In the 135 year history of the Long Beach Unified School District, it’s hard to find many moments in time where there was more tension between the district’s administration, its teachers and its parents than right now. Heading into Wednesday evening’s meeting of the LBUSD Board of Education, it’s clear that the month between now and when Long Beach schools are back in session on Sept. 1 will be a rocky one.
One illustration of the tension is a Facebook group called Parents for Teachers LBUSD that rapidly gained more than 5,000 followers over the last few days. It has served as a real-time window into what local teachers and parents are thinking.
In the group, many teachers have expressed serious concerns over the LBUSD plan for them to teach this school year from their classrooms, even when that teaching is being done for students who remain at home.
The majority of parents on social media are expressing support for teachers who want the option of teaching from home. In the spring, however, one of the major complaints from parents was that some teachers didn’t have adequate internet connections to livestream from their homes.
There are also clashes about the structure of the school day—how long students will be logged on virtually, as well as how much time teachers will be expected to teach live on camera.
Many of those details are expected to be hashed out at this evening’s board meeting. Whatever the outcome, it’s a situation that will undoubtedly leave some segments unhappy.
On the agenda is an update on the opening of schools and the plan for digital learning, including the formal selection of the system teachers and students will use to connect during the school day. Superintendent Jill Baker has said the update will be a major one with extensive information for students, teachers and parents.
The board will also be electing a new vice president, following controversy over its president/vice president appointments two weeks ago.
And, as if that weren’t enough, there’s also an agenda item to discuss the district’s policy regarding school names.
In recent weeks, there’s been a crush of advocacy for and against renaming Wilson and Jordan High Schools because of the racist legacy of their namesakes. More than 100 letters were sent to the board this summer opposing changing the name of Wilson. There is also an online petition with thousands of signatures calling for the change.
In short, it’s a crossroads moment. The city has long been structured around education. Seventy thousand of Long Beach’s residents are LBUSD students, and the district is the city’s largest employer. Most of the district’s history is calm, at least on the surface—there has never been a strike of Long Beach teachers, for example.
But it’s clear, as Wednesday’s board meeting approaches and the start of school looms four weeks away, that there are a lot more questions than answers and a lot more opinions than there is consensus.
The Aug. 5 Board of Education meeting can be streamed live on the district’s YouTube page at 5 p.m.