USA TODAY International Edition
School tries to cope during LA strike
Students, teachers find their rhythm on campus
LOS ANGELES – It was far from a normal school day at Vista Middle School, but at least the students weren’t watching movies.
On Day 2 of the teachers’ strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District that has complicated life for the families of nearly 500,000 children, the nation’s second-largest district showed off progress being made at one school in the city’s sprawling San Fernando Valley.
Using substitute teachers, staff and a smattering of parent volunteers, administrators had divided up the Vista campus into three areas – two for learning and one for physical activity – to try to keep kids engaged. Unlike at other schools, reporters were allowed to roam the campus.
The first day had been “chaotic” as the school opened without the usual teaching staff, said Angelina Papazian, 11, a sixth grader. “Today is much better. They are more organized.”
It helped that more students had returned to campus – 42 percent of the school’s 1,174 enrollees, up from 30 percent on the first day, said Principal Joe Nardulli. “We’re doing the best we can to provide instruction,” he added. The increase was in keeping with a rise in attendance across the district, up at least 15,000 from the previous day.
Instructors, aided by screen displays, appeared to be tackling the task of generalized teaching without knowing where the regular teachers had left off. In a large room, about 150 laptop-armed youngsters gathered at tables were led through an exercise centered around civics and aimed at stimulating their thinking.
Akua Willis, a substitute teacher wearing a Spelman College sweatshirt, posed a series of questions for students to ponder individually or as a group. Normal? Not quite.
“We still learn. We get our breaks. We talk to our friends,” Papazian said. But she added, “I miss our teachers.”