I love this idea. I lived in California for a year after this passed and I saw parents literally taking to the streets to fight for their students' education. One of the common complaints from teachers is that parents are too uninvolved and that they should be the ones instilling discipline, motivation, etc. in their kids. Parent trigger, which could put many decisions at schools in the hands of our parents, has the ability to motivate parents in a way that they haven’t been in decades. If schools their children attend aren’t meeting their needs, they could campaign to hire new staff, turn over management of the school, or even close the school. Check out the Pros and Cons of this system after the jump.
Why is this good?
1. Increased parent involvement and engagement
2. Faster responses to chronic problems – waiting 5 years of reconstitution is sacrificing 5 graduating classes of children who also deserve a high quality education.
3. It's a great tool for holding the district and district employees accountable.
Why could this be bad?
1. Uninformed decision making – some of our parents could be making emotional decisions without the necessary background knowledge in a given situation which could lead to decisions that ultimately hurt our children and communities
2. Frequent turnover – It’s possible that parents make decisions to reform schools so frequently that it paralyzes the change and growth of the school. New procedures and policies take time. People can be impatient. That high turnover is also not good for our students who often lack consistency elsewhere and look to school for stability.
3. There is a common fear that I'm not personally worried about, but the idea that parents can be coopted and hijacked by less benevolent entities trying to take control of the schools is something I expect to be rehashed over and over again.
1. Increased parent involvement and engagement
2. Faster responses to chronic problems – waiting 5 years of reconstitution is sacrificing 5 graduating classes of children who also deserve a high quality education.
3. It's a great tool for holding the district and district employees accountable.
Why could this be bad?
1. Uninformed decision making – some of our parents could be making emotional decisions without the necessary background knowledge in a given situation which could lead to decisions that ultimately hurt our children and communities
2. Frequent turnover – It’s possible that parents make decisions to reform schools so frequently that it paralyzes the change and growth of the school. New procedures and policies take time. People can be impatient. That high turnover is also not good for our students who often lack consistency elsewhere and look to school for stability.
3. There is a common fear that I'm not personally worried about, but the idea that parents can be coopted and hijacked by less benevolent entities trying to take control of the schools is something I expect to be rehashed over and over again.
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