Despite an announcement from health officials this week that coronavirus cases have subsided enough that elementary students can safely return to campuses, the Long Beach Unified School District has pushed back its planned reopening once again.
Classroom instruction for LBUSD students up to fifth grade will resume on March 29, according to an LBUSD presentation given at Wednesday evening s Board of Education meeting. Previously, school officials had said they would start reopening campuses March 1.
The presentation said classroom instruction would be on a hybrid schedule, meaning there would be a continued online component.
The LBUSD also announced a targeted reopening date of April 20 for middle schools, and a reopening for high schools on April 19 for seniors and April 26 for grades 9 through 11.
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On many school days, Maria Teresa Loeza said her elementary and middle school kids wave their Chromebooks around the house on Walnut Avenue and 15th Street in Long Beach, searching for a stronger internet connection.
Sometimes her 13-year-old stays up late at night to submit assignments, growing frustrated when the signal cuts off while documents upload.
Her 9-year-old’s grades, meanwhile, are dropping.
“It makes me sad; it makes me angry,” Loeza, 45, said in Spanish.
Gabriela Alvarez-Loeza, 13 left and her sister Daniela Alvarez-Loeza 9, sit outside their home while on their school Chromebooks in Long Beach Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.