Community Column for April 2022

By NICK MELVOIN | LAUSD Board Vice President, Special to the Palisadian-Post

After more than two years of an unprecedented crisis in our schools and communities, the Los Angeles Unified School District is turning a corner toward a sense of normalcy for our kids and families. As your elected LAUSD Board Member, I am happy to provide an update on the district’s COVID recovery efforts and shifting protocols, our new Superintendent and upcoming projects to enhance learning opportunities in Pacific Palisades school communities.

Beginning last month, in accordance with new state and county public health guidance, the masking requirement has been lifted in LAUSD school facilities. We will still continue to provide masks for anyone who needs one. The district’s first-rate safety protocols—including our comprehensive testing operation, state of the art ventilation upgrades and additional sanitizing practices—have made it possible to successfully keep 100% of schools open throughout this entire school year, even during the Omicron and Delta surges. We will continue to monitor health conditions and adapt our protocols to keep kids safely in the classroom while aligning with public health guidance.

We also welcomed our new Superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, who came to Los Angeles from Miami with a long-tenured record of success, deep knowledge of the education system and personal journey as an immigrant and English learner who overcame homelessness. His ambitious 100-Day Plan focuses on listening to the needs of our communities, accelerating academic progress and putting students at the center of our decisions. He has already gotten to work supporting students academically and socio-emotionally as we continue to prioritize their recovery from the toll of the past two years.

I will continue advocating for more resources and opportunities to help our school communities flourish, in the Palisades and across the district. To aid in students’ recovery from the past two years, we have invested in more arts and music programming, enrichment opportunities, tutoring services and mental health resources across all of our schools. We are also working to increase green space with a new outdoor reading area at Paul Revere Middle School, and supporting campus safety with new secure entry systems at Canyon Elementary and Topanga Elementary, along with new speed bumps installed outside Marquez Elementary. We continue actively funding new projects to modernize our learning environments, with several campus upgrades in the works at Pali High, Kenter Canyon Elementary, Palisades Elementary and more.

This crisis has laid bare the inequities so many Americans are facing—including the failures in our public education system that predated the pandemic. As we continue to navigate our path to recovery, I’m committed to doing better than simply returning to normal in our schools. We got through one of the darkest periods in recent history, and now we have an opportunity to build a brighter future for our kids.

You can always find more information at boardmembermelvoin.com and by following @nickmelvoinbd4 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and updates.