Decision due Monday on school closing| date= May 6, 1978| publisher= The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.)| page= 13}}

Berkley Elementary was torn down, but its one-story addition, known as the Annex, remained. It housed the maintenance department and Berkley Community Access television station, WBRK.{{cite news| title= Register for access training classes| date= January 17, 1985| publisher= Rochester Eccentric| page= 2A}}{{cite web| author= The Berkley Public Access Studio of United Cable/Oakland| title= Berkley Public Access Studio Promo video| url= https://30mom.com/blog/lost-and-found-footage-berkley-public-access-studio-promo| access-date= March 30, 2025}}

Due to declining enrollment, Avery and Norup student populations were modified in 2002. Avery became PreK-2 and Norup became grades 3-8. Further decline resulted in the combination of Avery and Norup students of at the Norup building in 2006, making Norup the first K-8 IB school in Oakland County.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} The former Avery building was modified to house Berkley Building Blocks and BSD administrative offices, and was converted to entirely childcare in 2018.{{cite news| author= Ferndale Friends| title= Berkley Schools : Helping Oak Parkers Achieve Their Personal Best| date= April 1, 2018| url= https://www.ferndalefriends.net/berkley-schools-helping-oak-parkers-achieve-their-personal-best/}}

Source:{{cite web| author= Berkley Schools| title= History| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/about/history/| access-date= February 20, 2025}}{{cite web| author= Berkley Schools| title= Schools| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/schools/| access-date= February 20, 2025}}

Source:{{cite web| author= Berkley Schools| title= History| url= https://www.berkleyschools.org/about/history/| access-date= February 20, 2025}}

• [http://www.berkleyschools.org/ Official site]

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Category:School districts in Michigan

Category:Education in Oakland County, Michigan

Category:1840 establishments in Michigan

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