WEEKLY MESSAGE | 11.7.20
Hi all,
I hope everyone is safe and well. Writing with several important updates:
ANNUAL GIVING DRIVE – Thank you so so much to the huge majority of families who have donated nearly $1.17m in Larchmont’s Annual Giving Drive (our biggest fundraiser of the year). You help make Larchmont’s programming possible. While we’re still short of our fundraising goal and need for the year, it is incredible what this community has come together to do – raising 94% of what we raise in a typical year’s AGD. Thank you! It’s not too late to be a part of it – many hands make light work and every dollar counts
STAKEHOLDER SURVEY - Thank you to everyone who completed the stakeholder surveys. Despite the challenges of being in distance learning, it was heartening to see that 80% of students, 85% of staff and 90% of parents school-wide expressed overall satisfaction with Larchmont and that students would recommend Larchmont in higher numbers than anytime in the last couple of years. We are reviewing every comment and identifying trends in the feedback to inform our planning. Thank you for taking the time to give us this valuable input that helps us grow.
ACADEMIC DIAGNOSTIC DATA – We know there are real challenges with distance learning particularly for our highest need students. We also know the validity of the assessments is challenging when administered remotely. Nonetheless, the results show strong proficiency school-wide among all subgroups in English Language Arts and strong math proficiency at the elementary level. Our areas of focus continue to be closing gaps particularly for our students with special needs, English Learners, Latino and African American students and strengthening math proficiency school-wide.
ELECTION UPDATE (LOCAL RESULTS) – While the national presidential election results are outstanding, there are local results that impact LA schools. These include the election of Tanya Ortiz Franklin to the LAUSD school board. We’ve worked with Tanya before and know her to be a reformer who’s a passionate advocate for students, equity, and social-emotional learning. We also saw Measure RR, LAUSD’s school bond, get approved – this could impact co-located schools (like our Selma campus) bringing repairs, upgrades, and potentially lower pro-rata share (rent).
REOPENING PLANNING – The COVID numbers continue to move in the wrong direction globally, nationally and locally. LA saw the positivity rate jump from 2.9% a month ago to 4% now and the case rate per 100,000 residents is currently 7.5 (and 12.5 for new cases per day per 100,000 residents). This means LA County continues to be in the Purple Tier with widespread transmission of the virus. Larchmont began one on one in-person assessments last month and our staff workgroup is preparing to start tech hubs next month to support our highest need students with proctored distance learning support. We also have staff workgroups working across campuses to prepare for broader reopening once it’s safe. This topic will be on upcoming site council agendas to ensure we’re gathering community input on planning, answering questions and relaying updates. Based on the current metrics, we project that LA County schools will not be cleared to reopen more broadly until the new year at the earliest.
That’s it for now. Thank you so much for all you do!
Warmly,
Amy Held