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Tales From LA Teens Balancing Jobs, A Pandemic And High School
The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in fundamental changes to both schools and workplaces, and working high school students absorbed all of those changes at once. Nationally, one out of five high schoolers has a job.
The pandemic has also triggered a recession — and some experts fear working-age students from cash-strapped households might be forced to drop out to work. If they’re not dropout risks, surveys show they’re also likely to be helping with household bills or taking on other stresses from home or school.
KPCC/LAist spoke with 11 working high schoolers from across L.A. about their experiences balancing jobs and distance learning courses. We featured one of those students in this story earlier this week.
The interviews with the remaining 10 students also offered illuminating — and sometimes surprising — perspectives on several crucial issues facing schools next fall. We wanted to share their stories.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
