Education and healthcare meet COVID-19 head on
Los Angeles Unified has opened more than 60 Grab and Go food distribution sites to ensure students receive nutritious breakfast and lunch meals during the COVID-19 school closures. Superintendent Austin Beutner pictured center.
An unprecedented health crisis has been met with an unprecedented response from the Los Angeles healthcare and education communities.
“While the coronavirus mostly strikes adults, our kids are isolated and vulnerable right now,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “They are not in class. They miss their friends. And they are not getting the structure and services schools provide. We must support our students and families as they face this dual health and economic crisis.
“I applaud the students, teachers and leaders of L.A. Unified for adapting so quickly,” she said. “The resources the District has brought to bear — including nutrition, distance learning, and primary and mental health support, have been impressive.
“I also want to salute the response of our healthcare partners. They are the first responders in this crisis, and they are working hard under difficult circumstances,” she said.
How to give
Private donations are helping families with the greatest need. LAUSD has launched Students Most in Need to provide food, learning materials and digital devices to students.
Twenty area nonprofits are supporting We’re One Family, Los Angeles, a fund to help families meet basic needs, including food, rent, gas, childcare and healthcare. As of March 23, the fund had raised $100,000 in just 72 hours.
Get COVD-19 resources for California kids and families from Children Now.
Shutting down, ramping up
The Los Angeles Unified School District was one of the first in the nation to cancel classes to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus — and it moved quickly to fill the void. Within days of the shutdown LAUSD:
Opened more than 60 food “grab and go” sites distributing nearly 250,000 meals daily.
Deployed educational programming for hundreds of thousands of pre-K-12 students on the air. (Three PBS affiliates, — KCET, PBS SoCal and LAUSD station KCLS — will broadcast educational programming for all grade levels.)
Launched instructional continuity classes and announced an agreement with Verizon to provide Internet connectivity for students who need it. The agreement is a key component in the district’s plan for students to continue learning as campuses remain closed in response to COVID-19.
While LAUSD Student Health and Human Services has closed its LAUSD school-based clinics, many of the Student and Family Wellness Centers remain open to students and community members during the school closures. Visit our website for a complete list. They are also offering a wide range of services from its main hotline, (213) 443-1300 and website.
“The L.A. Trust is conducting day-to-day operations remotely and developing new curriculum and communications to support students and communities virtually while our schools are closed,” Puffer said. “We are laser-focused on the needs of our students and their families.”