Local School Topics

The Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the largest public school districts in the United States, has very specific goals for its students. Those goals are outlined at the district website, as well as the strategies the district plans to use for achieving those goals. The goals all point towards preparing students for career or college readiness once they graduate from Los Angeles high schools. However, the strategies begin implementation long before students ever set foot in a high school in the county.

Goal 1: Prepare Students for Career and College by Transforming the Teaching and Learning Process

At the foundation of this goal is the implementation of Common Core Standards. According to the website, Common Core Standards provide a consistent expectation for all students and faculty within the Los Angeles Unified School District. These standards encompass English Language Arts and mathematics. English Language Development standards are also in place for the district to ensure English learners are able to master the core requirements for English Language Arts.

Common Core Standards were chosen by the Los Angeles Unified School District for a number of reasons, including:

• These standards provide for career and college readiness after high school
• Common Core Standards include rigorous content and develop high-order skills
• The standards are consistent, understandable, and measurable
• Common Core Standards are evidence-based
• These standards are used by other countries, so students in L.A. remain competitive on a global level
• Common Core Standards build on the strengths

The Renaissance School Initiative is continuing its efforts to transform some of the lowest-performing schools in Philadelphia by giving them over to charter organizations. This year, six more struggling schools are slated for charter school takeovers and the district is currently evaluating the applicants for the job. While this new process has been hailed by some as an effective way to raise the quality of education in one of the largest school districts in the country, others worry that there is simply not enough evidence to support the idea of allowing more public schools to be absorbed by charters this year.

About the Renaissance School Initiative

The Renaissance School Initiative was established by the School District of Philadelphia on January 27, 2010, according to the district’s website. The goal of the initiative is to bring dramatic student improvement through the transformation of some of the city’s lowest-performing schools. To accomplish this goal, the district solicits help from individuals and organizations with a positive track record of turning around struggling schools in Philadelphia. Schools are given over to public charters, so the necessary changes can take place internally to bring about the much-needed changes to student achievement.

The district has cited three important components required to meet their goals for all Philadelphia schools, which include:

• Identifying the lowest-performing schools that will require a transformative change to improve
• Identifying the entities (individuals or organizations) that are best equipped to make those transformations
• Empowering the local school community to

The debate over school choice is a heated one in Houston Independent Public Schools, one of the largest school systems in the country. A new plan introduced in the state legislature is bringing the question of school choice into the limelight in Texas once again. The Houston district is weighing all sides of the issue, from the potential money-saving benefits to the possibility of a higher quality of instruction for students across the district.

What is School Choice?

According to the Examiner, school choice involves the ability of families to choose the best education option for their children. Options might include neighborhood public, charter, magnet, and private schools. Some families might also opt for online or homeschooling with this model. With a school choice option, families can take the tax dollars that would typically go directly into the school district where they live and put that money into the form of education that they determine is best for their individual child.

The new plan introduced to the Texas legislature allows a variety of “choice” options, according to The Villager. These might include allowing companies to enjoy a cut in state franchise taxes if they contribute to private school scholarship programs and traditional “choice” measures, including school options across district lines and lifting enrollment caps on current charter schools. Also known as a school voucher system, the plan would allow families to use their tax dollars to offset tuition

As many schools are looking for ways to beef up security measures after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, some are focusing on mental health as a part of their efforts. Miami-Dade, one of the largest school districts in the U.S. is taking this approach by providing mental health training to school teachers and staff. The new training is based on a program from the American Psychiatric Foundation, and it will be offered to teachers, cafeteria workers and janitors at middle and high schools across the county.

Typical or Troubled?

The program from the American Psychiatric Foundation, titled, “Typical or Troubled?” is designed to help those who work with teens recognize the symptoms of mental illness. According to the foundation, approximately one in five children has a mental health disorder, and about half of those have what would be considered a serious disorder. In addition, the foundation emphasizes that 90 percent of individuals diagnosed with a mental health disorder see the early signs of that condition during adolescence.

The statistics suggest that early detection of mental health disorders during the teen years could result in an improved prognosis and treatment program for many mental health patients. The American Psychiatric Foundation states that early detection of mental health disorders results in more effective treatment options, particularly for teens. Unfortunately, when mental health disorders are not diagnosed and treated early on, the symptoms can become worse over time. Symptoms may impact a student’s ability to perform

Parents are taking full advantage of the new “parent trigger” law in California to take over a failing school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A group of parents from 24^th Street Elementary School, in collaboration with the advocacy group Parent Revolution, has submitted a petition to enact the parent trigger law in their school. This law allows parents to take the reins of failing schools in the state, fire teachers and administrators and change the basic school structure.

Parents Working toward Change

Reuters reported that dissatisfied parents at 24^th Street Elementary School have been working toward positive changes inside the school for a number of years. However, the Parent Empowerment Act of 2010, also known as the “parent trigger” law, gave frustrated parents the path to change they were looking for. The new law has already been utilized successfully by another California school – Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, California. Parents at that failing school staged a successful parent takeover and now the school is headed for new charter status under the successful leadership of LaVerne Elementary Preparatory Academy.

Riding on the success at Desert Trails, the parents of 24^th Street Elementary School began collecting the signatures necessary to enact the parent trigger. According to state law, parents must submit a petition with at least 50 percent of the parents’ signatures to qualify. Southern California Public Radio reported that parents submitted a petition with nearly two-thirds