Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Parent trigger empowers parents to improve children's schools

A great editorial in the Oakland Tribune supporting the parent trigger:

On Dec. 7, Compton school district officials were presented with a petition signed by 62 percent of McKinley's parents seeking to make McKinley a charter school.

Instead of working with the understandably concerned parents, school officials have been doing all they can to thwart the petitioners. After failing to respond to the parents for a month, school officials then issued an ultimatum requiring parents to show up at the district office for a "short interview" and sign a form verifying their signatures or have the petition disqualified.

That unconscionable action is what brought about the lawsuit in which parents have asked the court to block the district, saying those rules are "burdensome and intrusive."

We believe the court should not have a difficult decision to make in siding with the parents.

The situation in Compton is exactly what the parent trigger law was designed to correct. If ever there was a school district that needed reform, it is Compton. The attitude taken by Compton education officials reveals why progress has been lacking. They are opposed to change and are unwilling to listen to the people they serve.

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Parent trigger empowers parents to improve children's schools

Oakland Tribune editorial

Posted: 02/06/2011 12:01:00 AM PST

http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_17299235?nclick_check=1

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