California schools under intense strain, fighting to stay open during omicron surge
LOS ANGELES — In Los Angeles, schools saw a massive 130,000-student drop in daily attendance when students returned from winter break this week, the latest pandemic hit to education.
In San Diego, severe staffing shortages led school leaders to warn families of the possibility of “COVID Impact Days” similar to heat or snow days. And in Culver City, district leaders announced that they would close all schools next week to give students and staff time to “recoup and recover.”
Educators across California are in triage mode working to keep campuses open and the state’s 6 million children in class as omicron-fueled coronavirus cases surge. Save for some notable exceptions, they are managing to do so. But staff and students are strained in new and stressful ways as yet another intense pandemic chapter unfolds at schools.
Amid outbreaks and rocketing infections, districts have closed classrooms; some teachers are trying to figure
