LOS ANGELES — After a year full of Zoom, screens and online learning, many LAUSD students are going back to the basics: pencils, paper, desks and a real classroom.

For the next two months, students from across the nation’s second largest school district will be participating in summer school. For the first time, summer programs are being offered to the more than 600,000 students who attend LAUSD schools. Close to 100,000 students are enrolled in online and in-person classes.

The session began on June 22 and runs through July 30 with the fall semester beginning in mid-August. It’s part of an effort to get students back on track after such a difficult year when test scores dropped and many students fell behind academically.

Last Wednesday, during his penultimate week on the job, LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner stopped by Hooper Avenue Elementary in Central Alameda to meet with students and teachers.

“COVID has hit communities very, very hard … We are expecting to see learning loss, we are expecting to see students struggling; this isn’t news to us … What it’s going to take is more people in schools,” Beutner said.

At Hooper Avenue, close to 60 students were attending in-person classes last week, with more expected to join in the coming days. One student, 9-year-old Johnny Parra, was practicing writing skills in Arlene Liberto’s classroom. He says he was happy to be back to learning in person and had found it difficult to stay focused in online school.

“It was hard, because she (the teacher) would have to be with everyone else in breakout rooms,” he said.

Johnny, along with his classmates, will spend the summer practicing reading and writing.  He will also be taking social studies classes and working on his favorite subject, math.“It’s pretty fun, you get to do pluses, times, takeaways, divide and everything,” he added.

Liberto, Johnny’s teacher, said one of the biggest challenges during lockdown was internet access. “Students struggled because of accessibility to technology, quiet spaces and internet service … A lot of my students had a problem connecting, so I could hardly hear them.”

Liberto said she’s grateful to be back in the classroom this summer, working with students in person.

Liberto has worked to make the environment comfortable, as she knows students have experienced considerable turmoil.

“I know the first day they were not trusting, but today they feel more at home, they had their names on their desks. It brought a sense of normality — we made our classroom a home, it’s a safe place where they can focus,” she said.

But some parents are worried that summer school won’t be enough to compensate for all the missed in-person classes.

Lydia Juarez, picking up her 8-year-old daughter, Lexy, from Hooper Ave, wants Lexy to repeat third grade next year.

“I’m very happy to have her in summer school; I wasn't feeling like she was getting all the knowledge she needs (online) … I’ve talked to the school about repeating her grades, which they don’t want to be doing. But I’m pushing for it. I feel like third grade was a waste of time actually,” Lydia said.

Lydia said she’ll see how the summer plays out and then determine if her daughter will repeat the academic year. Lexy was happy to be back on campus. “It felt really good, if I have a question I would rather ask in school [in person],” Lexy said.

Johnny Parra agrees, even though he’s sick of wearing his mask, still required for all people on campus, and wishes he could hug his friends (which is still not allowed).

“It’s just fun for some reason — not just being in the house on your electronics.”