If the Los Angeles teachers’ strike planned for this coming Monday, January 14, does happen, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti last night announced a list of city resources that will be provided for students and their families during the strike.
According to the announcement, “Mayor Garcetti is committed to ensuring that parents have options for their kids until all of our students return to the classroom. The Mayor has been working closely with City departments and Metro to make additional resources available to families that may need assistance in the days ahead.”
The resources include “extended hours, increased staffing, lunch, and programming at select Recreation Centers,” as well as increased programming at all branch libraries, free public transportation, and free entry to certain museums and other institutions that usually charge admission.
Recreation Centers
“During the event of a strike,” said Garcetti’s announcement, “the City will add staff at 32 Recreation Centers where school-age children can receive supervision and lunch, play games, participate in arts and crafts, and engage in sports and fitness activities. This additional programming will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days. Parents planning to take their children to these sites must complete this registration form and submit it at the recreation center upon arrival.”
Two recreation centers in our general area – at Queen Anne Park and Ardmore Recreation Center (at Seoul International Park) will be part of the program. Although no special strike-related programming will be added at city parks not on the list, those recreation centers will still be open during their normal business hours to provide regular programming for families.
Libraries
The second city service being provided during the strike is expanded library programming. According to Garcetti’s announcement, “the LA Public Library will increase programming at all 73 locations, with a focus on STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Art and Math) activities.” This includes our John C. Fremont, Wilshire, Fairfax and Memorial Branch libraries.
Transportation
Metro will also be providing free rides to LAUSD students during the strike, on LA Metro, LADOT DASH and Commuter Express lines, between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. on regular school days. “Bus operators will check LA Unified student IDs on-board and fare compliance officers will allow them to ride without fares on Metro’s Gold, Blue, Green, and Expo light rail lines. On the Red and Purple Lines and any other rail stations with fare gates, Metro will deploy TAP personnel to facilitate students’ free entry.”
Garcetti’s announcement also includes an interactive map showing the 32 recreation centers and 73 libraries that will offer the enhanced services during the strike, with information on which Metro and LADOT lines serve each one.
And finally, on the announcement page, there is a list of five museums and cultural institutions (The Museum of Tolerance, the Natural History Museum, the Petersen Museum, MOCA and the LA Zoo), that will also be providing free admission to students during the strike…along with a list of nine others that are always free.
