LAUSD students report absenteeism, boredom on 1st day of teachers strike
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- On the first day of the Los Angeles School District teachers strike, the district deployed 2,000 administrators to fill a gap left by 30,000 absent teachers.
Roughly two-thirds of students stayed at home as well.
Teaching assistants helped administrators take over classrooms. Lesson plans reserved for emergencies were activated.
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"So if there was a natural disaster or -- we have seen fires in California -- we have to always plan for some type of learning to continue," said Dr. Frances Gipson, the chief academic officer for LAUSD.
On Monday, Gibson was assigned to teach at El Sereno Middle School. The media was invited in to view students engaged in reading and writing workshops, a computer coding class and self-guided lessons.
El Sereno is a high-achieving Gold-Ribbon school which offers two magnet programs.
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The atmosphere at Berendo Middle School in the Pico-Union area was a stark contrast.
"The whole school is going everywhere. It is not the same without the teachers. They almost control everything, and the students are going crazy without them," said eighth grader Veronica Andrade.
The district encourages students to continue attending school. School breakfasts and lunches will provide needed nutrition, and students are in a safe environment.
Students at Berendo said they watched a film in the auditorium, tapped out a quiz on a computer but mostly socialized with friends.
"We probably will forget everything. I was supposed to have science today, but now everybody who had science classes is starting to forget everything," says Andrade.
A sixth grader, Mohammed Ruiz, said he is uncertain about returning to school tomorrow.
"It depends if we are going to learn."
