United States: reopening of schools scheduled for April in Los Angeles

Los Angeles | Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles schoolchildren could return to class next month, almost a year after switching to virtual classes in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The second-largest school district in the United States is lagging behind in the process of resuming classes, as experts and parents point out young people are suffering from the long outage.

Preschools and elementary schools in Los Angeles (southwest) are expected to reopen the first half of April, according to an agreement Tuesday between the district and a teachers’ union. Middle and high schools should follow at the end of April.

The agreement sets as a condition the vaccination of educational staff and an easing of health restrictions in Los Angeles County. It also has yet to be approved by the school board and members of the United Teachers of Los Angeles.

“The right way to reopen schools must include the highest level of protection against Covid in schools, continued decline of the virus in the communities we serve, and access to the vaccine for education staff,” wrote in a statement Common aired Tuesday rector Austin Beutner and United Teachers Los Angeles president Cecily Myart-Cruz. “This agreement includes this set of goals that we share.”

According to this agreement in principle, kindergartens and preschools would be the first to return to their establishments all day. Elementary schools would start with a “hybrid” model, partly on-site, partly online.

Schoolchildren of all levels will be able to continue online lessons if they wish.

The reopening of schools varies greatly between different states in the United States, as well as between public, private and religious schools.

In New York City, the country’s largest school district, schools began to gradually reopen in December.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pushing for resumption of classes for the 55 million students in the public, saying it should not be made conditional on teachers being vaccinated.

More than 61 million Americans have now received one dose or more of the vaccine, or 24% of the adult population.

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