LA's Children and Schools Need a Comprehensive Plan
Los Angeles is in an unprecedented educational crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the livelihoods, health, education, childcare, and financial stability of millions. Students in LAUSD are experiencing the painful loss of connection with peers, teachers, and school staff, and serious loss of learning that will have life-long consequences if not addressed.
Sources: LAUSD Independent Analysis Unit (Schoology engagement), LAUSD Board Distance Learning Updates, California Department of Education (CAASPP, graduation, chronic absenteeism), LAUSD School Experience Survey, and LA County Dept. of Mental Health. Schoology engagement classified active/passive/none; attendance from weekly data Oct 2020-Feb 2021 (absence = 3+ days weekly); literacy via DIBELS (TK-5); secondary achievement via STAR (Renaissance); graduation via A-G completion (D or better); synchronous time from district agreements. Limitations include limited assessment participation (60-70% for STAR) and incomplete disaggregated data.
The sections below pull out the major points from the full report — the data, the examples, and the context behind the findings.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Los Angeles Unified moved instruction online for almost half a million students — the second-largest school district in the country — supporting more than 30,000 educators and thousands of staff in the transition and feeding families millions of meals. Even so, the impact on children was devastating. About 40% of LAUSD middle and high schoolers were disengaged or absent from classes in spring 2020, and disengagement persisted into the fall. Two out of every three students were falling behind in literacy and math, and fewer young students of color were on target to learn to read than at the same point the year before.
The closures deepened existing inequities: students of color, low-income students, English learners, foster youth, students with disabilities and homeless students were set back further than their more advantaged peers. Huge numbers of high schoolers are at risk of not graduating — as of March 2021, 20% of the class of 2021, 43% of the class of 2022, 37% of the class of 2023, and 30% of the class of 2024 were missing required coursework. Researchers warn that learning losses of this scale compound over time and, left unaddressed as a true emergency, will have life-long consequences.
The most consistent finding throughout the country is that household income combined with parent education are the strongest predictors of how well our children will do in school. This means that, in many cases, our schools are reproducing patterns of inequity. … We cannot undo the past, but we can recover in a way that is truly different than the inequitable system we should leave behind.
Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D.Emery Stoops and Joyce King Dean, USC Rossier School of Education
Los Angeles Unified need not start from scratch. A team at the University of Washington’s Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) reviewed the recovery plans of over 100 districts across the country to highlight promising practices, producing a framework that addresses seven key areas every school system faces: clear, inclusive communication; a structured learning plan; a clear reopening plan with social-emotional and mental-health supports; effective resource allocation; educational services for vulnerable populations; support for staff; and health and safety measures. GPSN recommends LAUSD develop a plan that addresses all seven.