Friday LAUSD Enrollment Deadline For Students Hoping To Start On 1st Day Of Distance-Learning Courses
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - With the first day of school for the Los Angeles Unified School District about a week away, parents who aren't ready to send their kids back to campus are now up against the last day to sign up for online, remote learning, if they hope to have students enrolled on the first day of distance-learning classes.
At the Marquez home, 10-year-old Esmeralda is headed into the fifth grade, but the question remains whether she will return to campus or take classes online.
"It makes it very difficult as a mother to make that choice," Antonetta Garcia, Esmeralda's mother, said.
Garcia sent in an application to enroll her daughter in the City of Angels Independent Study Program through LAUSD. It's an alternative for parents who want to keep their kids learning from home. Garcia is still waiting to hear if her child was accepted.
"It's a little bit very discouraging and very nerve racking. I have not been able to sleep very well," Esmeralda's mother said.
With COVID-19 cases rising in LA County and the highly contagious Delta variant a major concern, Garcia said she's worried her unvaccinated daughter may bring the virus home to her medically vulnerable 1-year-old.
"She has an upper-airway condition that she sleeps with oxygen at night," Garcia said.
"This program will be different than the distance learning program last year," Dr. Vince Carbino, principal of the City of Angels Independent Study School said in a recorded video.
In the online video, LAUSD says families that choose distance-learning will take a temporary leave from their current school to be enrolled in the independent learning program. That means children will have different teachers and lesson plans. But the district says a student's spot will be saved when they decide to return to the classroom.
"I wish that LAUSD could actually give the online school with our community schools instead of sending our children to City of Angels," Garcia said.
Teresa Gaines is a parent of two elementary school kids in the district. She's inquired about the distance-learning program and she's not alone.
"We have heard and seen on some online parent groups that there's about 8,600 students and or family members that are interested, families who are interested in going online at this point. We're undecided, but we're very concerned and conflicted over what to do right now," Gaines said.
LAUSD said all students, K-12, are eligible for the online program and Friday is the deadline to enroll for students that hope to start on the first day of school.