A press release from the Long Beach Unified School District announced that due to a significant surge in COVID-19 cases, LBUSD will continue to provide most instruction through distance learning until at least March 1 rather than starting in-person classes on Jan. 28, as they previously announced, with a possibility of pushing the date back as far as April 12.
“California and the Los Angeles County region are seeing record-breaking numbers of COVID cases, with hospitals being pushed to capacity. Unfortunately, state and local health data predict an additional surge of COVID cases after the December holidays. Given these circumstances, L.A. County likely will not meet the threshold to move into the less restrictive red tier by Jan. 1. As a result, local schools likely will not be allowed to reopen in January. If the new March 1 reopening date also is not allowed at that time, then the date will be pushed to April 12, which immediately follows spring break,” stated LBUSD in the press release.
LBUSD is Long Beach’s largest employer, with 70,000 students and 12,000 employees. They stated that aside from the school district’s obligation to follow state criteria for reopening, they are also postponing the date because of “its community obligation to ease the burden on the region’s already strained hospitals and frontline health care workers while lowering the risk of serious illness for vulnerable populations.”
The press release also stated that “Education leaders and staff here recognize the ongoing burdens that students, families and colleagues face in the distance learning environment. LBUSD’s facilities are well prepared with the necessary equipment and plans to reopen campuses when the school district is allowed to do so.”
Meanwhile, between Jan. 4 and March 1, LBUSD stated that they will:
• Continue to provide childcare for essential workers and families enrolled in Kids’ Club, Child Development Centers and Head Start;
• Continue to assess students for support services;
• Begin services in collaborative co-teaching pre-school classes;
• Work with city health officials and labor partners to explore opportunities for bringing students from transitional kindergarten through grade two back to campus on a waiver;
• Continue to support teachers in conducting distance learning in the best way possible.
