Howard Blume and Sonali Kohl’s report on the large number of students in Los Angeles who are getting no instruction during the shutdown.
About one-third of some 120,000 Los Angeles high school students have not logged onto online classes every day, and 15,000 are absent from all online learning as efforts to continue distance learning fall short, according to the school district.
The disappointing figures were released Monday by L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner during a morning video update.
“It’s simply not acceptable that we lose touch with 15,000 young adults or that many students aren’t getting the education they should be,” Beutner said in prepared remarks. “This will take some time and a good bit of trial and error to get it right. And it will take the continued patience and commitment of all involved — students, families and teachers.”
Beutner says he hopes the online reach will improve as more families take advantage of free computers provided by L.A. Unified and free internet through community hot spots that Verizon is setting up through a contract with the nation’s second-largest school system.
“The great big digital divide many have spoken about is very real in the communities we serve where about 80% of our students come from families who are struggling to get by and many are not connected on the internet,” he said. “We need to train students, teachers and families so they’re all connected and comfortable using the technology.”
He added: “Then comes the main event: making sure our educators are prepared to add this to their instructional plans.”
The L.A. schools chief also pointed to bright spots in efforts to maintain student learning during a shutdown that is scheduled to last until at least the beginning of May. Beutner said that more than 200,000 people “in the area” were now watching ramped-up educational programming provided on three local public television stations: the district’s KLCS, as well as KCET and PBS SoCal.
The school system also has opened three additional grab-and-go meal distribution centers since that program began, bringing the number to 63.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In Michigan 1.2 million students are getting no instruction and many districts are refusing to hold virtual special ed meetings.
Just watched my three-year old grandson on Zoom w/ his teacher …. NYC seems to be doing a good job, although it varies widely from school to school … a vast learning curve from teacher to teacher, from household to household … the questions outnumber the answers by far …. everybody givng advice … with no end in sight, and teachers concerned with the health of their families as well as the kids they teach all you can is push on and keep connected ….
80% of my students have logged in and turned in at least one assmt. 20% do not have internet access, we are working on hooking them up to hotspots, but may end up providing packets. However, my 80% figure is deceiving. Not one of those 80% would be considered passing. 10% of those have only turned in one assmt. The remaining students have turned in less than 50% of the assmts. required so far. I am requiring much fewer assmts. to be turned in than I normally would in a face to face classroom. This is not good for my students. It is very hard to motivate. No one is logging in before noon, which was pretty much expected. We are an alternative school. One of the students remarked yesterday that he hopes we can go back to school soon, this is from a kid who hates school.
In addition, the 80% login does feel like a success. Also one student lost his school distributed Chromebook already, and another student’s dog ate the charging cord (modern version of dog ate my homework) so it wouldn’t work. On the bright side for myself, I’ve learned more about Canvas, Zoom, Adobe Reader, and hotspots.
And have you studied their terms of service and privacy policies? I recommend it.
“The great big digital divide many have spoken about is very real in the communities we serve where about 80% of our students come from families who are struggling to get by and many are not connected on the internet” Hello America….
I live here, and as a retired teacher still connected with my colleagues, I know that teachers are exhausting themselves trying to stay in touch with their students, not only teaching themselves the many paths of on-line learning, but preparing lesson plans, providing feedback, meeting the myriad demands of administration, submitting grades, and reaching out constantly to students and their parents. I am also trying to help my granddaughter navigate through the many, many assignments, and understand the frustration of parents, who are coping with fear, unemployment, or working from home, lack of health care, caring for many students living with them, trying to keep food on the table, and feeling that the schoolwork is just too much. School for some takes a back seat to surviving at this point. I criticize this district when I see bone headed errors, but in this, I think the district has really tried to meet the needs of the kids. They’ve provided food services, computers, tried to secure access to cable, and worked with local PBS programers, but they cannot, nor should they be responsible for, overcoming all the societal deficits many of our students face. They have mitigated as much as they could, and continue to try to improve services, but lack of a social safety net cannot be blamed on them, although politicians love to do that. Everyone is still learning, and there are terrible gaps that need to be addressed, but it is not for a lack of effort or will. And if anything, this should reaffirm the importance of a physical building and the real live presence of caring teachers who can motivate and provide knowledge and instant feedback.
My heart goes out to some of our neediest students that I spent my whole career serving, our ELLs. These students can go so far when districts and communities invest in them. The sad truth is that these students are the least able to get help from parents, and they are among those that are the least able to have access to technology and other educational resources. In addition needing to learn English, these students often have tremendous gaps in academics as well. This interruption in instruction will be a major setback for ELLs.
Lots of recent immigrant children also live in very crowded quarters with sometimes a different family assigned to a room in an apartment. This is a breeding ground for the virus. What about the forgotten unregistered children in cages about near the border? Maybe the ACLU should get involved as this is the human rights violation of our times for this country. This is a disgrace for America.
It’s hard enough to get my mind around the enormity of what’s actually happening, much less shoehorn in any concern for a few months’ lost instruction. The scramble to deliver online ed is a distraction, & admins should paint it as it is, an experiment & a hail mary pass.
However, reading Melissa Walsh’s post above is heartening and shows its real value: providing reassurance, guidance, and simple human connection to our students in dark times.
And highlighting free-device handouts, schoolbus hot-spots & kiddie meal drop-offs serves a good purpose. It may help JQPublic grasp the size of the rich-poor gap, the crying need for equitable wealth distribution, progressive labor policy, well-funded govt institutions.
Teacher activist and author of The History of Institutional Racism in the US Public Schools, Susan DuFresne, posted these collected responses from students on Twitter. While it may be eye opening to many, for teachers working in our under-resourced schools around the country, it’s just a confirmation of what we already expected and carries the dire implication that the situation will get worse. Schools are integral to the health and well being of our nation’s most precious resource.
Because our education system is not 100% on line there is a gap. Is that the correct frame or repackaging of the frame that there is an achievement gap?
Or, is the “gap” frame about selling product? Soap or achievement. What is the difference? Both are about a gap requiring a “product” to close the gap.
Really?
Selling a product will not close a gap that is reflective of a racial and class structure divide.
And, that is the danger of the digital divide frame.
In Los Angeles the Superintendent’s sound bite is “15,000 are absent from all online learning …”
15,000 is a sound bite because the Superintendent does not know how many are not on line. And, the frame of the digital divide works against districts living up to their duty to serve ALL students.
I reject the gap frame and believe under the U.S. Constitution, Article X, state government is responsible for educating ALL students.
Question in this Crisis is how it will California State Government frame the problem.
Not accepting the digital divide gap frame, districts can look to other than online means of communication with their students and families online.
Some of these low tech means of communication being mail, phone calls, radio/T;V. that districts could use to keep track of students.
And, it is not only the means of communication outside online communication that during this crisis needs to be utilized for a district to fulfill its no excuse duty to educate ALL students.
Teachers and support staff our a resource to totally serve ALL students as an organizing force that is on line. Many of the Los Angeles 15,000 not on line are in contact with students by low tech connection. These are a resource that needs to organized.
The frame for districts during this crisis should be serving ALL students and not a gap frame that leaves many students behind.
About those grab and go sites…Nick Melvoin screwing Fairfax again.
Sample email to use:
🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸
Please send an email to the board to alert them of the situation, there’s a sample email PLEASE use it, modify as needed and email the Board:
Nick.melvoin@lausd.net
George.Mckenna@lausd.net
Scott.Schmerelson@lausd.net
Jackie.Goldberg@lausd.net
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net
Kelly.Gonez@lausd.net
Mr. Melvoin,
Superintendent Buetner announced the opening of the Grab and Go Centers stating: “These are not ordinary days …” He continued to say the centers would provide 2 meals to each child to take home. In addition, he encouraged people to go and concluded saying “Nobody will be turned back.”
Fairfax High School’s enrollment is 1,389 students of which 58% are identified as economically disadvantaged. The school had opened a Grab and Go center to assist all the families in the school and the schools in the area.
The Grab and Go center closed without giving the community any warning and hundreds of families showed up to pick up food. Chaos, pain and suffering reigned at the school site today, people said. There are families that walk to the school and can’t drive three miles to get to the closest center.
We ask for your help to ensure the Grab and Go center at Fairfax High School reopens immediately. Please uphold Superintendent’s Buetner promise and support the schools under your care.
Sincerely,
🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸
Señor Melvoin
El superintendente Buetner anunció la apertura de los Centros Grab and Go y declaró: “Estos no son días normales …” Continuó diciendo que los centros proporcionarían 2 comidas a cada niño para llevar a casa. Además, alentó a la gente a ir y concluyó diciendo “A nadie see le regresará”.
La matrícula de Fairfax High School es de 1,389 estudiantes, de los cuales el 58% están identificados como económicamente desfavorecidos. La escuela había abierto un centro Grab and Go para ayudar a todas las familias de la escuela y las escuelas de la zona.
El centro Grab and Go cerró sin avisar a la comunidad y cientos de familias se presentaron a recoger comida. El caos, el dolor y el sufrimiento reinaban hoy en la escuela, dijeron las personas. Hay familias que caminan a la escuela y no pueden conducir tres millas para llegar al centro más cercano.
Le pedimos su ayuda para garantizar que el centro Grab and Go de Fairfax High School vuelva a abrir de inmediato. Por favor, cumpla la promesa del Superintendente Buetner y apoye las escuelas bajo su cuidado.
Sinceramente,
🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸 🚸
Thank you
There is a rather simple local solution to the problem of having to cancel classes at the beginning of March. Each school should determine where each particular subject/grade level ended instruction through having the teachers collaborate and determine the stopping points. Instead of having teachers attempt to teach online, which results in very very uneven and unjust, hence unethical coverage as many students are left out, have them get together online and map out next year’s courses with the end in mind of making up whatever springtime lost instructional time throughout the whole next year. If it is determined that it can’t be made up within the next year then map it out to continue into the next which would allow for it to all be made up completely. I doubt it would take two years.
At the same time kill the standards and testing malpractice regime, then there would definitely more time to make up the missed instructional time and probably gain some true, real instructional time.
Yes, I understand there are many questions involved in that process but that is why having the teachers do that now, during paid time, will answer many of those questions as best as they can be answered.
Do I expect any adminimal at any level to even consider this?
NO! SADLY!
Your problem, Duane, is you are cursed with a logical mind.
All school systems could just agree: this is where we were when our doors were closed. This is where we’ll pick up again. Whatever kids are doing with their teachers’ support is supplemental. We’d all be better off to acknowledge we’re an an unprecedented situation.
I saw a picture posted on the interwebs of an algebra teacher who took a whiteboard to the glass door of the home of one of his students. She didn’t understand how to graph an equation, so he drove to her house to show her. It just is not that important. We are not supposed to be miracle workers or martyrs.
It’s the madness seen in the college admission scandal that some parents are bound and determined that their child not be outpaced (and thereby left at a disadvantage somehow) by someone else’s. Such folly.
It takes our amazing teachers four years just to teach kids to read, and even after spending so much time, many kids still cannot read and are held back. The teachers tell us it is not their fault, they should not be blamed for their students showing no progress. Taking this as an exhibit, I would not expect schools to catch up with the program within two years.
Elementary kids and ELLs actually may see a bright side to that. Now they can download an app to their iPhone that will teach them English reading and writing phonics-style, so they may be behind now, but will be ahead next year. This, of course, requires parents who are keenly interested in their kids’ education, not the ones who are used to offload kids to school for half a day as if it were free daycare. This crisis is not only a test for schools, but for parents.
Did your kids have a bad experience with reading instruction? or are you just spouting off politicized memes from outlets that love to hate on public schools?
Presumably you’re talking about reading proficiency by the end of grade 3. “Many kids still cannot read and are held back.” [not addressing “held back,” which is done in only 16 states based on wildly-varying testing measurements.]
There’s a lot of data on this at the Annie E Casey Foundation site. The “many” are in fact about 80+% of the nation’s poor children. AECF is neither touting phonics cure-alls nor placing blame on “our wonderful teachers” [your /s/]. Literacy is one of multiple measures to suffer from socio-economic factors detailed in their reports, and recommendations are based on their decades of research into child social welfare.
As to phonics et al, we had a lively discussion here on March 19, post titled
“NEPC: ‘There is no Science of Reading’– check it out.
There is no reasoning in what you are saying about ELLs. They not only need to know how to read, write, spell, understand English, and acquire lots of vocabulary, particularly cognitive-academic vocabulary that will help them with content subjects, they generally have serious academic gaps. BTW, ELLs do not have iPhones in their homes. They are lucky if the dad has a smart phone.
Very sensible. The sort of thing that could be suggested/ promoted from the bully pulpit of [some other, very different] fed Dept of Ed.
What could admins do? They’re at the bottom end of an unwieldy, untenable hierarchy artificially imposed on a decentralized system designed to work from ground [grassroots] up. Charged with implementing a tangle of nonsensical, non-ed-related accountability laws. Now they’ve nothing to do but pretend it’s biz as usual, just plug the fictional online instruction cartridge into the quarantine slot.
(Response to Duane)
Duane: Considering the tale I heard from my niece, who teaches French at a Prep School filled by the highest motivated ponies in the stable, you are quite correct in every way. Her students are just going through the motions. Mine are AWOL. Even the ones with good internet connections are suffering the things we identify with distance learning. In short, it is a failure. We should just punt.
Want to know how many “learning” apps I was forced to download this week? How many different websites I had to log into with personal information? Too many. LAUSD spent $25mil on training for teachers this week. Many of the trainings were done by private website companies, some of which required we sign up for their products during the training. The one I did this morning made me record a two minute video of myself at home and post it to a website I had never heard of. Millions of dollars just went to businesses with few employees, businesses that will rake in the data. These products will be of little value to the students, and shame on the teacher who forces the students to use them.
We are a “nation at risk”. Disrupters have been calling us that since 1983, though. An education crisis was manufactured during the Reagan administration to grease the profitable privatization wheels. Today, we are a nation at risk because of a virus. And the crisis, real this time, is being used to draw public money out of public schools to give to venture capitalists yet again.
I do not know how many of my L.A. middle school students this year are willing and able to engage in the online activities substituting for education. The number is somewhere between 56 and 100%. The number doesn’t concern me. Online education activities are not memorable enough to “close the achievement gap” for it to matter. We’re not really educating any students right now, not any more than an online charter school does. But we’re throwing public funding and students’ personally identifiable information at private businesses like crazy. This whole shutdown is a Silicon Valley tech investor dream come true, and a nightmare for everyone else.
You are exactly correct, LCT. Sadly.
Education researcher Bob Slavin suggested a very reasonable alternative: put schools on break now; resume in June and go through July with regular classes, assuming it is safe to do so. See https://robertslavinsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/covid-19-and-school-closures-could-summer-help/
Few of our classrooms in Boston have any air conditioning. Sadly, that’s true in many urban school systems. Teaching in a sweltering building in the aftermath of a crisis is a bad idea.