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Today is a much different story from a year ago when McKinley parents became the first brave parents to use the Parent Trigger law to change their failing school.  In an effort to protect the failing status quo, Compton Unified went so far as to violate the parents' constitutional rights rather than working with the parents towards a solution. Unfortunately, for parents stuck in failing schools across the nation, Compton Unified's antics were all too common. But today is a different story.

While Parent Trigger continues to gain momentum, Desert Trails Parent Union (DTPU) parents organized and submitted petitions representing over 70 percent of the Desert Trails community. In response, Adelanto Elementary School District (AESD) did something historic: they sat down and began discussing the parents demands and how they could potentially meet them. For the first time in education history, DTPU parents are equal parties, discussing the educational destinies of their own children with district officials.  DTPU parents are even presenting proposals based on union provisions in effect in union contracts across America, including the LAUSD. 

And as a result, the district is listening. After four fruitful meetings between parents and district officials, DTPU members are hopeful and feel confident that the district is acting in good faith. Never before have parents and district officials come to the table to solve these issues as equals. Now it's time for districts across the nation to take a cue from AESD. Rather than fighting against parent power, its time to work collaboratively to make our schools great. Rather than dividing our communities, its time for school districts to become more like AESD and work closely with parents to find solutions that work for all parties. With 19 days left until parents begin developing their own school, parents are hopeful that AESD can work with the ADTA to implement these reasonable provision that are currently in place with sister unions across the nation. While negotiations still have a ways to go, at this point, we can look to AESD as an example of how parent power can work in conjunction with empowered parents using the Parent Trigger.