New L.A. schools chief Michelle King calls for making peace with charters
At a town hall event in Pacoima, before an audience of 700, King demonstrated a growing comfort in her new role as well as skill in framing responses that would appeal to those assembled.
Although it was not King’s first public event, the question-and-answer forum at Pacoima Middle School was an early showcase of her direct message to parents. A low-income neighborhood, Pacoima includes some popular charter schools as well as some traditional schools that have struggled for years with low academic achievement.
The tension between charters, which are run outside of the district's control, and traditional schools, was underscored over the summer, when the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation circulated a draft proposal to pull half of district students into charters.
Months later, a district-appointed task force concluded that the rapid growth of charters had the potential to drive the district into bankruptcy.
“All of the students are L.A. Unified School District students,” King said. When it comes to delivering a strong education, “this is something we need to do together. I can’t do this alone.”
Charters are independently managed and exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses. Most are non-union.
King also addressed concerns over state rules that require L.A. Unified to provide available classroom space to charters.
Sharing space is appropriate “because they are all public schools,” King said. “We have to get to working together to serve all kids.… It doesn’t help to have battles over property.”
From the beginning of her new role as superintendent seven weeks ago, King has said that she will take a collaborative approach to leadership.
Tuesday’s crowd was a mixture of parents from charters and traditional schools. About half the parents asked their questions in Spanish. Several were challenging.
And King could not make everyone happy.
A man asserted that the district never fired teachers, but instead sent them to schools in low-income communities.
“We don’t want to fire folks, period,” King said. The preferred process, she said, is to provide educators with assistance and guidance. When that fails, “we do take teachers and other employees to the Board of Education and they are dismissed.” This happens, she added, at every board meeting.
Several parents said they liked King’s message about collaboration.
“That she’s hearing us out speaks to her character,” said Gwendolyn Posey, whose daughter attends a nearby charter run by Fenton Charter Public Schools.
“At the end, we should be more focused on making the kids have a good outcome in life,” said Maria Jimenez, who has two children in traditional schools. “This should not be a competition. It affects kids and parents.”
“She’s hearing us out and taking the time to do that,” said Elisa Venzor, a parent at Pacoima Charter Elementary. She adopted a wait-and-see position regarding charter cooperation.
“It sounds good -- if they can make this happen,” she said.
The superintendent also noted that her top short-term priority is getting as many students as possible to graduate from the class of 2016.
The district appears on track for a record graduation rate, but observers have questioned the rigor of make-up classes.
King said that events like the Pacoima forum are important because the district’s strategic plan should not be hers alone but should result from input across the nation’s second-largest school system.
It’s still not clear how King will respond when voices answer back in cacophony or in conflict.
L.A. teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl on Tuesday said that teachers in all types of schools are already collaborating in some areas.
But his union has protested against locating charters at traditional schools.
The state charter schools association, meanwhile, is suing the district, saying that charters aren't receiving their fair share of either space at existing schools or money to build new ones.
As far as academic collaboration, charter leaders look forward to setting up events that could draw in all kinds of schools, according to the association. But it added that the district has, so far, made no concrete moves in that direction.
Editor's note: Education Matters receives funding from a number of foundations, including one or more mentioned in this article. The California Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles administer grants from the Baxter Family Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the California Endowment and the Wasserman Foundation. Under terms of the grants, The Times retains complete control over editorial content.
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Michelle King on charters: ‘It’s not us versus them’
Monica Ratliff prepares to take a selfie with Michelle King at the town hall.
“We are all LA Unified school students,” King said in response to a charter school parent who was asking about the district’s perceived bias against charters. “It is unfortunate we have labels, saying that this one is better than that one. It’s not us versus them.”
King then shared a plan she is developing. “One of the things we are looking at, and I’m meeting with charter leaders, is to have some sort of forum or event and bring those traditional schools, magnets, pilots, charters all together and share what is working best.”
The Pacoima Singers perform before the question-and-answer session.
She told the audience how she became a teacher and discussed a diverse range of topics that came from parent questions including students cutting themselves, school calendars, teacher firings and campus bullying.
The town hall was so successful that officials hope to replicate it in other parts of the district and hold them regularly. Although she has met with civic groups, teachers, principals and other specific groups so far since she was named in January, this was King’s first meeting that encouraged all community members to attend.
King was treated like a rock star. The audience almost exceeded the capacity of the performing arts auditorium at Pacoima Middle School, with many standing in the back. People greeted her and hugged her, some took selfies with her, a half dozen media outlets came to cover the event, and she received a standing ovation at least twice. Babies were crying in the audience and audio translations were available in Armenian and Spanish.
“The way this town hall came about is that I was at a community meeting and I was bragging about how great our superintendent was, and they asked, ‘When is she coming out to the Valley?’” said board member Monica Ratliff, who represents the area and moderated the town hall. “I said I would see what I could do, and then I thought, ‘That’s a lame answer, I’m going to make it happen.’”
Flyers and posters were in English, Armenian and Spanish.
The charter school issue that has been so divisive in the community seemed to be on a lot of people’s minds. One Spanish-speaking parent was concerned that charter schools did not follow certain laws and were not properly monitored, to which King explained how the district monitors all independent and affiliated charter schools and offers recommendations and guidance if there are violations or complaints.
Sarah Angel, managing director of regional advocacy for the California Charter Schools Association, said, “Charter school leaders have been very public about seeking opportunities to share best practices with the district and learn from successful district schools, so Superintendent King’s comments are a great sign of hope. The charter community remains eager to work with Superintendent King to implement concrete policies that will make collaboration a reality.”
Angel added, “We all want an end to the divisive rhetoric, including the parents who just want the opportunity to choose the school that best fits their children’s needs. Many of those parents attended today’s event and they emphasized that the issue is not charter schools versus traditional schools — the issue is how do we work together to improve all public schools for our students? Pacoima is a great example of a community that has rallied behind its public schools, both charter and traditional, thanks in part to board member Ratliff’s thoughtful leadership. The rest of LA can certainly learn from that community’s collaboration and unity.”
Great Public Schools Now, an Eli Broad-affiliated nonprofit focused on accelerating the growth of high-quality LA public schools including charters, emailed a statement after King’s remarks. The group’s plan was denounced in a unanimous vote in January by the LA Unified school board one day after King was named superintendent.
“We applaud Superintendent Michelle King’s remarks during [Tuesday’s] town hall, particularly her plan to bring all types of schools together to share best practices. We share her desire to identify what’s working best to educate our students and help ensure every child has access to that high-quality public education,” the email stated. “We share Superintendent King’s perspective that all students, whether they attend district or charter schools, are LAUSD students. We know that working together we can accomplish much more than working at odds, and we are eager to do our part to ensure every student in Los Angeles gets a high-quality education.”
The morning started off with the middle school cadets marching in with the U.S. and California flags and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the Pacoima Singers from the Television, Theatre and Performing Arts Magnet on campus performed a few timely numbers, especially one dealing with a faux election, as it was Super Tuesday.
Among the issues that came up was from a distressed father who said his daughter was wearing long sleeves to hide the fact that she was cutting herself, and he then discovered her friends were doing the same.
King responded, “We are aware that children cutting themselves is a growing issue and we are going to start a campaign of awareness, showing where it comes from and what it means. I also want the training to speak to the whole cyber, flash chat and social media issue and all that they’ve got going on and look for training so that we as parents know what to do, and what to look for.”
One parent asked why bad teachers are not fired and whether the teachers union was to blame. King answered, “We don’t want to fire folks, period. We hope to train teachers and get them to perform at a high level,” she said. If that doesn’t work, they’re fired. “Every single board meeting we dismiss teachers and other employees who do not fulfill their jobs to the best of their ability.”
A mother from Colfax Charter Elementary School complained that other districts start school after Labor Day and wondered why the district spends $1.4 million in taxpayer money to run air conditioners in order to hold classes in August. King laid some of the blame on the Board of Education supervisors because her office suggested a three-year calendar, but they only approved it for one year and are looking into the issue.
King said the district had a study for nearly nine months asking for input and said in her more than three decades at LA Unified, “I never saw such an action where so much input was sought trying to get information to make a decision.” She said the biggest issues about the schedule are starting school before Labor Day, having a week off for Thanksgiving and having three weeks off over winter break, as the district now has.
Breakfast was served during the town hall.
One mother said through a Spanish translator that her 11-year-old son was shot and killed on his way to school and that she was concerned about the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries in the area.
King said, “I’m sorry for your loss, and let me say that our first priority is the safety of your children at all our schools.” She said that includes bullying and cyber-bulling.
King discussed the issues she is working on, including the budget situation, how to bring arts and music to all schools in the district, getting more parents involved in schools, and bringing back summer school not just for remediation but for students who are interested in getting ahead and becoming more prepared for college.
Michelle King was treated like a rock star.
At the end of the meeting, Ratliff said, “I’d be happy to do this all day if we could.” She said she felt the questions and reactions from the audience were very positive.
“They were clearly being honest about what is going on in our schools, and I appreciated that,” Ratliff said after the meeting.
King added, “I think some of you see the ‘I love LAUSD’ buttons we have on, and that’s what it’s about for me, it’s about being united.”
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New LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King gets earful from Valley parents
By Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1UCX0qj
She said those priorities include increasing graduation rates and literacy among elementary school children, bringing back arts and music programs, expanding summer school, creating fiscal stability for the district — and, more importantly, uniting a district that she said seemed splintered under the strain of charter school expansion, magnet school interest and public school budget strains.
“I’d like to reconnect the district with the community and parents,” King said after she was greeted with a standing ovation. “Re-energizing parents and communities are a top priority for me.”
King, 54, is the first African-American woman to hold the superintendent’s post and the first woman in more than 80 years to lead the district. She told the crowd she was a product of LAUSD and had wanted to become a doctor but, in her senior year at UCLA, saw an opportunity to use her biology degree as a teacher for the district. King taught for 31 years as a science and math teacher, beginning at Porter Middle School in Granada Hills.
She was tapped by Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines as chief deputy when he returned to the district in October 2014.
Fielding questions posed in English and Spanish, King said she would like to see more unity from district staff and parents on how to improve special education. Several parents, including Marta Martinez and Juana Gomez, both of whom have 9-year-old children with special needs, said their kids are not receiving the kind of instruction that is helpful.
Both mothers said they were grateful that King was willing to hear parents out. Tuesday’s town hall was the first time they had a chance to see her speak, they said.
“It seems like she’s open to communication,” Gomez said. “We’re parents who are very active in the schools.”
Mamie Nelson, who runs a group home for at-risk children, said she wanted to know if charter schools were starting to benefit under California’s Proposition 39, the voter-approved measure that allows independent charters to have access to public school facilities.
Nelson said she asked the question because she thought the money was not being distributed equally and public classrooms are still overcrowded.
The district and the California Charter Schools Association have been at odds for years over how to implement the measure.
“We have to get past all that to serve all kids,” King said to applause. “It doesn’t serve anyone when there are battles over property.”
Augustina Garcia, a mother of an 11-year-old attending Pacoima Middle School, asked King about campus safety and the efforts to keep children away from violence and drugs. She said her eldest son, Ramon Garcia, was gunned down while leaving San Fernando High School in 2013.
“Safety is a top priority,” King said to her directly and to the crowd. “I want all of you to know that.”
The hourlong town hall-style event was hosted and led by LAUSD board member Monica Ratliff of District 6, in the northeast San Fernando Valley. Local superintendents Vivian Ekchian and Byron Maltez also attended to take information from parents who had questions.
King said she believed the event went well and hoped parents would continue to attend more so she could understand their concerns.
“This is tremendous,” King told the crowd. “If we could just continue this, to have dialogue and exchange, we can learn from one another. It was very heartening to see you all here.”
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I am getting comments from cranky Bloggerati that worry that the superintendent may have already "cut a deal".I'll feel better about all this when I see Sarah Angel of the CCSA wearing one of those "We ♥ LAUSD" buttons - and meaning it ...but not for dinner!And when the Billionaire Boys Club doesn't amass millions to run against LAUSD incumbents.
If it's not about the money how come it's worth so much money?
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