A storm has been sweeping its way through LA, causing continuous rain and harsh wind since Feb. 4.
The rain is forecasted to continue until Tuesday, with a flash flood warning set into effect for Monday, Feb. 5, from 12 a.m to 4 p.m.
Despite the harsh weather conditions, LAUSD has decided to keep its schools open, with a few exceptions for schools in highly affected areas.
“Individual school closure, if any, will be determined based on safety and guidance provided by City and County Response teams,” said laschools Instagram.
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LAUSD has asked families to determine themselves whether or not conditions are safe in their area for them to commute to school, and that students who stay home will have resources available to them on Schoology.
“For those students who are unable to get to school, our online Continuity of Learning resources are available through schoology,” said laschools Instagram.
Even though students will be able to complete missing work on Schoology, the school has let its students know that absences caused by weather conditions will not be excused.
Despite this warning, many students have made the decision to not attend school due to the rain.
Teachers and students alike have noted that their classes are mostly empty, with multiple students missing.
“All of my classes had a significant amount of kids missing, with my third period only having like three people,” said sophomore Christine Coronel.
Biology teacher Ms. Peggy Shim shared that she had to alter her lesson plans in order to accommodate for the lack of students present in her classes.
“I had to pivot my agendas today,” said Ms. Shim. “I either gave students time to make up assignments or I posted online assignments that reported their current learning.”
Junior Elizabeth Castillo believes that it was not necessary for so many students to miss school and disrupt the flow of instruction.
“Many teachers showed up to school despite the rain and it sucks to have to be an entire lesson behind due to kids not showing up,” Castillo said. “The weather isn’t that bad considering there is no lightning, no thunder and indoor rooms are open to all.”
Coronel had a different opinion then Castillo as she stated that it would have been better if school had just been canceled.
“The city highly recommended us to stay home in an amber alert last night and a state of emergency was declared, so in my opinion school should have been canceled,” said Coronel.
Ms. Shim explained that she can see why LAUSD chose to keep school’s open during the storm.
“For students who are coming from far away, I understand the commute can be dangerous, but on the other hand there are families who require the child care and the food,” said Ms. Shim. “I am glad that schools were open for students who could make it.”
