On Jan. 11 the Los Angeles United School District started their spring semester. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, while thousands of students returned to campus, many seats were unfilled. LAUSD calculated that approximately 70% of students attended their first day back on campus.

MANDATORY TESTING

Before the spring semester LAUSD required COVID-19 tests for all staff and students, according to KTLA.

 Fifteen percent of staff members and 17% of students received a positive result, LAUSD announced on facebook. Across the district, LAUSD received 78,000 positive test results.

According to dot.LA students and staff must show their negative tests on Daily Pass, an app developed by Microsoft to help LAUSD track vaccination and COVID-19 cases. However, the software experienced technological issues throughout its implementation. Dot.LA reported that some students missed multiple weeks of class due to the problems with the app.

IN-PERSON IMPORTANCE

According to KTLA, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti emphasized the importance of attending  school in person. Garcetti cited the importance of allowing parents to continue working as a factor in the decision. 

According to EdSource, online classes have been detrimental to students who are preparing to enter college. Even with pass or fail grading structures added to the 2020-2021 school year, many students will still struggle to graduate, EdSource reported.

Several teachers have opted to give additional aid to students, even being flexible with deadlines. In some school districts, such as Sacramento, students who were on track to graduate before the pandemic but have fallen behind since, will still be allowed to graduate on time.

For educators across the state, getting students to graduation remains a major priority.