CA educators push back against unregulated charter schools that threaten students’ futures
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It’s not unusual for parents to see educators when dropping off their kids at school. But this morning, within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), parents saw educators outside holding up signs and handing out flyers. They were using their free time before class and their unified voice to alert parents that the future of their child’s education could be in danger.
“We want to make sure the parents understand the dangers of the Broad Walmart plan,” said Cecily Myart-Cruz, a middle school English and language arts teacher. “They want to take 50 percent of our students outside of LAUSD and put them into unregulated charter schools that are not held to the same rigorous standards as traditional public schools.”
That plan is being promoted by billionaire Eli Broad, who heads up the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. He’s going around securing a half-billion dollars from his rich buddies, including the Walton Family, because he wants to build 260 new charters in the district and enroll more than 300,000 LAUSD students. Charter schools are funded using taxpayer dollars but are run by private companies and are often exempt from the rules and regulations governing traditional public schools.
Right now in our public schools, parents have the right to join with educators and have a say in their child’s education,” said Myart-Cruz, who is also vice president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), which represents more than 31,000 educators and health and human service professionals. “However, we know that parents and students have absolutely no voice with unregulated, privately-run charters. Also, public schools have to take in all students. Unregulated charters do not.
CA educator Cecily Myart-Cruz
“If we lose 50 percent of our students to unregulated charters, that means we’re going to have 50-percent less of a teaching force. The sizes of those classes remaining in the public schools are going to be sky high. Students won’t get the one-on-one interaction they need and deserve.”
Myart-Cruz says this is why it’s a bad idea to let billionaires run our public schools. She says instead of investing in unregulated charters, people like Broad and the Walton Family should work with educators and public schools to implement proven strategies and policies that inspire children’s natural curiosity and imagination and ignite their desire to learn.
“Teaching middle school students—that is my life blood, my calling” said Myart-Cruz. “Opening upTo Kill a Mockingbird and talking about character analysis, narration—I know how to bring these concepts to life for my students. I know what CA educators push back against unregulated charter schools that threaten students’ futures « Education Votes: