All LAUSD schools will have students back on campus by the end of the month, Beutner says
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday that all schools in the county will have students back on campus by the end of the month.
"We will open 61 elementary schools and 11 early education centers starting the week of April 12. The remaining elementary schools and early education centers will open the week of April 19, and middle and high schools will open the week of April 26," he said.
The superintendent added that the reopening of each school will be staggered over several days in order to maintain the highest standards of COVID safety practices and protocols.
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Among the changes when students return to the classroom are that every student and staff member on a school campus will be tested for COVID-19 each week.
"This testing program is an important part of each school’s COVID safety plan," said Beutner.
Parents were asked to make sure their child gets tested for COVID-19 sometime this week if their school reopens the week of April 12.
LAUSD testing centers will be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., from April 5 to April 25. If you need more information on this or wish to schedule an appointment for a COVID test at a school near you, call the Family Hotline at 213-443-1300 or your school principal.
LAUSD's reopened elementary schools will offer three hours of focused work in literacy, math, science and social studies, as well as recess and lunch, in addition to homework help and enrichment activities such as painting, dance and yoga.
Families also may choose to continue online learning rather than going back to the classroom, and many have been hesitant to return their children to schools.
A survey of LAUSD families shows that 49% of elementary school parents want their kids to return to the classroom, with about three-quarters of responses in. Those who don't participate in the survey will remain in online instruction.
At the high school level, only 25% of families who participated in the survey said they'll return their students to campuses; and 35% of middle school families said they'll come back to the classroom.
LAUSD is also opening 25 school-based vaccination centers to help the families in its community. The first two will open on April 6 at Washington Preparatory and Lincoln High Schools in collaboration with St. John’s Well Child and Family Center. St. John’s will provide the doses of vaccine and the clinical staff to administer the shots while Los Angeles Unified will oversee the outreach to the school community and provide operational support at the school sites.
On April 9, LAUSD will open a vaccination center at Gage Middle School with the help of Northeast Community Clinics to serve school families in the Huntington Park community, Beutner said.
Anyone with questions or in need of assistance in receiving a free vaccination at a school in your neighborhood, was asked to call LAUSD's Family Vaccination Hotline at 213-328-3958.
For more information, visit LAUSD.net.