Dear friends and partners,
“April is the cruelest month,” begins T.S. Eliot’s
The Waste Land, but I begin the month inspired by the kindness and resilience shown by the larger LA Unified community.
Whether it’s our 63 Grab and Go food centers—
the largest food operation in the country—that have served over 4 million meals and continuing throughout spring break and beyond, the additional meals we serve daily to the city’s temporary homeless shelters, the volunteers who have been delivering food to families that can’t make it to any or our sites, the
100,000 N95 masks we donated to local hospitals to help healthcare workers and first responders treating patients on the frontlines of this crisis, the
high school class using 3D printers to make masks for healthcare workers, the hundreds of headphones that were donated to our office to give to students for easier at-home learning in crowded homes, or
the over a million dollars we raised yesterday during a daylong fundraiser on local news channels to help us get digital devices and hotspots to
ensure every child has internet access—people’s willingness to step up gives me a lot of hope for how we’ll weather the next few months.
A few weeks ago, did I think we would be starting off spring break while preparing for the likelihood that our schools will remain closed through the rest of the year? Of course not. And while there is still uncertainty as to when and how we’ll physically reopen schools, we are working tirelessly to transition to at-home learning and continue the school year in creative ways.
Last Friday, we held a virtual districtwide professional development to help our teachers transition to at-home learning, and that training has continued this week,
while teachers also plan lessons and provide instruction. We distributed thousands of devices to bridge the digital divide for families. And we will continue to provide the
necessary resources and support to our families and employees as at-home learning gets up and running for all—from TK to Adult Education, English Learners, and students with disabilities.
Even if we don’t know what the future holds, we do know that this will continue to affect our school communities, and I hope we will all continue to be there for each other as it does.
For those celebrating next week and weekend, I’m wishing you a Happy Easter and Happy Passover. At the end of the Passover Seder, we say “
L’Shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim—next year in Jerusalem.” I’ll add to that:
L’Shana Haba’a B’Briut Shlema—next year in good health!
Thinking about you all, from a distance,
