Covid-19’s Devastating Impact on Our Children
Interviews with Five Educational Professionals
Ihad the privilege of asking five educational professionals to give their perspectives on the current pandemic by providing their thoughts, concerns, and advice. Most are retired teachers. Their insights come from many years of experience within the Los Angeles school district. Some of these educational professionals have over 30 years or more teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
What are we facing? According to Human Rights Watch, there are over 3.1 billion students out of school worldwide. And 55 million American children are out of school. School budgets are already underfunded and are now facing more difficult funding choices. Thousands of students are involved in home studies or on-line curriculum learning in a district where 80% of the Los Angeles students are living in poverty and do not have this in-home luxury. School districts are desperately trying to develop plans for reopening schools in a safe manner. Much of the current crisis is due to the impact of the coronavirus. Additional pressure will be placed on our public schools because the state budget is now in a crisis.
What are your concerns around the Covid-19 given the severe impact this pandemic has had on our educational system?
What are your concerns around the Covid-19 given the severe impact this pandemic has had on our educational system?
Austin Beutner, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, in a Los Angeles Times article wrote that there are three things that need to be accomplished to prevent this health crisis from becoming a crisis in education:
- The need to secure adequate funding.
- The need to invest in making sure all students continue to have internet access.
- The need for continuing community support.
Will this be enough to save our students, provide confidence to our parents, and maintain our public school district? We need to wait to see but hopefully, this waiting period won’t devastate our students and schools.
My question to them: What are your concerns around the COVID-19 given the severe impact this pandemic has had on our educational system? Especially on Latino students and the impact facing our children’s quality of education. These written responses to my query have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
