OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

LOS ANGELES TIMES

In massive reopening effort at 1,400 L.A. public schools, safety is the priority

The complex logistics of awakening 1,400 Los Angeles schools are reaching a crescendo this week with officials especially focused on safety — announcing plans to open 25 community vaccination centers.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-05/la-unified-opening-25-community-vaccination-clinics-at-schools

VOICE OF SAN DIEGO

Here’s Where More Than $2 Billion in Aid for Local Schools Is Going

In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, state and federal lawmakers over the last year sent several tidal waves of cash to K-12 public school districts, including those in San Diego County. Based on allocations reported by government agencies, the total coronavirus relief aid coming to the region’s 42 K-12 public school districts and the San Diego County Office of Education will surpass $2 billion. That is on top of their regular funding – which this year was spared from losses tied to enrollment declines.

https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/heres-where-more-than-2-billion-in-aid-for-local-schools-is-going/

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Mobile mental health team rushes in to take on pandemic's emotional toll

After a year of school closures and isolation, many Bay Area students are suffering. Parents and teachers have reported failing grades and rising depression. Suicide attempts in adolescents are skyrocketing.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local-politics/article/As-S-F-students-grapple-with-pandemic-s-16075149.php

Schools chief — who was set to retire — decides to stay amid controversy and crisis

Superintendent Vince Matthews announced Monday he would remain on the job for another year as the embattled school district deals with upheaval and chaos.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/S-F-schools-chief-who-was-set-to-retire-16077805.php

PRESS-TELEGRAM LONG BEACH

LAUSD to open 25 school-based vaccination sites for district families

With less than half of all Los Angeles Unified students planning to return to campus when schools reopen this month for hybrid learning, Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday, April 5, that having students home “isn’t the objective” as he announced plans to expand the number of school-based vaccination centers the district is offering.

https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/04/05/lausd-to-open-25-school-based-vaccination-sites-for-district-families/

FRESNO BEE

Why Clovis schools teachers are trying to form a 'historic' union

Teachers in one of the largest Fresno County school districts are taking steps to form a union following disagreements and tensions between administrators and educators over reopening school for in-person instruction during a global pandemic.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article250452936.html

EDSOURCE

How California high schools plan to pull off ‘normal’ graduations

Hurtling toward the end of a hectic year, most K-12 and high school districts in California are intensely focused on reopening campuses and giving the Class of 2021 a final send-off to remember in June. The goal and operating assumption, many district administrators say, is they can do an in-person graduation, where seniors can walk across a stage with their families present.

https://edsource.org/2021/how-california-high-schools-plan-to-pull-off-normal-graduations/652559

KPCC

LAUSD Offering Child Care Subsidy For Staff As Schools Reopen

Parents employed full-time by the Los Angeles Unified School District who have young children will get a $500 a month subsidy to help pay for child care. The district announced the program a week before some elementary schools and early education centers are scheduled to reopen.

https://laist.com/latest/post/20210406/LAUSD-Child-Care-For-Staff-As-Schools-Reopen

KPBS

Parents Sue La Mesa-Spring Valley District Over Lack of In-Person Instruction

A lawsuit has been filed against the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District on behalf of parents who allege the district has failed to provide in-person learning as required by law since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/apr/05/parents-sue-la-mesa-spring-valley-district/

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

San Francisco school board to vote on school renaming, again

The San Francisco school board is poised to reverse a much-criticized decision to purge 44 schools of names it said were linked to racism, sexism or other injustices, a turnaround aimed at avoiding costly litigation and toning down outrage at what critics denounced as ill-timed activism. Just over two months ago, the city’s elected Board of Education voted to strip schools of the names of historic figures including Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Louis Stevenson. A school named for longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on the list as well.

https://apnews.com/article/san-francisco-dianne-feinstein-robert-louis-stevenson-california-school-boards-28dc395d697dd6e09979c6ca3157de5e

Reticent families in NYC, LA could prove true test for school reopenings, even as Gallup poll reveals overwhelming parent support nationwide

Seventy-nine percent of parents support in-person learning for schools in their communities, according to a Gallup poll from mid-March. But as Los Angeles Unified School District prepares to welcome students back to classrooms in April, and as New York City gives families another chance to enroll their children for in-person learning through April 7, parental decisions may prove the true test of school reopenings.

http://laschoolreport.com/reticent-families-in-nyc-la-could-prove-true-test-for-school-reopenings-even-as-gallup-poll-reveals-overwhelming-parent-supp

LAUSD Reminds Families That Students Must Be Tested for COVID-19 Each Week

Some Los Angeles Unified schools will reopen for in-person classes next week, and families planning to send their kids back to the campus were reminded Monday that students must get a baseline COVID-19 test before returning and follow-up tests each week after.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/education/2021/04/05/lausd-says-students-must-be-tested-for-covid-each-week

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