Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/649572
something positive and advocate for parents. We told them, 'We're here for your children every day — and who's better to advocate for your kids than us?' " A L E G AC Y O F L I E S McKinley Elementary School in Compton was the target of the first trigger attempt in 2010. Parent Revolution demanded that the school be turned over to a private charter operator preselected by the outside organizers during a splashy news conference as the petitions were delivered to the district. e effort began to unravel almost immediately. It became clear that Parent Revolution was unaware that students were already making significant and rapid gains through partic- ipation in CTA's Quality Education Investment Act school reform program. In addition, although some parents supported the peti- tion drive, many said they had been misled about what they were signing and, in many cases, had clearly been lied to. Parents complained of petitioners knocking on the door late at night, and of being followed and harassed into sign- ing trigger petitions. Others said they were told that signing the petition was a vote to improve the school's computer technology or to " beautify " the school. Some parents said they themselves were promised laptop computers. Most said they did not understand that the school staff would be replaced , and many among the school's large immi- grant population did not really understand what a charter school was. Eventually it was determined that there were not enough valid signatures submitted. "I know parents have been tricked. I've seen it," says Ingrid Villeda, a fifth-grade educator at 93rd Street Elementary School and UTLA member. "Organizers come in who are not from our neighborhood and claim they are people from the community wanting change, but it's a lie. ey are pro- fessional organizers who are hired to collect signatures and create a parent union. Parents are told that if they sign the petition, school lunches will be better in the cafeteria and every student will have a computer and test scores will go up. ese lies cause disruption and destabilize communities." Villeda, who is outspoken on the topic at school board meetings, says pulling the trigger "throws away " valuable people and resources without analyzing what is working well and what isn't working. "ose interested in uplifting the community and schools should come to community schools and engage all stakehold- ers in a very transparent way to make things better. A hostile takeover will never result in gains." Sometimes pulling the trigger even makes things worse, as in the case of Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, a small town near Victorville. In that 2012 case, many parents regretted signing the petitions, said they did not understand what they had signed, and asked permission to rescind their signatures, which would have reduced parent support far below the 50 percent mark. But a San Bernardino County Brian Guerrero, right, talks to a parent during a Common Core workshop. "Parent Revolution feeds off discontent. We were able to rechannel that energy into something positive and advocate for parents. We told them, ' We're here for your children every day — and who's better to advocate for your kids than us?'" — BRIAN GUERRERO, LENNOX TEACHERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT 26 cta.org