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Dear friends and partners,
We are nearing the end of an incredibly difficult school year for our kids and families, and planning for a future that will give our school communities the guidance, resources, and funding they need to chart a path to recovery for their students. As labor negotiations continue, I fully expect that we will be offering families a full-time, in-person learning model for the Fall.
Last week, the board voted not to extend the academic year after hearing from families and staff about the need for a break and period of healing. What I believe kids need even more this summer is the opportunity to learn outdoors and play with peers—and I’m excited that we're going to be able to provide just that. The District will be offering a wide variety of in-person and virtual academic and enrichment options for our kids to begin healing from the trauma of the past year.
This week, the Board also voted for a more equitable path to recovery, increasing our Student Equity Need Index (SENI) commitment for next year to $700m to be allocated to schools on the basis of need. This flexible, locally controlled funding source will help school sites meet the unique needs of their students and communities. I also pushed to ensure that schools are both supported and accountable for using these funds to improve student outcomes.
And more relief may soon be on the way from the State. Gov. Newsom recently released a multi-billion dollar proposal to provide more support to K-12 schools, including more funding for summer learning and after-school programs, wraparound services, and universal access to pre-K for California families by 2024. LA Unified recently approved a resolution that I co-sponsored to achieve the same goal, and because our District already provides more early education opportunities than we receive funding for, this proposal would free up nearly $40 million that we could use to achieve universal preschool even sooner.
As we continue to chart our path to recovery forward in LA Unified, I will continue pushing for transparency, accountability, and student-centered decisions. We need to put the needs of our kids first in order to ensure that they can fully heal and overcome the trauma and loss of this past year.
Onward,
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We know that parents are incredibly important partners in ensuring the success of our school communities—and parents like Tracy Boulanger are a great example of why that is. Tracy is a proud Venice High parent of a senior on the varsity baseball team and sophomore varsity golf and soccer player. She successfully coordinated a fundraising effort to purchase a new scoreboard for the VHS baseball team—and when a legal issue threatened the team's remaining home games, Tracy got to work organizing, advocating, and working with my team 
