Hybrid Schedules Likely To Play Role In Return To LAUSD Campuses

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - It's been more than seven months since Los Angeles Unified students were on campus.

Now district officials are starting to reveal what a return to campus will look like.

Mara Maxfield listened to a webinar put on by LAUSD school board members Jackie Goldberg and Scott Schmerelson last night. For over an hour and a half, the two outlined what a return to school would look like.

It likely will not start with a full-day schedule. Rather, kids will have the option for a hybrid schedule - a mix of remote and in-person learning - or they can stay with all remote learning.

Maxfield - a working mom of two with her oldest in kindergarten this year - says she'll likely opt for hybrid.

"You can see in the background, the chaos," she said. "The kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the remote learning. We are all four feet from each other. It's pretty tough."

Schmerelson says he is confident kids will be back on campus in January. But elementary and upper grade campuses will likely not follow the same schedule.

"We are ready to get our kids back in school as long as we feel safe about it, because it's not just what the schools are doing, it's what the community is doing," he said.

There could be two shifts in the elementary school, one in the morning and one in the afternoon shift. And kids would be in cohorts with no more than 15 in the classroom.

"For secondary, it's a little more complicated," he said. "What I see right now is where students will be meeting two days a week and the other group two days a week. When the in school kids are there, the others are at home."

Schmerelson believes families will be able to change their minds even after the semester begins, allowing them some flexibility.

Alexis Opos has a second-grader in LAUSD and a preschooler. She wants her daughter back on campus for the social and emotional reasons.

But she is concerned how working parents will manage a hybrid schedule.

"I am in real estate, and because my work is all over the place and sometimes last minute that could become a big challenge for me and our family," she said.

The next step would be to survey parents to see how many want the hybrid option and how many will stick with remote learning. It is unclear if students will be able to keep their teachers depending on which option they choose.