Where do we go from here?

Lately I have been thinking about the future of public education. There are so many roadblocks that teachers and health and human services professionals have to overcome to do our jobs. And that’s not acceptable.

Ever since I came into office, I have pushed the concept of local control of schools. Teachers, HHS professionals, parents, and administrators should be at the center of decision making at the local school site and across the district. Years ago I might have said that local control of schools was only a dream, but now I believe that that dream is possible.

A year ago I signed off on the Belmont Zone of Choice, ten college-prep high schools that will grow out of Belmont High school. These ten schools will not be traditional high schools with large numbers of students. At these schools teacher caseloads will be smaller. Education will be more personalized. The Belmont Zone of Choice is cutting-edge reform that puts teachers at the center of decision making.

Recently UTLA presented the district with a document outlining the first ESBMM school (Expanded School Based Management Model School). Woodland Hills academy (formally Parkman Middle School) is the first model. ESBMM schools are revolutionary in that they will have charter-like freedoms without going charter. And teachers will be protected under our current contract, with some waivers determined by the local school site. ESBMM schools will have:

·         More money than they normally get

·         Absolute control over their budgets

·         Absolute control over hiring (top to bottom—no must-place personnel)

·         Absolute control over bell schedule

·         Absolute control of professional development

·         Absolute control of curriculum

In addition, all leadership personnel (principals, assistant principals, chapter chair, lead teachers and parents) will go through training to develop bottom-up collaborative team-building administrative teams.

I believe that school models like the Belmont Zone of Choice and the ESBMM schools are the future of public education. They bring local control to schools, and with increased local control the need for the massive bureaucracy decreases.

I want to finish building the foundations for local control of schools. We can accomplish this goal together if we commit ourselves to the struggle. There is no doubt in my mind that the United Action Coalition is up to the challenge, and as president I am proud to be a member of United Action.

United Action, as a team, is committed to standing up for the rights of teachers and bringing reform to LAUSD. 

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