Talking about a Parent Revolution
Shirley Ford of Parent Revolution
In California, a majority of parents at a failing school can now force district officials to make dramatic changes, including staff turnover and closure.
The “parent trigger” was signed into law in January by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a package of changes aimed at boosting the state’s chances in the federal Race to the Top competition.
California didn’t make it to the R2T finals but the trigger idea is building steam, said Ben Austin, executive director of the Los Angeles Parents Union, which fought for the concept in its Parent Revolution campaign.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say it’s the most radical transfer of power to parents in the history of America,” Austin said before speaking to a Denver audience on Thursday.
A group of black and Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut recently introduced a similar plan in an attempt to close that state’s wide achievement gap between white and minority students.
And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced plans for England’s own parent trigger.
“The reason we’re winning is because it’s really hard to argue with what we’re doing,” Austin said, “which is giving parents real power to advocate for their own kids.”
Under the California law, if 51 percent of parents living in the neighborhood around a failing school sign a petition, the district must enact one of four school turnaround strategies favored by federal officials.
That includes school closure, replacing the principal and at least half of the staff, bringing in a charter school operator or transforming the school via changes such as a longer instructional day and year.
To be considered failing, a school has to meet criteria such as being among the lowest-performing 5 percent in the state.
“The idea for us is that parents, above and beyond all other stakeholders, are in the best position to make decisions about their kids,” Austin said. “Up until now, parents have not had any real power of any kind.”
The idea for the parent trigger came from the year that Austin and Shirley Ford, a lead organizer for the parents’ union, spent gathering the signatures of teachers at LA’s Locke High School in Watts.