This is what parent power looks like
On the front page of Education Week's website today was a story about LAUSD's recently announced "parent trigger." This policy, which is strongly supported by the Parent Revolution, would allow parents in any community in Los Angeles to collectively demand the District transform their underperforming school. If 51% of the parents at an underperforming school or those of students soon to attend such a school sign a petition demanding change, the District will be forced to transform the school with either a District plan or an external operator, such as a high-performing charter operator or other non-profit.
“I’ve not heard of anything quite like this,” said Pedro Noguera, an education professor at New York University. “It sounds very democratic and like an attempt to be responsive to the community, which is a good thing.”
It's exciting to see LA Unified, one of the slowest major urban district to reform, finally bringing about innovative policies to give parents power. Even more exciting is how this change happened - parents have been rising up across our city, demanding power over their children's education, and finally, LAUSD is starting to listen.
Of course, all of this is meaningless until it is used to actually transform a school and change children's lives. At long last, however, LAUSD empowering parents who demand better to bring about the change their children desperately need.
