7-year-old Gael Tlaxca began taking online Spanish and Mandarin classes at Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) summer school on June 23.
“During the summer, my child will take Spanish classes for 10 weeks and Mandarin classes for almost 7 weeks. These are classes that he took during his first year in elementary school and now in the summer they are going to help him keep up his study rhythm so that he does not forget Mandarin and reinforces his Spanish ”, says Paloma Tlaxca, his mother, who is English as a Second Language teacher.
Gael just finished his first year of elementary school and started it in the middle of the pandemic. “My son advanced too much in the management of technology and became more disciplined to the degree of becoming an expert in Zoom, but I must admit that his teachers did a very good job because they always kept him very focused in his classes.”
In conclusion, he says that little Gael is happy and excited about his summer courses. “I definitely applaud the Los Angeles Unified School District for having a fully educational summer, and while it may not make up for all the time lost to the pandemic, it is enriching academically and children will learn more from using the much-needed virtual tools for future”.
In person or virtually, nearly 100,000 students from preschool to adult school began summer courses offered by LAUSD to mitigate learning loss during the pandemic..
“We are excited to offer summer school for all students, which includes reading, English, math and science for students in kindergarten through grade 8 and opportunities to earn credit for high school students,” said Superintendent Austin Beutner.
“We are offering nearly 200 different enrichment classes for all ages and all grades that literally go from A to Z, from African American history to zoology.”
On the list of students enrolled for summer school are 1,400 students from preschool, 38,000 from elementary school, 15,000 from middle school, and 43,000 from high school.
Opportunity to improve
María Bocanegra is also very happy that her 15-year-old daughter Paloma Velázquez began taking history and English classes within the LAUSD summer program.
“These two subjects were very difficult for her during the school year, she fell behind and did not finish well. Summer classes will allow you to catch up and improve your grades. They are like a second chance because they give you credits”.
He also says that the summer courses will make his daughter start the new school year with stronger foundations. “She signed up for the classes herself and I see her very focused.”
LAUSD also offers an enrichment program with academic, physical, creative, and social-emotional development activities at 337 elementary and middle schools through July 30.
The summer program for adults begins July 6 and offers job training and ESL classes.
Some of the most popular enrichment classes from last summer are being held again. Among them Sports Science with the Los Angeles Chargers and a Voyage on the Titanic.
Fender Guitar will provide free electric and acoustic guitars, ukuleles and other musical instruments to 2,500 middle school students who will join 5,000 students participating in music classes.
There are also animation and cartoon classes in which high school students earn credits toward graduation and entering college.
“Whether a student is participating in person or taking advantage of the online connection, everyone benefits from participating in school with their peers,” said Beutner.
He added that summer courses are an important step on the road to recovery. “We have shown that our nation’s leading safety protocols keep schools safe and we are happy to welcome more students to school campuses this summer.”
Back to class
News of the summer school opening came a day after the LAUSD Board of Education approved an agreement with the teachers union to return to classes in person in the 2021-22 school year.
The teachers union voted 94% in favor of returning to face-to-face classes for the new school year.
“Schools throughout Los Angeles will maintain safety protocols such as the use of masks and Covid testing as we welcome students to full-time in-person learning,” said the president of the United Teachers Union of Los Angeles ( UTLA), Cecily Myart-Cruz.
One of the additional measures that will be taken when returning to classes after the pandemic, are the Covid exams every two weeks at least as well as maintaining a public blackboard with the report of positive cases.
The agreement reached calls for the obligation to evaluate the symptoms of all students, staff and visitors to schools along with requirements for social distancing and use of masks provided by the district.
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