LA Schools To Remain Closed, Will Finish Year Remotely
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Schools throughout Los Angeles Unified will complete the remainder of the school year and summer school remotely, officials said Monday.
Supt. Austin Beutner made the announcement via livestream, saying that the path to reopening school facilities is "unknown at this time" and that distance learning will stretch into the summer sessions.
Beutner says students can work to improve their grades but none will be penalized with lower grades - an idea he first floated last week.
No students will receive failing grades, he added.
Since the closure of LAUSD schools nearly a month ago, Beutner said
the district is working on holding a virtual graduation for high school seniors this year, but district officials are gathering input from students on how to proceed.
Summer classes will also be held online in four-week blocks. An update on those programs in the near future is expected, Beutner said.
Beutner indicated the district is working with community colleges to help students get from high school to college to ensure they receive proper credits.
"We will not allow the closure of school facilities to close the
doors of opportunity for young adults earning a high school diploma and starting college can provide for them," Beutner said. "Like many issues at this time, we're trying to find a balance between helping students continue to learn and the sometimes harsh realities the crisis is bringing to the lives to
so many of the students and families we serve."
Since the original LAUSD software was not built to handle 500,000 students using it at one time, the district has been working with Amazon to improve online connections for students on certain platforms, Beutner said.
Roughly $4.5 million has been raised to help
provide meals for families through its Grab and Go program, which has amounted to more than 7 million provided since schools were closed.
The announcement was not welcome news for LAUSD mom Mayela Quinteros, whose 14-year-old son Pablo is a ninth grader at Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet School in Cypress Park. She says Pablo is doing the best he can with his assignments online, but he's having a difficult time getting timely help from some teachers.
"That's one of the biggest challenges is that if you're stuck with a question," she said. "His teachers, only one of them is in touch with him via zoom, his math teacher, the other teachers I haven't heard him saying they're emailing him or reaching out to him with anything."
Quinteros says learning remotely has been challenging for Pablo and for her. She is a single mom and tries to help answer his questions when she comes home from work.
"I get home too tired so just wait until I get home and we'll work on it during the weekend, do a little bit more research," Quinteros said.
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