In this difficult time, LACOE remains committed to improving the lives of students and our educational community through service, leadership and advocacy. Here, we share best practices, tips and success stories from the county’s 80 districts as we innovate and adapt together to ensure continuity of learning and safety of students, staff and families. |
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Town Hall focuses on student safety, well-being |
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Education and health experts answered parents' questions about student safety and well-being in a school reopening Town Hall on March 26. They also discussed resources and initiatives to support families as students return to campuses, including Public Health's Parent Ambassador Program. This program aims to engage parents in ensuring a safe return to campuses and provides information and training on safety practices. Participants learn about safety measures being taken at schools and ways to encourage others to promote health and safety.
The Town Hall panelists included LACOE Superintendent Dr. Debra Duardo, LA County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Mental Health Director Dr. Jonathan Sherin, Dr. Robert Gilchick of Public Health's Adolescent Health Team and Glendale USD Superintendent Dr. Vivian Ekchian. The live virtual event was moderated by LACOE Deputy Supt. Arturo Valdez.
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Equity, diversity and inclusion
Long Beach USD: Physically distant in the classroom
but 'shoulder-to-shoulder' against hate
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As Long Beach USD welcomes thousands of students back to campuses, Supt. Jill Baker reaffirms the district's commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Excellence, she says, includes preparing students for success in a society that is diverse in its demographics, viewpoints and beliefs.
In a video message, Dr. Baker says race-based violence and inequities remain, citing recent tragedies including the Atlanta shooting that took the lives of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. As schools reopen, "we will remain socially distant from a physical standpoint," she says, but "will stand shoulder-to-shoulder" against hate.
In LBUSD NewsByte, the district reports that thousands of TK to 5th-grade students are back on campuses while middle and high school students have the option of returning to the classroom in mid-April.
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Palmdale SD ensures safe return to campuses |
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In a video message, Palmdale SD Supt. Raul Maldonado assures families that safety measures have been taken to prepare for the reopening of schools for all grade levels by April 19. "The primary goal is to maintain a healthy, safe environment at all the schools," he says. The district will offer after-school tutoring and will address students' social and emotional needs.
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LACHSA students to join Education Secretary Cardona, Herbie Hancock in live jazz informance on April 13 |
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LA County High School for the Arts students Kai Burns and Joshua Wong have been selected to be a part of the seven-member Herbie Hancock Institute's National Peer-to-Peer All-Star Jazz Septet for 2021. The Septet, along with Herbie Hancock and US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, will be presenting a live virtual jazz informance via Zoom on Tuesday, April 13, beginning at 1 pm EST.
LACHSA Principal John Lawler thanked Dr. JB Dyas, vice president for Education and Curriculum Development at the Herbie Hancock Institute, saying he was "thrilled to see our exceptional students Joshua and Kai honored with this opportunity." He acknowledged the excellent work of LACHSA teacher Alex Hahn and Music Department Chair Michael Powers.
The April 13 event will highlight the importance of music education in public schools and the American values jazz represents, including teamwork, unity with ethnic diversity, perseverance and democracy. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees must register in advance.
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Just the Facts: COVID-19 vaccine Q&A |
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LA County Department of Public Health's Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez explains why people under the age of 16 cannot get the COVID-19 vaccine at this time.
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Celebrating the arts' impact on communities |
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April is Arts, Culture and Creativity Month--a time to recognize and celebrate the value of the arts and the collective impact they bring to our communities and state. "The arts leverage and nurture creativity in our school children," says LACOE Arts and STEAM Coordinator Jeannine Flores. "The arts bring people together and help us celebrate our unique cultures - in schools, homes and neighborhoods."
Create CA and Californians for the Arts have produced toolkits to help spread the word. Create CA participants include LACOE, Arts For LA and LA County Department of Arts and Culture.
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Celebrating the joy of poetry |
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April is National Poetry Month, 30 days of celebrating the joy of poetry and an opportunity to discover some of the most well-loved poets, books and anthologies. LACOE's Reading/Language Arts expert Leslie Zoroya has compiled resources for teaching poetry and offers a quick module to guide students through five steps of building a found poem. She also co-hosted podcasts featuring WriteGirl's Keren Taylor and LA County Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson.
We were all amazed with Amanda Gorman’s recitation of her stunning poem at the presidential inauguration. Did you know she was part of WriteGirl LA’s creative writing program? Join us for a conversation with WriteGirl founder Keren Taylor to learn how to ignite that creative spark in students.
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K12 Climate Action presents in this short video how Green Career and Technical Education prepares students for jobs in a clean economy, exposes students to in-demand green industries and prepares them to bring a sustainability focus to any career path.
As part of a listening session series, also produced by K12 Climate Action, panelists focus on how CTE programs are uniquely positioned to engage youth in learning about sustainability and green careers.
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Rising to the Challenge: Districts Innovating to Address Equity Across Los Angeles County |
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Given the extended physical closures of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a heightened need for school districts to implement practices that mitigate potential learning loss and address the social-emotional needs of students.
Rising to the Challenge: Districts Innovating to Address Equity Across Los Angeles County is a new report from the Greater LA Education Foundation that lifts up promising practices being implemented across the county to spark ideas for district leaders and educators as they seek to support the educational experiences and social-emotional needs of students through distance learning and the transition to reopen.
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Strategically Planning for In-Person Physical Education for K-12 Schools
TODAY, 4/5/2021
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Presentation will include:
- Resources that support instructional planning while maintaining COVID-19 guidelines for in-person instruction
- Templates to guide conversations with school/district stakeholders
- COVID-19 and Reopening In-person Instruction Framework
Facilitators: Tonya Moore and Kathy Arroyo
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LACOE Supt. Debra Duardo will be a featured speaker at the 2021 Trauma-Informed Care Conference Series scheduled for April 13-14, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Participants will gain knowledge from leaders in trauma research, attend virtual workshops and join discussions.
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LACOE has launched its Learning Recovery & Acceleration Series to help educators identify, share and implement best practices to mitigate losses and accelerate student learning and well-being.
The series is organized by six high-priority focus areas: student engagement, social emotional learning, academics, special populations, family/community engagement and operations/logistics.
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LACOE is an original partner with the Music Center and LAUSD in offering the Very Special Arts Festival, an annual event celebrating the creative achievement of students of all abilities. The festival features student and professional performances, visual and performing arts workshops and a student art exhibit created around the theme.
To be held virtually on April 16 from 10-11 am, this year's festival takes the theme "Seeds of Kindness." Schools can sign up to watch the festival until April 15.
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County health and school officials Friday (March 26) responded to questions from parents about schools reopening across the county during a live virtual townhall.
Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo told listeners 77% of county school districts will be reopened for in-person instruction by the end of April.
“We really plan to focus on healing and social and emotional well-being when everybody comes back to school,” Duardo said, emphasizing the continued work to support students facing challenges like poverty, homelessness and access to technology.
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Resources for Families & Schools |
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Don’t forget, LACOE is regularly updating several pages of resources:
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