LAUSD Retracts Plans to Extend 2021-22 School Year

Eric Lee, News Editor

LAUSD has walked back their plan to extend the 2021-22 school year by two weeks after facing pushback from stakeholders all across the district.

Though there has been a significant loss of learning and reduced productivity in school communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LAUSD Board of Education unanimously voted to reject Superintendent Austin Beutnerโ€™s proposed extension in the last week of April.

โ€œHere is what I keep hearing from parents and educators alike: We cannot follow the most stressful and emotionally traumatic year our learning communities have ever had with the longest school year weโ€™ve ever had,โ€ said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz.

โ€œFamilies need time to be together, recuperate and prepare for our new normal in the fall.โ€

Spanish teacher Angela Fajardo, a co-chair of Venice Highโ€™s UTLA chapter, was among those relieved to hear this news.

โ€œI am glad the School Board listened to Educators and Parents in not extending the School Year,โ€ she said. โ€œWe have not stopped teaching since we went virtual and now hybrid. All of us need a mental break to recharge our batteries and be effective in the fall of 2021.โ€