If you are interested in the effect of parent-trigger laws, keep your eyes on California.
Last week, Desert Trails Preparatory Academy, a K-6 school in Adelanto, opened its doors after being restructured under the state’s parent-trigger law. And next week, the 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles plans to open its doors, reports the Daily Breeze.
Parents at the Los Angeles school, with support from parent-trigger activists Parent Revolution, filed a petition to overhaul the school in January.
While the initial petition called for the removal of the school’s administrators while keeping the teaching staff in place, the proposal that was ultimately put in place required all teachers at the school to reapply for their jobs. And instead of tapping a charter management organization to run the school, as was done at Desert Trails Elementary School, the school has formed a unique partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and Crown Preparatory Academy, a nonprofit charter school that was already operating on the school’s campus.
The principal at the school has also left.
The Daily Breeze reports that the school’s newest iteration will “blur the lines between the public school, which will cover preschool through fifth grade, and the charter school, which will offer classes through eighth grade.”
As the school year begins, educators around the country will be watching these schools closely to evaluate the impact of parent-trigger efforts on the academic success of the schools.