Democrats endorsing parent trigger

[HiPointDem]

Democrats at the U.S. Conference of Mayors have recently backed "parent trigger" laws...The Parent Trigger has some of its roots in the George W. Bush administration's 2001 "No Child Left Behind" plan. That law required schools that consistently failed to show progress on a battery of tests to, after five years, be placed under "restructuring," which could include turning the school over to the state for reorganization or transforming it into a charter school.

California's Parent Trigger law, which passed in 2010 and has become a model for other states, puts the authority to order "restructuring" into the hands of parents...

Despite widespread support from conservatives, several prominent Democrats also support Parent Trigger laws, claiming they empower parents. The push to endorse Parent Trigger legislation at the U.S. Conference of Mayors was led by Democratic mayors, including Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Cory Booker of Newark, and Kevin Johnson of Sacramento. Villaraigosa told Reuters: "Mayors understand at a local level that most parents lack the tools they need to turn their schools around..."

http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/07/11612/should-parents-pull-parent-trigger

As of September three states have adopted versions of California’s legislation: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Another 12 are considering whether to follow suit. In June the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously endorsed trigger laws. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, now grappling with the city’s first teachers’ strike in 25 years, has said he plans to introduce the legislation there. Los Angeles’ Antonio Villaraigosa and Newark’s Cory Booker have also praised the parent trigger concept. On the Republican side, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush are supporters.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-13/in-california-public-school-parents-stage-a-coup

Jindal, Bush, allied with leading democrats. wow, it must be goood stuff.


The awful thing about this, is is that well-meaning parents might use this option, thinking they are getting more local control over their schools. But once a school is privatized, it becomes a target. I would expect that eventually, large private-equity groups will start buying and selling Charters like they buy and sell commodities.


parent trigger gaining traction:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120920/NEWS04/309200039/Nashville-parents-explore-taking-over-schools

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I worry about parents with noble motivations

turning public schools into anarchy, wanting quick solutions and having the same problems of accountability of too little money and the same societal problems inside and outside of schools, as well as they don't have any experience and/or academic experience with education.

I can see charter schools taking advantage of a group of parents who are vulnerable, not savvy, and at a disadvantage not knowing all the alternatives once they've had their coupe.

[iemitsu]

2. democrats are fools to support policies that are destructive to public schools.

do they think that charters and voucher fed schools will produce thinking, responsible citizens who vote for democrats? or will they produce a bunch of little elitists who think they are special and others are expendable?
dems should not cut the throats of those who have traditionally supported them.

[tech3149]

3. People need more background information to make smart decisions

I spent more than a decade doing work in NJ schools, especially Newark and other urban schools. I saw up close and personal how established power structures worked to only serve themselves.
With regard to Mr Booker, He would never have been elected without the support of Wall St. The money guys are salivating over the gentrification and selling off public assets to pay off debts that are the result of those self serving grifters. Booker is just another flavor of the same poison.
It pissed me to no end that he was given a forum at the convention.

[iemitsu]

5. yeah, me too.

i have taught in an urban high school for 20+ years and seen plenty that was wrong with schools but anything i saw in the past pales compared to the havoc caused by corporate "reformers" of today.
i have always worked hard but today i work harder. i used to feel appreciated and had fun while exploring the curriculum and bringing it to life with students.
today, all behaviors are monitored and we move through the material to fit the test schedules. no deviation from prescribed topics for fear of getting behind. i can never feel like i did a good job because i can't accomplish the things in am expected to do.
i really looked forward to a sane president rolling back NCLB but that is not what happened.
10 years of that usurper bush making my work life miserable and then my own party turns on me and my fellow teachers.
sorry about the rant. i've too much to do to be sitting here reading and writing.

[Starry Messenger]

4. k&r