LAUSD Will Suspend In-Person Tutoring, Childcare This Week As COVID-19 Levels Skyrocket In LA County
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — School-based instructional and childcare programs at LAUSD campuses will be suspended this week for the rest of the fall semester due to the skyrocketing levels of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County.
"Because of the extraordinary high level of COVID-19 in the Los Angeles area, it is no longer safe and appropriate to have any students on campus," Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a statement. "We will be asking those who are working at schools to work from home if at all possible for the rest of the semester."
What little in-person teaching and childcare the district had been providing will be suspended as of Thursday, Dec. 10.
The district had been providing one-on-one and small-group tutoring for students with special needs. That instruction will now shift online. LAUSD will also suspend the childcare that had been provided on campus for the children of school-based employees and high-needs families, as well as athletic conditioning programs for student athletes.
The return to an effective lockdown is a disappointment because LAUSD staffers have been working hard for a safe return for students with extensive new cleaning and health protocols and COVID-19 testing to all students at all schools, Beutner said.
"We can't create a bubble for the school community," he said. "When things are so dangerous in the communities we serve, it has implications for schools as well."
UCLA Professor of Education Tyrone Howard said he respects the superintendent's decision, but he thinks the move will further widen the education gap for most underserved communities.
"The number one responsibility of the superintendent is student safety and well-being," he said. "(But) what the data is telling us is that the learning loss is shaped by socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity."
Howard said white children and wealthier children are suffering from less learning loss.
"In some cases for black, brown and poor students, we are talking about in some estimates seven to eight months of learning loss," he said. "The reason that is so critical is because the academic year is nine months. You're talking about almost the equivalent of a whole year."
Los Angeles County has broken records several days in a row for new COVID-19 infections. On Sunday, the county reported more than 10,000 new infections, and shrinking hospital ICU capacity has forced a fresh regional lockdown across Southern California.
The district will continue to provide food and supplies from its Grab & Go Food Centers and free COVID-19 testing on campuses. District officials have not given a date of a possible reopening of schools, but Beutner says a survey found one-third of the district's families want their children to return to in-person learning.
"Time away from teachers, friends and the structure of a classroom is harming children," he said. "Many students are struggling with online learning, in particular young learners, students learning English, students with differences and disabilities, and students who were struggling before school facilities closed. The gaps are more pronounced in some of the highest needs communities we serve. The desire and capacity of all students is the same, but for some students online education just isn't working."
