Some teachers cried foul when the Los Angeles Unified School District approved a plan in August that would allow charter-management firms and other outside groups to take over schools with low achievement scores.
Now several seem to be saying, "If you can't beat them, join 'em."
As mentioned in today's LA Times, teachers at Hillcrest Elementary School, Jefferson High School and Garfield High School have formed organizations that intend to fight for the right to manage their schools.
The unusual move ultimately means that teachers will soon be facing off against some of LA's most powerful. The teacher group at Jefferson High, for example, is competing against a takeover bid by a nonprofit group controlled by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – a tough task indeed, considering Villaraigosa's influence and popularity.
Yet, despite working at statistically underachieving schools and receiving blame from some for their campuses' plight, the teachers insist they know best how to move the school forward.
At Jefferson High, social studies teacher Nicolle Fefferman said her team is addressing long-standing problems, including what she described as a lack of urgency about the school's problems by some colleagues at the campus in Central-Alameda, south of downtown. "This resolution has, in fact, re-energized our faculty, forcing us to turn inwards, reevaluate what we are doing and how we can make things better for our students," she said.
This effort by LA teachers comes amid a district-wide crackdown on weak performers in their ranks. Last month, the LAUSD announced a renewed focus on weeding out bad instructors after a Times' investigation revealed that the district routinely rewarded poor and ineffective teachers with tenure, often without thoroughly reviewing the candidate's performance history.
In February, the LA Board of Education will decide whether the charter-linked firms or teachers win control, after hearing the recommendations of Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines. Proposals are due to LAUSD by January 11.
Comments
The same Teacher's Union that has helped turn the LAUSD into an academic and behavioral smoking crater.
Green Dot, KIPP as well as the Catholic Church has successfully educated children in some of the poorest and most challenging urban environments.
The teacher's union is just that a union of teachers and not primarily interested in the success of the student.
The United States has, arguably, the best university system on the planet and it is a mix of public and private institutions all of which COMPETE for students and their dollars. Since this system seems to work out fairly well, why would it not work for K-12?
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