Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/649572
a handful of "triggered" schools, and proponents have had no clear successes. Indeed, parent trigger has proved to be a disruptive and divisive approach to school reform. WO R K I N G W I T H PA R E N T S e parent trigger law, enacted in California in 2010, allows parents at schools with low test scores to collect and submit signatures (representing 50 percent of the school's students) to force a school district to make changes. e law is flawed and unfair, says Fisher, because the only votes that count are the votes to pull the trigger. Parents opposed to the petitions "have no voice and no vote." e trigger has been pulled, meaning petitions have been filed, at six schools thus far. In Los Angeles Unified School District, Parent Revolution targeted a principal at Weigand Avenue Elementary School, and many staff transferred to other sites in protest. LAUSD's 24th Street Elementary School was split in half when the trigger was pulled, and now has a district-run K-4 program and a charter program operating grades 5-8. At Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto, the only school where the entire staff was forced out and the school was converted to a charter, new teacher turnover has been rampant, and the school is on the verge of losing its charter. Parent Revolution has twice collected parent signatures at 20th Street Elementary School in LAUSD. Last year, the group backed off from filing when the district promised to improve the school. In February, however, the trigger was pulled. e district is reviewing the signatures for validity. On Feb. 17, a "walk-in" at the school, organized by United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, made national headlines. Parents, students and other school supporters spoke and carried signs focusing on what they like about the school — including teachers. e event was one of many walk-ins around the country that day to support public schools. CTA continues to educate its chapters to be aware of the potential threat at schools that could be targeted. One of the most critical issues in CTA training is understanding the importance of the parent-teacher relationship. United Teach- ers of Pasadena, the Lennox Teachers Association, and the Inglewood Teachers Association were able to stop parent trig- ger efforts by strengthening relationships with parents and the community. Inglewood, for example, expanded a "Parent University" that teaches parents how to help their children succeed in school. In Lennox, the association sponsors work- shops for parents to explain how they can help their children do well with the Common Core standards. " Three years ago when Parent Revolution came here, we didn't confront them directly, but we decided that if we could better represent parent concerns, we could save our school community from them," says Brian Guerrero, Lennox Teachers Association president. "Parent Revolution feeds off discontent, and we were able to rechannel that energy into Parents and staff at 20th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles participate in a nationwide "walk-in" in support of the school and its teachers. Frank Wells 25 March 2016