Los Angeles Unified School District Votes on Public School Choice 2.0, With Mixed Results
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education (LAUSD) voted, yesterday, on the fate of 13 under-performing schools within LAUSD through it's Public School Choice 2.0 Program. The program, initiated by LAUSD, gives outside organizations and teacher groups the opportunity to make bids to take-over the worst performing schools. Key criteria for eligibility in the program focused on failures to improve in standardized testing over a five year period.
The process was championed by incumbent Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who was very heavily involved in the Board of Education elections in early March. Villaraigosa has been a vocal critic of the school district’s performance for some time. In a written statement, the mayor sees a positive outcome for students as a result of this plan.
“Today, the lives of more than 20,000 students and their families will change for the better,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “The opportunity to attend a revitalized school will set students on the course to a brighter future. Implementing change at our schools to increase performance is a necessity and thanks to Public School Choice, schools and students are being given a chance to thrive and succeed.”
The process was, also, supported by Board President Monica Garcia who believes the students at the troubled schools have won a major battle. Given the contentious nature of the bidding, she pointed out that differing opinions can be of great value in these matters.
Other voices heard were that of charter organizations as well as teachers in the under-performing schools . One school in particular is Henry Clay Middle School. Clay is a school located in the troubled South Central portion of Los Angeles and has a student body of over 1,000 students living in a community earning nearly 30 - 50% less than California’s median house-hold income.
CA averages show nearly half the school is comprised of Black students which is nearly 7 times the average found in most schools in California. Inversely, less than 2% of the school is comprised of White and Asian student which more than 95% below state averages.
Charter Group Green Dot Public Schools surprised most involved by gaining full control over Clay. It had been speculated that the board would decide to split control between the current administration and Green Dot.
Green Dot was a reasonable choice as they presently are working with 15 other schools in Los Angeles. Many in similar neighborhoods as the ones Clay serves. According to Green Dot's web-site, they average almost 100 points better than schools in similar communities' Academic Performance Indicator (API) testing. The API score gauges a school district's or a school's performance on the 2006 STAR and CAHSEE (high school exit exam) exams.
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