DOWNEY, Calif. – With less than a month before the start of school, the Downey Unified School District says “it is highly unlikely” in-person instruction will be possible.
On Tuesday, DUSD released this statement:
“Yesterday, the Governor made an announcement regarding Los Angeles County’s surge in COVID-19 cases and instituting the closure of a number of facilities. In addition, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health published health orders yesterday with protocols for the reopening of K-12 schools. The District is continuing to review these extensive health orders and regulations. All of us would like to see students back in school when it’s safe to do so; however, given yesterday’s announcements, the District is reevaluating how school will resume in August. At this time, it is highly unlikely that in-person instruction, even in a 'Hybrid Model,' will be possible when the upcoming school year starts. Due to these recent developments, our Return to School Family Survey will be delayed pending decisions made during the Board of Education meeting on Monday, July 20th. An update to the community and staff will be provided following the Board of Education Meeting.”
The first day of school for DUSD is August 12, which doesn’t leave teachers a lot of time to prepare.
Downey High School teacher Cesar Armendariz has been in the classroom for close to a decade. In that time he had a son, Theo. Theo was born three months early with chronic lung disease. That’s part of why he’s conflicted about returning to the school building.
“There are a lot of real fears and these are real fears based on science that are making me hesitant to return to the classroom,” said Armendariz.
At the same time Armendariz recognizes students have emotional needs that get neglected while learning from home.
Armendariz started teaching remotely in March. Ironing out the problems was messy and incomplete.
“We were absolutely incredibly drained by the end of the semester and so many of us have been trying our best to recharge our batteries,“ said Armendariz.
Decisions shaping the very nature of learning are coming so late in the summer it doesn’t leave a lot of time to prepare lesson plans.
“What teachers are going to be doing moving forward is they’re going to start off thinking, 'What am I going to do tomorrow?' Then maybe if we have some room to breathe, which is in my opinion, unlikely, we’ll think what are we going to do next week, and best case scenario, we’ll be thinking what are we going to do next month,” said Armendariz.
In the middle of reinventing his profession Armendariz took time for Black Lives Matter protests.
As a history teacher, racism is something he can address directly. For starters, he’s looking to use more books written by authors of color.
“I do call on all other teachers to also think about how they can implement anti-racist framework into their curriculum,” said Armendariz.
There’s one more thing on Armendariz’s summer to-do list.
Armendariz, along with other teachers and superintendents, is asking for federal money to replace what school districts stand to lose in sales tax revenue.
“It’s seeming more and more that we have to get loud and we have to get rowdy and we have to make sure that our representatives understand that this is an emergency,” said Armendariz.
Since the pandemic, DUSD has cut about $7 million from their budget so far. Some open positions are not being filled. They are also reducing the number of library media staff in the elementary schools.