Compton's "Parent Trigger" Education Fight Heats Up
Looks like the "parent-trigger law" debate is heating up between Compton' pro-charter parents and the Compton Unified School District.
If you haven't been following the news out of Compton, last month I blogged about how parents of kids attending LA's public McKinley Elementary School are trying something new: Shutting down the chronically struggling institution and demanding that it be replaced by a charter school. And yes, they can do that—thanks to a new parental option called the "parent-trigger" law, which allows parents to force big changes at the state's lowest-performing schools, if they can gather signatures from 51 percent of the parents whose kids attend a failing school. McKinley parents and advocates gathered the signatures they needed, but now Compton Unified wants them verified. Last month, there were some reports of alleged intimidation tactics while these signatures where gathered.
A press release I received says that McKinley parents are meeting right now to decide their next steps:
Compton's "Parent-Trigger" Update: Read the Compton School District's Letter to Parents
If you haven't been following the news out of Compton, last month I blogged about how parents of kids attending LA's public McKinley Elementary School are trying something new: Shutting down the chronically struggling institution and demanding that it be replaced by a charter school. And yes, they can do that—thanks to a new parental option called the "parent-trigger" law, which allows parents to force big changes at the state's lowest-performing schools, if they can gather signatures from 51 percent of the parents whose kids attend a failing school. McKinley parents and advocates gathered the signatures they needed, but now Compton Unified wants them verified. Last month, there were some reports of alleged intimidation tactics while these signatures where gathered.
A press release I received says that McKinley parents are meeting right now to decide their next steps:
Compton's "Parent-Trigger" Update: Read the Compton School District's Letter to Parents
Last night, I asked Parent Revolution to send me a copy of the letter that the Compton Unified School District mailed out to parents of students at McKinley Elementary School. Compton Unified printed the letters on Wednesday, Jan. 19th, and sent them to parents who requested that this chronically low-performing school be turned into a charter:
Why such extremely narrow window of time? The Compton District officials know that most Compton residents are low-income parents, often working two jobs. Do they open their mail every day? I don't. Will parents be able to get time off from work on such short notice? I can't. Not to mention that the district requests that all parents
'Parent-Trigger' Proponents Sue Compton's School District
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"As part of the District's responsibility to evaluate the Petition, we ask that you come to McKinley Elementary School on January 26 or 27, 2011, between the hours of 7:30am-9am or 3pm-6pm (on either date) to sign a form verifying your signature on the Petition. Please make sure to bring photo identification (such as a California driver's license) as you will be asked to show identification before being provided a signature verification form."(See full letter below.)
Why such extremely narrow window of time? The Compton District officials know that most Compton residents are low-income parents, often working two jobs. Do they open their mail every day? I don't. Will parents be able to get time off from work on such short notice? I can't. Not to mention that the district requests that all parents
'Parent-Trigger' Proponents Sue Compton's School District
[Update: A Los Angeles judge just issued an order temporarily restraining Compton Unified School District officials from requiring signature verification from parents of McKinley Elementary School students. The Court scheduled a hearing on Feb. 24.]
The "Parent-Trigger" saga at Compton's McKinley Elementary School continues with a new twist today. From Parent Revolution's press release:
The "Parent-Trigger" saga at Compton's McKinley Elementary School continues with a new twist today. From Parent Revolution's press release:
"McKinley parents—along with pro bono lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis filed a lawsuit against Compton Unified School District for Compton Unified's illegal infringement upon the constitutional rights of McKinley parents and children.
The legal complaint against Compton Unified (Murphy et al v. Compton Unified) details not only violations of the Parent Trigger law itself, but violations of the constitutional rights of parents and children by the Compton Unified School District. Having already denied the children of McKinley their constitutional right under the California Constitution to an "equitable public education," the school district has subsequently infringed on the federal and state's constitutional First Amendment rights of parents to petition their government to remedy this violation of their children's rights "by crafting an onerous and burdensome process" intended not to verify their signatures, but
Education Roundup: Armed Teachers?
This week's roundup is brought to you by the buzzword "social capital." Click here to learn what it really means.
Guns in Los Angeles schools permeated education news this week. Why? Well, first two students were shot in an LA classroom after a gun discharged in a third student's backpack. Then, in a separate incident, several LA schools were put on lockdown after an unknown assailant shot a police officer near a local high school.
Would armed teachers help keep schools safe from shootings? One Nebraska senator thinks so, and introduced a bill this week to allow school administrators, teachers, and counselors to carry concealed handguns in schools. Click here for Huffington Post Education's take on the bill, or find out how teachers and parents
Guns in Los Angeles schools permeated education news this week. Why? Well, first two students were shot in an LA classroom after a gun discharged in a third student's backpack. Then, in a separate incident, several LA schools were put on lockdown after an unknown assailant shot a police officer near a local high school.
Would armed teachers help keep schools safe from shootings? One Nebraska senator thinks so, and introduced a bill this week to allow school administrators, teachers, and counselors to carry concealed handguns in schools. Click here for Huffington Post Education's take on the bill, or find out how teachers and parents
Closing the Achievement Gap, One 'A' at a Time
Editors' Note: This education dispatch is part of an ongoing series reported from Mission High School, where education writer Kristina Rizga is embedded for the year. Click here to see all of MoJo's recent education coverage, or follow Kristina's writing on Twitter or with this RSS Feed.
[Previous Mission High dispatch: When a kid suddenly pulls up his shirt to show you scars from a gang-related stabbing, what do you say?]
Early Friday morning Darrell* cracks open the classroom door for a second time here at Mission High. Darrell's nervous. He's been making progress and getting steady B's lately in Robert Roth's Honors History class, but today there's an hour and a half long history test. He's arranged to spend extra time with Mr. Roth this morning reviewing the material.
"Hi Darrell! I'm ready for you," says Roth, who hasn't yet had breakfast or coffee. Darrell nods and takes off his music headphones as he enters the room. Dressed in a Mission High T-shirt, he towers over his teacher. He
Education Buzzword Explainer: What the Heck Is Social Capital?
Realization of the Week: The Same Classroom Is Never the Same
[Previous Mission High dispatch: When a kid suddenly pulls up his shirt to show you scars from a gang-related stabbing, what do you say?]
Early Friday morning Darrell* cracks open the classroom door for a second time here at Mission High. Darrell's nervous. He's been making progress and getting steady B's lately in Robert Roth's Honors History class, but today there's an hour and a half long history test. He's arranged to spend extra time with Mr. Roth this morning reviewing the material.
"Hi Darrell! I'm ready for you," says Roth, who hasn't yet had breakfast or coffee. Darrell nods and takes off his music headphones as he enters the room. Dressed in a Mission High T-shirt, he towers over his teacher. He
Education Buzzword Explainer: What the Heck Is Social Capital?
Let's face it: Jargon happens. And in education circles, it happens a lot. Curious what an education buzzword actually means? Or how a seemingly unrelated business concept migrated into discussions about kids and schools? Let MoJo's education team research it so you don't have to. We welcome buzzword suggestions in comments for our next primer: Help us decide what lingo to look at next.
This week's education buzzword: "SOCIAL CAPITAL."
What is social capital? It's not about money. At its core, social capital theory holds that "relationships matter" and that "social networks are a valuable asset." If human capital is about individual resources (i.e. the importance of skilled people), social capital is about social resources (i.e. the importance of skilled social
Realization of the Week: The Same Classroom Is Never the Same
Editors' Note: This education dispatch is part of an ongoing series reported from Mission High School, where education writer Kristina Rizga is embedded for the year. Click here to see more of MoJo's recent education coverage, or follow Kristina's writing on Twitter or with this RSS Feed.
[Previous Mission High dispatch: Will Darrell flunk this test?]
There's a spring in my step as I walk to Mission High School this morning. I can't wait to tell Natalie—the aspiring astronaut who was "kicked out" of two charter schools—that my NASA friend has agreed to meet with her and give her some college advice.
But when I enter Ms. Bowman's World History class, Natalie's not there. Where is she? I wonder. Is she okay? At least Pedro's here, I notice.
Bowman begins class by writing the mnemonic "EMPIRE" on a white dry-erase board for a review of the
Education Roundup: More Segregation, Science Fails, and the State of the Union
[Previous Mission High dispatch: Will Darrell flunk this test?]
There's a spring in my step as I walk to Mission High School this morning. I can't wait to tell Natalie—the aspiring astronaut who was "kicked out" of two charter schools—that my NASA friend has agreed to meet with her and give her some college advice.
But when I enter Ms. Bowman's World History class, Natalie's not there. Where is she? I wonder. Is she okay? At least Pedro's here, I notice.
Bowman begins class by writing the mnemonic "EMPIRE" on a white dry-erase board for a review of the
Education Roundup: More Segregation, Science Fails, and the State of the Union
[UPDATE: BlackAmericaWeb.com reports that Kelley Williams-Bolar will get to keep her public school assistant job, despite having two felonies on her record. Meanwhile, bloggers are asking whether Williams-Bolar is the "Rosa Parks" of education and a Change.org petition is demanding that Gov. John Kasich pardon her. What did Kelley do? Read on.]
WATCH: Lazy Teenage Superheroes vs. Robot Bollywood [Videos]
Speaking of pot, the charming little stoner film embedded below brings $300 worth of special effects to a plot just a tad more absurd than Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Though sadly lacking in Neil Patrick Harris cameos, it's still worth a watch, if only to see what $300 will get you these days in the way of ninjas and giant robot effects. (Answer: A lot.) Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow sums it up thusly:
- Would you lie to get your kids into a better school? Ohio mom Kelley Williams-Bolar did, and was jailed for nine days for using a false address to send her two daughters to a better school. Colorlines andHuffPo sum up the racist undertones of Kelley's case, and the public outrage that's resulted.
- Also sparking some outrage is McCaskey East High School in Pennsylvania, which since mid-
WATCH: Lazy Teenage Superheroes vs. Robot Bollywood [Videos]
Speaking of pot, the charming little stoner film embedded below brings $300 worth of special effects to a plot just a tad more absurd than Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Though sadly lacking in Neil Patrick Harris cameos, it's still worth a watch, if only to see what $300 will get you these days in the way of ninjas and giant robot effects. (Answer: A lot.) Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow sums it up thusly:Lazy Teenage Superheroes is an extremely funny, extremely well-executed 13-minute rude little