The Berkeley School (TBS) is an independent (private) school in Berkeley, CA with approximately 275 students grades pre-K through 8, across two campuses. In late February 2020, leadership of TBS reached out to Dr. Facente for guidance on campus safety and assistance with interpreting the rapidly changing data on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Facente acted as an advisor to the head of school and board of directors between February 2020 and June 2022, as they navigated the challenges of in-person learning for students, faculty, and staff. Activities included providing recommendations regarding school closures and re-opening; assisting in the development of campus COVID-19 protocols; and providing biweekly updates to faculty, staff, and families about the latest COVID-19 data, information on risks, and emerging information about the COVID-19 vaccine. At the time school let out in summer 2021, there had been zero cases of COVID-19 among the campus community that could not be traced to an exposure outside the TBS community, despite hundreds of students, faculty, and staff returning for in-person school as of November 2020.