Friday, January 15, 2016

What LAUSD needs now: Protect students from the effects of poverty

Sent to the Los Angeles Times, January 15, 2016

From "What LA Unified needs now," (January 15) it is apparent that neither the Times nor new superintendent King know what LA Unified needs now.
   The biggest problem is poverty, a problem shared by many big city school districts. Eighty percent of LAUSD students live in poverty, far above the national average of 25%, already unacceptable and well above that of other industrialized countries. 
   High poverty means food deprivation,  lack of health care, and little access to books: All of these have devastating effects on school performance.  The best teaching in the world will not help if students are hungry, ill, and have little to read.
   What LAUSD needs to do now is  protect children from the impact of poverty. This means improve school food programs, school nurses, and libraries:  To paraphrase education expert Susan Ohanian,  our goals should be no child left unfed, no child without health care, and no child without access to books.

Stephen Krashen
original article: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-0115-lausd-superintendent-20160115-story.html

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