A group of LAUSD parents who want schools to reopen participated in a Zoom blackout this week. Instead of logging their kids into their virtual classrooms, they protested in Westwood, complete with signs and bullhorns.
Getting kids back in the classroom during the pandemic is a giant challenge for educators and administrators like Kelly Gonez, President of the LA Unified School Board.
“We’re still at an overall very high level of the virus here in LA County,” she says. “So I think we want to see continued progress and those COVID rates dropping so that all of our communities can truly be assured of their safety.”
The district did, however, reach an agreement to provide some in-person services for kids with special needs, foster youth, English language learners, and unhoused students. She also says some outdoor early education programs will reopen in March.