About 15,000 Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) elementary students are currently enjoying in-person summer school, with about 55,000 other LBUSD students to start classes on Sept. 1.
In the meantime, the LBUSD Board of Education is taking steps to ensure a successful 2021-2022 academic year—a “renaissance” of in-person learning, as former LBUSD Board president Diana Craighead described it—assuming Long Beach allows schools to reopen as planned given the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The board reorganized with a new president and vice president, chose a new communications chief and learned that LBUSD’s new Learning and Acceleration Support Plan (LASP) may be made public as soon as the end of this week—complete with a transparent budget and expense tracker.
Board chooses new president, vice president; appoints new communications chief
The board unanimously chose a new president from among its members during its July 19 meeting, as it does each year at this time. Dr. Juan Benitez will preside over the board for the 2021-2022 school year, replacing Craighead, with Megan Kerr continuing as vice president.
Benitez said he would continue his efforts to help historically marginalized students and their families, especially poor communities of color.
“I am 100% committed to ensure our community’s vision for student success,” he said, referring specifically to the new learning-acceleration plan spearheaded by Superintendent Dr. Jill Baker and incorporating public input.
Benitez was snubbed by the board last year after being nominated for president by Kerr but not approved by the board.
The board also voted to appoint Justin Grayson in LBUSD’s newly created position of chief communications and community-engagement officer.
Baker said the position stemmed from the results of a recent communications audit that recommended LBUSD centralize its communications efforts rather than rely on school staff and administrators to respond to the community.
She told the board that the new position would allow educators to focus on education rather than community engagement.
In addition to public-school communications experience, Grayson’s background includes a journalism degree, a stint as an ABC News producer and a public-relations manager for Amazon.
“The most important thing in communication is listening,” Grayson told the board.
Learning and Accelerated Support Plan to go public as soon as this week
Baker told the board that information on the new LASP may be posted on LBUSD’s website as soon as this week. The public will be able to read about the four “pillars” of the plan and view its budget, which will be updated quarterly, Baker said.
LBUSD approved a $1.1-billion annual budget last month, including about $500 million in pandemic-related funds from the state and federal governments.
LASP is a cornerstone of Baker’s “excellence and equity” vision for LBUSD students. The plan divides the district’s goals and action steps into four main areas: academic acceleration and support, social and emotional wellbeing, engagement and voice, and infrastructure and capital improvement.
Baker said that though LASP hasn’t been published publicly yet, LBUSD has already implemented some of its action steps.
“We have thousands of staff participating in professional development around culturally relevant instruction, around social and emotional learning, and around better serving our English-language learners, among the many things that are in the learning-acceleration and support plan,” Baker said.
On Sept. 1, students can expect in-person classrooms to offer a “restorative restart,” as Baker described it, including activities that foster relationships among peers and with teachers, especially at the beginning of the school year.
Classrooms may not “get down to business” right away in favor of students’ social and emotional wellbeing, Baker said.
