The outgoing district leader lauds accomplishments during his three years in office.
Austin Beutner, the outgoing leader of the Los Angeles Unified School District, took the stage of the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday to declare that the state of the city’s schools is excellent. But as he focused on accomplishments, others in the audience were pondering the work ahead.of achievements, headlined by successful food and economic relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin said she was pleased with the district’s enhanced emphasis on students’ social and emotional needs but worries about finding credentialed staff to provide such services. She added that the district needs to focus anew on confronting systemic racial bias and on helping more students become eligible to apply to four-year state colleges.
The “state of the schools” speech typically takes place before the start of a school year and is meant to take stock and set a tone going forward. COVID-19 upended that timing. The turnout on Tuesday — after the end of the school year Friday — was smaller than usual. These speeches are usually held in a large high school auditorium, with the district’s traditional coffee cake served out front.
“Is Austin Beutner celebrating that LAUSD negotiated the least amount of live online instructional time of any major school district?” asked Christie Pesicka, who has a son at Playa Vista Elementary School and has been involved with aand the teachers union. “LAUSD definitely did set a ‘new standard,’ but I hope they never become a model for the nation.”
But he worries about the campus dynamic — given that people won’t have to wear masks in public but must continue to wear them at school.
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