What's a "walk-in" and why were they happening at L.A. schools today?
"Lets’s go, dolphins, let’s go!” chanted dozens of students, parents and teachers as they walked into 20th Street Elementary School before class, professing love for their neighborhood school, one that might soon become a charter school.
They were part of a “walk-in” demonstration organized on Wednesday morning by teachers unions in Los Angeles and The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools.
The rallies around the country were hashtagged as #ReclaimOurSchools. In Los Angeles, they highlighted positive experiences at traditional public schools in the face of an increasing number of charter schools.
The rallies come against the backdrop of an effort to rapidly expand charter schools in L.A. Unified. Charter schools are publicly funded but can be privately run. Most are nonunion.
Parents at 20th Street filed a petition earlier this month to convert the school into a charter school. To make the change, they’re using the state’s “parent trigger law” that allows parents to decide who will take control of a low-performing campus once the school district confirms that a majority of parents had signed a petition.
The parent group hasn't yet chosen an organization that would run the charter school. Under state law, only parents who signed the petition will have a vote. The advocacy group helping them, Parent Revolution, is backed by nonprofit organizations that support the growth of charter schools, including the Walton Family Foundation, the Wasserman Foundation, the Arnold Foundation and the Broad Foundation.
The petition drive has divided the campus, with supporters accusing teachers of misconduct and retaliation. The union, in turn, has accused Parent Revolution of using deceptive tactics to gather signatures. Both sides have denied any wrongdoing.
The signs and posters at 20th Street focused on what students loved about their school — the teachers, the music — scrawled in colorful, elementary-child handwriting.
Some rallygoers at Hamilton High School in Palms were more direct in their attack on the expansion plan, which was originally spearheaded by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. That proposal laid out a plan to spend $490 million to double the number of charters in L.A. over eight years.
Protesters held white posters that proclaimed in black block letters: "Billionaires, have a heart. Your plan will tear our schools apart!" and "Billionaires: Pay your taxes so we can get smaller classes!"
L.A. Unified Supt. Michelle King joined union organizers and school board members for the demonstration at Hamilton High, where she was once principal. The partnership What's a "walk-in" and why were they happening at L.A. schools today? - LA Times:
