The first “parent trigger” schools have opened in California. Desert Trails, a low-performing elementary school in Adelanto, is now a charter “preparatory academy.” The school year started in early August.
In Los Angeles, 24th Street Elementary opened last week: The district will run the K-4 grades while a charter operator will run grades 5 to 8; a preschool provider will offer early childhood education.
Parent Revolution, which is backing trigger campaigns, claims two other victories: Parents got what they wanted without taking over the school
At Haddon Avenue Elementary in Pacoima, the parent union paused — and then stopped — their Parent Trigger campaign. This was because their pressure caused the district, teachers and administrators to put together a thoughtful plan to transform the school. And in the Watts neighborhood of LA, the parents decided on replacing the principal and making in-district changes to turn-around the chronically failing Weigand Avenue Elementary.
We The Parents, a documentary about Compton parents’ “trigger” campaign to seize their children’s chronically low-performing school, has opened in Los Angeles. The LA Times calls it “inspirational but not too informative.” The Compton parents failed on a technicality, but drew a charter school to a nearby church to provide an alternative.