Efforts to desegregate the public schools in Berkeley, California began in 1957 when a committee was appointed to study the problems of desegregation. In 1963, the board voted to desegregate the junior high schools and to study methods for desegregating the elementary schools. The 1968 elementary desegregation plan was complex. To desegregate the elementary schools the district was divided into 4 zones, each zone containing a cross section of the community with approximately equal rations of students. The zoning was also designed to contain equal representations of socioeconomic groups. The elementary school desegregation plan did not call for busing merely on the basis of race. Distance from school and the grade level were also determining factors. The physical aspects of desegregation were implemented with relative ease. There were few complaints about racial violence in the schools during implementation. However, disruptions along racial lines have been a constant problem at the grade seven and eight school which had been predominantly white. Achievement scores have improved for minority as well as majority students; however, disparities continue to exist among the different racial and ethnic groups. The Berkeley school system hired a number of minorities, particularly for important administrative positions; however, minorities still remain underrepresented in the system's school staff. (Author/AM)