When Los Angeles district schools went remote at the start of the pandemic, the school system’s digital divide was thrown into sharp relief — making clear many low income students lacked reliable Wi-Fi at home. Unable to connect made it nearly impossible for those students to attend online classes or complete school work.

In May, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced the partnership with AT&T, providing Wi-Fi “in the initial stage” for about 60,000 students.The new initiative uses short-term federal funding to cover nearly all of the cost. Carvalho said federal money would likely cover a second year for participating students.

About 90,000 students lack broadband service, LAUSD has estimated. And, according to a survey conducted last year, 84 percent of families, most low income, had issues accessing a good internet connection at home.

“This is a really big deal that LAUSD is doing this,” said Executive Director from Great Public Schools Now Ana Ponce. “Unfortunately…resources are finite.”

“There is a chance that LAUSD may not have the funds to provide this beyond a year or two,” Ponce said, “so what is the long term solution for those 90,000 (students)?”

Ponce also raised issues about using hotspots distributed by LAUSD.

“Hotspots just aren’t great in general, they have drop off,” she said. They don’t work for people when you have a lot of people accessing the same hotspot. And then literally in some communities, hotspots just don’t work.”

Evelyn Aleman, founder of Our Voice: Communities for Quality Education said length of time covered by the partnership is “not enough. Low-income communities have been severely impacted by the pandemic.”

She said one of her clients, a mother supporting her low income family of three, “was paying $80 for the internet. She had to get rid of the service because she just couldn’t afford it. One year simply isn’t enough for parents like her.”

LAUSD district 7 board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin, who sponsored a resolution last year calling on LAUSD to make sure all students had access to Wi-Fi, commended the district and AT&T for the initiative, but expressed concern families might not know how to install the internet in their homes.

“Government… should be providing the Internet similar to how we provide public utilities like water and electricity,” said Ortiz Franklin. “My hope is… we can continue to not only pay for this service… but we can also get it covered by the federal government.”

This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Veronica Sierra is a junior pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

USC Center for the Political Future/Twitter

School boards across the nation have become consumed with polarizing political issues such as masking and critical race theory, turning their jobs into nearly impossible work, a panel of experts said earlier this month.

The USC Center for the Political Future hosted a virtual panel of experts in early March who discussed how political polarization across the nation is making parents’ collaboration with educators and elected school board officials more challenging.

“Being a school board member is an extremely time consuming, difficult job where you’re investing sometimes more time in other people’s children than your own,” said former Beverly Hills Unified School District President and panelist Lisa Korbatov.

“Everyone gets threatened with a recall,” said Korbatov, who was on the board for nine years and served as president twice. “And I used to say to people who threaten me, ‘OK, where do I sign up for this? I’ll donate to recall me.’ This is a labor of love. This is not for the faint of heart.”

Panel member Nick Melvoin, who also serves as LAUSD vice president, said school boards are being used as a tool by certain partisan interests.

“I think school districts and school boards are… fighting America’s societal battles, whether that’s masking, vaccinations, critical race theory, these things that affect American families,” said Melvoin, who was first elected to the board in 2017 in the single most expensive school race in U.S. history, and is up for reelection in the Los Angeles’ June 7 primary ballot.

USC Rossier School of Education Dean Pedro Noguera, said “agitators” are politicizing hot issues in right-leaning states, such as Florida, where some parent groups have protested against critical race theory being taught in schools.

He added that in some cases unions “have, I think, incorrectly taken a position that schools should stay online longer than they were and all that masks should be kept on.

“So I don’t want to pretend the issues are simple but I do think that by over politicizing them, what we’re seeing is many superintendents deciding to retire early… And what we need to recognize is that some of those were agitating, destroying the public schools as part of their agenda,” Noguera said.

During the discussion, Korbatov said parents are simply concerned about their children’s education.

“I met many of them from Virginia, and they were just moms and dads…(a)… Loudoun County father came up who was arrested, dragged off, I believe, because his daughter was raped in a bathroom by a transgender kid who the superintendent did not inform anyone or the school board,” Korbatov said.

Noguera replied, “I know that superintendent. I quickly looked it up. It’s not true, and it’s been documented that it’s not true,” Nogera said. “But misinformation is part of the problem, and this is part of what we also have to teach kids.”

The mask mandate in schools is also expected to be a hot topic in the upcoming LAUSD elections. California and most local districts across the state lifted the mask mandate earlier, but it wasn’t until this week that LAUSD, after negotiating with the teachers union, was set to drop its indoor mask requirement. Instead, the district announced that starting March 23 masks will be strongly recommended in schools.

Darline Robles, former superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education and professor at USC Rossier, acknowledged that politics have been and will always be there but as a board member having the trust of the community and a relationship with parents is critical.

“It begins on day one… you’d better handle it if people already know who you are, what you believe and what you stand for, that you care deeply about their children. What’s best for students? What’s best for my employees to make sure they have what they need to support the students?,” Robles said. “Everything else is noise.”

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Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020.

This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.   

Allison Shelley for EDUimages

The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution last week to study the district’s hiring and retention of Black educators aimed at improving staff diversity as concerns grow over a coming wave of possible teacher retirements.

Current LAUSD data shows far fewer Black teachers in classrooms compared to other ethnic groups. In addition some local districts have few Black educators compared to others. Additionally, a possible round of retirements of LAUSD teachers could mean an exodus of Black teachers at a time when few Black men and women are in the pipeline to replace them.   

Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin, who sponsored the Black Educator Preparation and Retention Resolution, said the goal was to understand “the data more deeply and broadly.”

“There is very likely a huge number of students and L.A. staff members who will never meet a Black educator, ” said Ortiz Franklin, “and that’s a real problem.” 

The resolution directs newly-appointed superintendent Alberto Carvalho to create a plan that, in part, diversifies “the number of Black senior/executive leaders, Black administrators, Black leaders in Student Mental Health, and Black teachers in the District.” 

Research shows exposure to even one Black teacher can have a direct impact on academic performance and outcomes of Black students. 

“We know that at least one Black educator in the elementary school years increases your high school graduation rate and college attendance rate” for Black students, said Speak Up Parents educational advocate Lisa Ross.  

Currently, the resolution pointed out, “only 28.2 percent of Black students who graduated from District high school in 2019-2020 are eligible for (California state colleges and universities) compared to 37.7 percent of all students, according to the District Equity Scorecard.”

In the current school year, Black teachers represent 8.3% of the LAUSD  workforce, compared to  30.6% White and 46% Latino teachers, according to the district’s data, Black students make up for 7% of the district’s enrollment.

Though the proportion of Black teachers to Black students is nearly even, researchers pointed to a troubling trend: With 40% of LAUSD’s teachers over the age of 50 and many Black female teachers nearing retirement, there are few younger Black women and men applying for the jobs. 

“What we’ve learned is that a large percentage of black educators are nearing retirement,” said CEO of Diversity in Leadership Laura McGowan-Robinson. “But fewer numbers of Black educators are coming into the district.” 

Current data show with the total number of Black LAUSD teachers at 2,063, they lag far behind  other ethnic groups, such as Hispanic teachers (10,4610), White teachers (7,358), and Asian teachers (2,147). 

In addition, an uneven concentration of Black teachers shows many students have far less access to them.  In the West local district for example there are 694 Black teachers, compared to East local district where there are 106.  

See full chart here. (LAUSD)

During  the board meeting, parents and advocates spoke expressing their support for the resolution and shared personal experiences about how diverse representation in schools has had a meaningful impact on their children’s academic success.

“I still clearly remember my first Black educator,” said parent advocate Yasmin Imani, speaking at the board meeting. “Her name was Ms. Alexander and I had her in the fourth grade. I felt so supported and cared for.”

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Yesenia Torres screens students coming to Elysian Heights Elementary Arts Magnet on Friday, Jan. 14 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Getty Images)

Even as Omicron surged through Los Angeles early last month, Hilda Avila knew she would send her son back to his public middle school when classes resumed.

“As a parent, it is my responsibility to teach my son that there are going to be challenges,” said Avila, whose 12-year-old son Jaziel attends Wilmington Middle School. “Adversities are going to come, and as a human being one cannot live out of fear.”

But the first few weeks were not easy, said Avila, who recalled feeling frustrated that teachers were absent and substitutes she did not know led her son’s classes. Some teachers at the school taught online after getting a vaccine exemption, she added.

Many LAUSD parents seemed last week to have caught up with Avila’s thinking, sending their children back to school in growing numbers after keeping them home earlier in the month.

According to the Los Angeles Unified School District, attendance increased from 66.2 percent in the first week of school in early January to nearly 80 percent last week.

When schools resumed classes on January 11, The Los Angeles County Department of Health was reporting 12,617 new COVID daily cases.

But parents and educators said that while things have slowly gotten better inside the nation’s second largest district’s schools, the first week was not easy.

Irma Villalpando, an aide at the Maywood Center For Enriched Studies Magnet school, said more than 300 students and at least 10 teachers were out the first week.

“There were two subs sent from the district and the rest of the classrooms were covered by counselors, principal, assistant of principal, some teachers had a training period and they also helped in and covered classrooms,” said Villalpando. “It ran very smoothly.”

But Villalpando said while classes were covered, not much learning was going on: “Some students did tell me that it was difficult because they were not doing much, they were bored.” she said.

The parent of two high school students attending Maywood, Villalpando said one of her daughters told her “she had a hard time staying awake in one of her classes because she had nothing to do.”

Last week, Interim LAUSD superintendent Megan Reilly, emphasized COVID cases were dropping, and added that 100 percent of school teachers and employees are fully vaccinated. Teachers that would fail the vaccination mandate would get fired.

“We continued to be intelligent and agile in creating the safest learning environment,” said Reilly, “Monitoring conditions daily, consulting with experts and doctors and reviewing COVID-19 data to ensure all measures are effective.”

District’s health safety guidelines include weekly COVID-19 testing for both students and employees, isolation for five days if testing positive, and mandatory use of masks. The LAUSD implemented a new mask mandate on Monday, prohibiting cloth masks.

Vanessa Aramayo, a parent advocate with Alliance for a Better Community said the school district is doing everything possible to implement those guidelines.

“I believe the schools reopening during the pandemic allowed for increased testing, identification of cases and environments that are safe for children, and they also provide environments and information for parents to be able to obtain the resources, they need to be able to protect themselves and their families from infection or from further spread,” said Aramayo.

Despite the guidelines and precautions, some families don’t believe it is safe to send children back to school, including parents of students with special needs, said Lisa Mosko, a parent advocate with Speak UP.

“Many families I know were relieved to be back at school in person because the academic and mental health toll of being out of school for so long on their kids was too much,” said Mosko. “Other families I know did not feel ready to go back, especially families of kids who are medically fragile.”

“They [The LAUSD] have a very difficult job and that’s making sure that schools are safe, that teachers and students, and that all the faculty will not be in harm’s way if they go back to school,” said Aramayo. “And the testing that they’ve implemented has been groundbreaking and they’ve been a leader in doing that.”

This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Los Angeles families are divided along racial lines and income levels over how well the Los Angeles Unified School District handled remote learning and other issues during the pandemic, a new poll shows.

The annual poll by Great Public Schools Now of 500 Los Angeles families found 43 percent of “very low income” and 27 percent of families of color did not believe the quality of remote learning was good; while just 7 percent of higher income and 27 percent of white families experienced similar problems during the 2020-21 school year.

“Many low-income and families of color feel positive about what is going on in public schools in general; but not at the same level as higher-income families and white families in the school systems,” write the authors of the report.

“One resounding finding is that ensuring all students and their families have access to the same quality experiences is still not realized,” the report concluded.

When classes went remote in the spring of 2020, many L.A. students faced challenges such as not having devices or wifi access, the poll found. Concerns were also expressed about student mental health services and educational resources, with white families often reporting better interactions with the school system.

Here are 5 key findings from the report:

1. Opinions on mental health support for students varied by race and income

78 percent of the respondents said schools handled mental health support well, but racial and income gaps persist: While 80 percent of white families approved of how student mental health supports were handled, just 61 percent of Black families felt that way.

2. Opinions on the quality of remote learning were also mixed

More than 80 percent of higher income, and 63 percent of white families said remote learning made things better for their children, while just 30 percent of very low income and 57 percent of families of color had that experience.

3. Students faced struggles accessing the internet at home — an issue that was true for students from all backgrounds

According to the survey 84 percent of families encountered internet connection issues at home. This issue transcended race and income with 25 percent of Latino families reporting “poor access to good internet” compared to 24 percent of white families; and 18 percent of Black families.

4. Survey showed gaps in family perspective on school decisions

A majority of the respondents (81 percent) reported feeling listened to when it comes to school decisions, but not everyone feels heard equally. Families with higher incomes overwhelmingly felt they had more influence on school decisions than those poor families; while fewer low income families felt this way.

5. Across the board, Los Angeles families wanted a better quality of education

Looking ahead, Los Angeles families uniformly wanted more and better educational resources; with tutoring at the top of the list; followed by after school programs that offer both academic and non-academic support, and out of school time support.