I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well.
On Monday, July 13, LAUSD announced that while the new school year will begin on August 18, 2020, it will not start with students in school facilities due to the health risks associated with the Coronavirus pandemic.
As indicated by Superintendent Beutner is his message (https://achieve.lausd.net/latestnews), “The health and safety of all in the school community is not something we can compromise…Reopening schools will significantly increase the interaction between children and adults from different families. A 10-year-old students might have a 30-year-old teacher, a 50-year-old bus driver or live with a 70-year-old grandmother. All need to be protected. There’s a public health imperative to keep schools from becoming a petri dish.”
While I agree with the Superintendent’s decision, especially in light of the rising spread of the virus, I acknowledge the effect it will have on student learning and their emotional well-being as well as the impact it will have on our working families. I know firsthand how challenging it is to work at home while trying to care for children at the same time. I will be the first to admit that my children were suspended many times from Principal Kim’s Homeschool.
I am also aware that many of you have been waiting for information about the upcoming school year. As much as I would like to provide you with a clear picture of what a “typical” at-distance instructional day would look like, doing so would be premature as there are many remaining administrative items that the District needs to resolve before. Namely, the district will have to clarify the agreements it has with the various unions that are its partners. However as we wait for those guidelines to be released, be assured that I am working closely with all of our partners: the District, Our Local District West, staff, teachers, parents, and other educational stakeholders to ensure that we build on what we learned from our first go-around with distance learning in order to offer our children a high quality distance learning educational experience when the new school year begins.
I am making myself available by Zoom on the following days and times both to listen and answer any questions.
July 22 at 9 AM and 6 PM
August 5 at 9 AM and 7 PM
Please also note that our Local District will be holding a Virtual Town Hall Meeting this Friday, July 17th from 6 to 7 PM. In addition to being able to meet our new Local District West Superintendent and Community of School Administrator, information about the 20-21 school year will be provided and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To access the meeting please pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/FairfaxCOSTownHall.
This is a new challenge and experience for us all, but I am confident that as we move forward together, supporting each other along the way, that Third Street will offer its students the same level of care, commitment, and excellence as it always has. All of us at Third Street deeply miss you and your children and we look forward to the day when it is safe enough for us to return.
In Partnership,
Daniel Kim
Principal, 3rd Street Elementary School
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