For many parents, Parent Trigger laws — which allow the majority of families to replace teaching staffs and principals at their schools with those of higher quality or even abandon the district altogether for a charter school operator — have proven to be a promising solution for systemic academic failure. Yet as Dropout Nation noted last week (and comments from some in education have proven) many teachers, along with NEA and AFT bosses and so-called education experts, see Parent Trigger either as a nefarious plot to end public education or think that the parents are dupes and worse. This condescending attitude — even among ‘parent engagement advocates’ like Larry Ferlazzo — is another sign that in education, parents are expected to been seen and not heard. It also explains why charter school operators and other grassroots-based school reformers have been welcomed by many parents with open arms.
Gwen Samuel, the president of the State of Black CT Alliance — whose group successfully pushed for the nation’s second Parent Trigger law — offers her thoughts on why parents are so tired of their kids being denied high-quality education. Read, consider and for parents, take action.
Teachers and school officials in California and elsewhere should ask themselves one question regarding Parent Trigger: Why does the Parent Trigger exist in the first place? The answer: Because it’s time for a revolution.
A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, “a turn around”) is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time. Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions. And revolutions happen because of unrest among people frustrated with a system that denies them or their families the chance at better lives.
What is happening in California, in my state of Connecticut and elsewhere is a revolution in education. These are direct results of problems in states that needs to address their educational systems. There is an abundance of research pointing to methods that improve education, but we, as a country, struggle to execute effectively these scientific research models.
Parents understand that education is the key out of poverty. But they cannot get their hands on that key for their kids. We can’t keep telling parents and poor communities that education is the key out of poverty without allowing equitable access to that key. If one continues to deny access to the “key” of opportunity, what is happening in California and Connecticut will continue to happen all over the country.
Parent Trigger is meant to be a last resort mechanism for parents and guardians when schools systemically and continually fail to provide equitable access to a high quality education for all children. Parent Trigger laws give parents legal power to transform the educational experience of their kids from low-performing to high performing. That is a reasonable request.
They don’t want to do it alone. They want to work in conjunction with community, young people, educators, teachers, administrators and anyone who wants to help. In Connecticut, we have made Parent Trigger a collaborative process; 14 members (including seven parents, two community leaders and five teachers) have the collective legal power to recommend a new school improvement model. School districts may have the power to choose another school improvement model. But the key is that reform must happen.
But not every state will follow the Connecticut or the California model. This is fine as long as parents have power. As a parent and advocate, this is bigger than just having a clear process of the law or any other school system policy and procedure; it’s about validating and addressing the concerns of the actual consumers of education: The students and their parents.
Compulsory Education laws mandate parents send their child to school whether they are effective schools or not. When school “systems” fail to provide adequate and equitable access to opportunity, compounded with the fears of the “school to prison pipeline” and the worsening economic recession, you end up with parents and guardians hungry for effective advocacy skills on “how to” create the necessary change to improve their child’s educational outcomes. You get a revolution. You get Parent Trigger.
Don’t underestimate how far parents and guardians will go to ensure their children get a fair chance at life! Parents don’t want to choose between prison IDs and college IDs for their children. Education is a human rights issue and people are prepared to advocate for that right! So must exercise our right to make choices and vote for leadership that has the best interest of our children, our families and the communities we live in.
