Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
How Can LAUSD Students Borrow A Laptop For The Coronavirus Shutdown? We Have An Answer
LAUSD has established a hotline for parents to secure laptops for their kids.
Los Angeles Unified school leaders have promised a laptop or tablet computer to every student in the district who needs one to continue learning during the coronavirus shutdown.
The district is spending $100 million to purchase new laptops and Verizon internet hotspots to ensure no student misses out on online lessons.
But since LAUSD made that pledge, the most frequent question I’ve heard — on Twitter, via email, or through my Hearken question box — is this: How do I actually obtain this device for my kid?
Last night, LAUSD administrators offered a short version of the answer. From my tweet:
It sounds like schools are contacting students to distribute devices — but if parents want to request a device, @AlisonLASchools says they can contact the district's hotline to get a request routed to their school:
— Kyle Stokes (@kystokes) March 31, 2020
☎️ (213) 443-1300
Schools are receiving their devices in waves.
LAUSD’s priority is getting laptops to high school students first. During a virtual town hall meeting, LAUSD’s Chief Academic Officer Alison Yoshimoto-Towery said that the central office finished distributing devices to its high schools on Monday.
Sponsored message
Now it’s up to the schools to give them out over the next week. What that distribution looks like will vary.
For example, Michael Romero — the administrator for Local District South, a region of LAUSD stretching from Florence-Firestone to San Pedro — chimed in to say that all middle- and high schoolers in his area should receive a device by Wednesday.
By Friday, LD South elementary schools will have loaned out all of the devices they have already, Romero said. (It sounded as though the district will have to purchase more devices to ensure every student has one.)
And across the district, Yoshimoto-Towery added that elementary schools will mail more paper-and-pencil assignments to students over spring break.
P.S. — Long Beach Unified has also been distributing Chromebooks to its students over the past week, and encourages any students in that district who still need to borrow one to make appointments with their school.
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS:
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
