We are writing to protest the District’s practice of “loaning” our school nurse out to other LAUSD campuses so that she is not available at King on all instructional days.

To care for our students as best as we can, Thomas Starr King Middle School budgets and pays for a full-time registered nurse. This is an expensive investment that King administrators and faculty recognize as an essential aspect of caring for students. King families wholeheartedly agree.

However, the District has absconded with our nurse, Rosa Ala. Ms. Ala, who is assigned to King, has been “loaned” out to other schools and is no longer present on campus during all LAUSD instructional days.

Our school administration, faculty, students, and their families work hard every day to make King Middle School a great place for all 2,100 of its students. An important aspect of our students’ education is the care of their physical and mental health while they are on campus.

Students spend approximately 35 hours a week at school and sometimes they need the attention of a registered nurse who is trained to care for the health of young people. Our adolescent students are busy and hardworking; they strive and push themselves. They experience a variety of pressures and stress. Some of our students are homeless. Others have chronic health issues, such as asthma and diabetes. All King students need to be able to rely on the familiarity and expertise of a registered nurse to provide support when they are away from home and family.

We are writing now to insist that the registered nurse, deemed an essential investment by the entire King community, be available to care for students at the School on every instructional day from now until the end of the 2016-2017 academic year in June.

Would you please let us know how you can resolve this important matter?

We look forward to hearing from you.