Sound off about summer school

In about 19 days, the nation's second largest school district will shut its doors and put 700,000 kids between the ages of 5 and 18 out on our streets. If you think your park programs, your food courts, and your Apple store camps are crowded now, wait until next month.

Many of LAUSD's students are among the state's most challenged learners, and they need the instruction, structure, and consistency summer school provides. Other kids just need a place to be and something to do for a few hours a days.

California also has the fourth-highest rate of unemployment in the U.S., and parents looking for work or forced to make do with a smaller monthly income won't be spending money on fancy - or maybe even modestly priced - summer camps. Now more than ever this city needs to provide free services to its children and families.

What's even harder to understand is that district is the midst of multi-billion-dollar building frenzy - the largest construction project in the West. Despite draconian budget cuts and the pink slips sent to thousands of LAUSD teachers this spring, construction of new schools continues unabated. In Downtown L.A. alone there are a dozen new schools, including the soon-to-open high school for the arts and the 2,500-student mega-plex Roybal Learning Center. These new campuses are inviting, innovative works of architecture - and as soon as they're open, they'll be mothballed about 25% of the year.

 

Somehow the numbers and priorities need to be re-calculated to put the students' needs first.

Angelenos, are we really ready to give up on 700,000 of our kids so easily? Is this truly the best we can do?

By the way, if you want to sound off about summer school, KPCC would like to hear from you.