Friday was the last day of school for students in LAUSD, but their teachers and the district are already preparing for the fall. Here’s a closer look at what parents can expect when their kids return to class in August.
Cheers of relief and joy were heard on this year’s last day of school for LA unified.
“It had its challenges, with distance learning, but it’s very exciting and bittersweet, and we’re looking forward to next year,” Cynthia Montoya, a LAUSD parent said.
What next year will look like is laid out in a nine-page agreement between the teachers union, UTLA and the district.
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It calls for nearly all the current COVID-19 safety measures to remain in place, including regular COVID-19 testing on campus, temperature checks, adequate soap and hand sanitizer, improved ventilation systems, daily cleaning and disinfecting, and face masks for all students and staff.
“I think that’s good because we have to remember we’re still in a pandemic. Just because the numbers are low doesn’t mean it’s handled everywhere else,” Yazmin Arevalo, another parent, said.
Yazmin Arevalo is the mother of two LAUSD students, whom we’ve been following since the first day of school, which was online, at home. That was not ideal for her pre-k daughter.
“It was a lot of refocus, refocus, so she wasn’t learning as much,” she said.
When schools reopened in April, Arevalo did not send her kids back right away.
“I did wait about two weeks to make sure the schools were okay for them to go back to.”
She's pleased with the district’s safety measures, and she’s glad they’ll remain in place in the fall.
“Our kids are not vaccinated yet. We have little kids, so we have to take care of them still,” she added.
For both students and teachers who choose to remain home for medical reasons, online will be an option.
Elementary teachers will provide three hours of live instruction, while secondary teachers are only required to provide a minimum of 40 minutes live each day.
“No more tears, I’m still going to see you! Group hug," a teacher said, trying to calm her student.
There's no doubt this student will choose to return to class in the fall. The thought of not seeing his teacher until then was too much to bear on this last day of school.
“Get him some ice cream. Ice cream helps everything.”
