LAUSD Retracts Plans to Extend 2021-22 School Year
May 19, 2021
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 Beutnerโs proposed extension in the last week of April.
โHere 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 weโve ever had,โ said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz.
โFamilies 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 Highโs UTLA chapter, was among those relieved to hear this news.
โI am glad the School Board listened to Educators and Parents in not extending the School Year,โ she said. โWe 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