Transform Your School
Creating a great school in any neighborhood is a big promise. Change doesn’t come easily. How can we make this pledge? Here’s how it works:
Once 51% of parents have signed the petition, there are three different ways you can create a great school in your neighborhood.
1) Transformation of your current school.
Once you get 51% of the parents signed up, the first step you can take is going to the District and demanding they transform your school. Force them to present a plan for how they’re going to fix the school and turn it around. And you- the parents- get to chose if that plan is good enough.
Why will they listen to you? Why will they take you seriously? Because you have strength in numbers- hundreds or thousands of parents are standing together. And because you have leverage, and a credible threat: If they don’t transform your school, you will put your child in a high-performing charter school, with the other two options we provide you.
2) Transformation of current school into a charter.
If the District refuses to present a satisfactory plan to fix your school, organizations such as Green Dot Public Schools or Alliance can work with you to transform that school into a high performing charter. Just last year, Green Dot transformed Locke High School into a Green Dot school, and is in the process of completely turning it around. In this scenario, it would be the same exact school, just under completely new management, and still open to every single student in the neighborhood, just like any other public school.
Read more about the Locke story here. Or watch this Mobile Learning Institute video to learn how Green Dot is using the takeover of Locke High School to show how small schools with high expectations can fundamentally change how public education is delivered.
3) Build new charters
If the District won’t transform your school, and we can’t turn your existing school into a charter, we will build new, high performing charter schools in your neighborhood. Then you, the parent, will have choice. You can enroll your child in a high performing charter public school, or keep him or her in their current school. But the choice will be in your hands.
Questions about charter schools? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions about charters.
Great public schools do exist, even here in Los Angeles. There just aren’t enough of them. Why? There are a lot of forces - such as special interests and bureaucrats - that fight to keep the status quo. That’s why its so important for parents to stand up and demand a great school. Together, we can fight for real change.
