School year to begin August 18
By Sam Catanzaro
Four months after Los Angeles schools closed classrooms due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the Los Angeles Unified School District has announced that the upcoming academic year will begin remotely.
“Four months ago today, we made the difficult decision to close our schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Much has changed since that time: New research is available, additional information on school safety experiences from around the world, and updated health guidelines from state and county leaders,” reads a joint statement from LAUSD and San Diego Unified School District released Wednesday. “One fact is clear: those countries that have managed to safely reopen schools have done so with declining infection rates and on-demand testing available. California has neither. The skyrocketing infection rates of the past few weeks make it clear the pandemic is not under control. Therefore, we are announcing that the new school year will start online only.”
According to LAUSD, the school year will resume on schedule on August 18.
Teachers will receive expanded training in online education to better meet the needs of students, the District says, and students will receive additional training at the start of the year to become better online learners. In addition, online supports for parents will be increased to make it easier for them to participate in the education of their students, according to LAUSD.
Free meals will continue to be provided at the current distribution stations, LAUSD noted as well.
“The federal government must provide schools with the resources we need to reopen in a responsible manner,” LAUSD said. “The coronavirus has not taken a summer vacation, as many had hoped. Indeed, the virus has accelerated its attacks on our community.”
LAUSD said it will provide more detailed information about both online and at-school programs in the coming weeks, with final plans by the first week in August.
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