more reported to come from lower income families in the more flatland neighborhoods. Universal 9th Grade In 2015, administrators began discussions about reorganizing the high school. The Berkeley Redesign Project involved teachers, staff, students and parents. The first major change was to switch to a "universal 9th grade," in which freshmen will be placed in core groups of 120 students, with the choice of learning community beginning in tenth grade. This is intended to counter the occurrence of freshmen choosing their learning community based on stereotypes within the school and give them the opportunity to learn what the communities are like first-hand before they decide which one to join by creating a "randomized and intentionally heterogenous collection of students who would share a core group of teachers" that monitor the students and make sure none slip through the cracks. Originally slated to start in the fall of 2017, the program began in the fall of 2018. These core groups, called hives, are composed of about 120 students who share 4 teachers in their core subject areas: Math 1 (or Advanced Math 1), Physics 1, English, and Ethnic Studies/Social Living. Students also get to choose two electives. "At the end of ninth grade, students then have the opportunity to rank one of the five learning communities at Berkeley High School for their 10th-12th grade education." After the BHS lottery process and upon being placed into a learning community, students are required to fulfill each learning community's unique academic requirements and are able to choose additional courses from individual departments, like African American Studies, Math, Performing and Visual Arts, Physical Education, Science and World Language. If students prefer a more flexible and individualized education, they have the option of Berkeley Independent Study (BIS) as an alternative to the traditional classroom environment. Potential future changes More ideas addressing the achievement gap include implementing an additional period strictly for advising so as to provide not just academic support and guidance with course selection, but social and emotional support as well—especially with regards post-graduation plans. One worry, however, is the fact that because academic disparities among racial and socioeconomic groups are established in elementary and middle school, these programs aimed at closing the achievement gap at BHS won't make that much of a difference. The argument is then made for elementary and middle schools to make similar efforts in order to reduce those disparities more