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LAUSD students’ math and reading test scores have bounced back to pre-COVID pandemic levels, according to Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in his annual back-to-school address last month. But as the new school year begins next week, ICE raids and precarious federal funding are top of mind for the district.
Carvalho tells KCRW that LAUSD returned to pre-COVID math and reading scores — something only 10% of California school districts have achieved — thanks largely to “very effective teaching, a high level of coherence.”
He continues, “We have simplified and unified the curriculum standards, meaning what is taught and when it is taught, before and after school; tutoring programs; enrichment programs. And then we identified the historically lowest-performing schools, and there are about 121 in our district, and those schools report directly to me. We resource them better, we support them better. And that's where we saw … the highest level of improvement across the board — it was seen in the most critically fragile schools in our district.”
Carvalho says interventionists worked with lower-performing students, while literacy and numeracy coaches worked with teachers. The district also helped parents better understand how to support students, including restructuring their time at home so they can continue learning there once they leave campuses.
A vast achievement gap still exists for Black and Latino students — 75% of Black students aren’t proficient in math, and 70% of Latino students aren’t.
Carvalho encourages enrolling more Black and Brown kids, and those with disabilities, into extra after-school programs, the Winter Academy, and a month-long summer program to address their needs.
However, does the district have enough money for all of this? Funding is allocated per student, and enrollment is at a 20-year low .
Carvalho says just under 530,000 total students are enrolled in the traditional schools — plus charter schools that are managed by the district, affiliated, and independent.
He acknowledges that enrollment has dropped over the past 20 years in public schools nationwide, driven by the economy, people moving out of LA where the cost of living is high, a lower birth rate than in the past, and recently, federal immigration raids that have stirred fears and pushed people to move back to their native countries.
“We believe if our expansion of innovative programs, if our academic improvements continue, if our attendance, which has recovered, continues to improve, and our chronic absenteeism continues to be reduced, that within the next year or two, we will actually come to a net-zero declining enrollment, and may actually see an improvement,” he says.
He continues, “Now, do we have enough money? Look, we're concerned about a significant shift in a political dynamic in Washington D.C., and we get about $1.2 billion annually from Washington D.C. The state's own economic conditions are fragile, so there are a lot of unknowns. But we predicted and anticipated the harshness of financial conditions. We have reserved adequately to continue the programs that we know have benefited kids at least for the next two years.”
As for the federal ICE raids in LA, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is urging the district to establish a “two-block perimeter” around schools that bar immigration officials from entering.
“I do think that a two-block, a three-block radius around schools is appropriate, and that's exactly what we will be asking for. With that said, we understand our limitations, and we understand also that the federal government has been very clear, and the mayor, LAPD, LASPD, we understand that we cannot necessarily interfere with the actions of these federal law enforcement entities. But that does not change what is right, and we're going to be asking for protective policies that are morally justifiable, are decent, and are protective of children,” he says.
Carvalho says he doesn’t have an exact number of how many students have been detained or deported. But one student was recently released from a Texas detention facility after being transported there, he notes, as a result of the district collaborating with its legal defense partners.
He adds that over the past two weeks, staff members have made over 4,000 calls to students and families to do wellness checks and inform them of their rights and resources available, such as virtual learning sessions, extra bus transportation routes to get to school, and mental health support.
What’s happening now with ICE is personal for Carvalho. “I’d be the biggest hypocrite if I did not do all that I could for the kids I serve, since I myself am an immigrant. I remember coming to this country at the age of 17. I know the struggle. I know the fear. … I arrived here legally, but I stayed beyond the timeline of my visa. … I don't want my children to be witnesses to a picture of humanity that is traumatizing to them. And that's why I stand proudly alongside this board and our partners in protecting our kids. It is the right thing to do at the right time.”
By taking a public stand against federal immigration raids, is Carvalho concerned about the district losing its annual $1.2 billion from the government?
“Whether we take these protective actions or not, there have been federal actions enacted by the Department of Education that have sought to either freeze or reduce funding for critical programs. We've already seen it,” he says. “I am one who believes that silence is not an answer, cannot be an option. And standing up for our kids while simultaneously walking the fine line, balancing out respectful compliance with law, but without abandoning the protective rights of our students, is one that we're attempting to do. These dollars belong to the kids that we serve. And punishing a district for standing up for those same kids is, quite frankly, double injury to kids who already live in the gap of society.” |
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