LESD News
Superintendent Update - September 18, 2020
Dear Lawndale Community,
Now that students have been in Distance Learning for a full three weeks, we can see that students’ experience is much improved over last spring! Thanks to the dedication of our Educational Services department and our teachers, we have consistent communication and instructional platforms with ClassDojo and Google classroom. Thanks to our parents for learning about these platforms and supporting our students in Distance Learning.
In order to orient parents to the use of the devices, platforms, and schedules, parents in elementary schools were oriented to the Distance Learning program during the first two days of school. All students - from preschool through eighth grade - have either iPads or Chromebooks at home.
District Goal 4: Provide 21st Century Learning Environments
For decades, we have been working toward ensuring all students have equitable access to computer technology and the internet at school. Due to the pandemic, we have been able to accomplish this in a matter of months. We now have the opportunity to refine our Distance Learning model and create the opportunity for students to explore outside the normal school hours. This is a new world for all of us, and I am proud and grateful for the way that our teachers, students and parents have met the challenges.
New Guidelines from the LA County Department of Public Health - Small Cohorts
The Department of Public Health for Los Angeles County updated guidelines to allow for small cohorts of students for in-school assessment and instruction. The guidelines prioritize students receiving special education services, as well as English Learners. There can be no more than 12 students and 2 supervising adults in a cohort. Cohorts must be “stable”, meaning that students and staff must not “mix” with any other students or staff.
In alignment with this new guidance, we are currently preparing our school sites to transition to providing in-person instruction and assessments for small cohorts of students who meet the qualification mentioned above.
Applying for the Waiver Process
As of today, no schools in Los Angeles County can apply for a waiver to bring additional students on campus through a waiver process. Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, stated that our county’s COVID case rate is still too high. We are in “Tier 1” or the “purple” stage, which is the most acute stage. As of yesterday, the county had a daily COVID case rate of 8.1 cases per 100,000 people. We need to reduce the daily case rate to less than seven cases per 100,000 people to get to “Tier 2”. The best way we can do this is to wear a mask when near other people, maintain social distancing, and wash our hands frequently.
Once the County of Los Angeles is able to attain Tier 2 status with less than 7 daily cases per 100,000 people, we would need to maintain that level for 14 consecutive days before we could apply for a waiver to bring more students on campus. At that time, we will begin with those special education and English Learner students for whom we have greatest evidence of need for in-person instruction.
Moving From Purple (Tier I) to Red (Tier 2)
Sincerely,
Betsy Hamilton
Superintendent