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A Look Behind The Scenes At Preparations To Reopen LAUSD Campuses

Disposable masks sit in boxes stacked at LAUSD's 390,000-square-foot procurement warehouse in Pico Rivera. (Kyle Stokes/KPCC/LAist)
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Across L.A. County, more public schools are inviting students back to classrooms: this week, districts from Duarte to Whittier to San Dimas will resume some in-person teaching.

The biggest district reopening in our area begins next week. That's when Los Angeles Unified reopens a handful of elementary campuses. After that first batch reopens, most LAUSD elementaries will welcome students back the week of April 19. Middle and high schools will follow the week of April 26.

Some district employees are working around the clock — literally — to ensure schools have the masks, protective equipment and cleaning supplies they need to reopen. Most of these goods flow through LAUSD's warehouse in Pico Rivera, where workers like Danny Vasquez load them onto trucks that roll out as early as 3 a.m.

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As campus reopening looms, Vasquez is bracing himself:

“It’s going to get extremely busy … All of these schools have to be sanitized, or we’re not going to open.”

For all these preparations, LAUSD expects most parents to keep their kids home this month. In areas where COVID-19 hit hardest, like South Gate or East L.A., early numbers suggest only a quarter of students will return. Even in well-off Venice, the data suggest parents are torn.

READ MORE ABOUT LAUSD CAMPUS REOPENINGS:

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