Students help out at animal shelters during teacher strike

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11) - Despite the teacher strike in Los Angeles going into its third day, many students continue to learn but not in the traditional way.

About 10 students from Milliken Middle School and other area schools spent Wednesday playing with newborn puppies and grooming cats at East Valley Animal Shelter.

This relatively new program offers students an opportunity to help out at animal shelters with various tasks, and it couldn't come at a better time when educators are striking demanding higher pay, smaller class sizes and more support staff that school officials say could bankrupt the nation's second-largest system.

While the program offers relief to some students from the current education climate, there is only a 10-student limit per shelter and there's a waiting list.

Students are also given the option of free admission to the LA County Museum of Art, the LA Zoo, even the Peterson Automotive Museum.