education in L.A. Archives

New Survey: Los Angeles parents want more public school options for their kids

Published August 30, 2021

Myrna Castrejón

Survey shows growing awareness and favorable opinions of charter public schools

KIPP Empower Academy, Los Angeles, CA. Photographed for KIPP Los Angeles 12/1/14.

California public schools have navigated 18 months of extreme disruptions to the delivery of education caused by the COVID pandemic, with widely divergent supports and approaches. Huddled around screens across the state for a whole year, some students have thrived, while others struggled, revealing not only deep inequities in the systems that support students, but also parents who gained unique insights into how their students learn best. Parents now have a heightened awareness of different models available. For many, this newfound awareness resulted in exploring different educational opportunities.

The California Charter Schools Association’s recent annual survey reflects the changing opinions of all Californians, especially parents, as they look at the education landscape.

The good news is public opinion of charter schools is at its highest level in six years. The poll shows charter public school favorability increased from 47% to 52% across the state and reached the highest level since 2015. In Los Angeles, favorability increased by six points from the previous year.

This is paired with an increasing awareness of charters. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they know a great deal or some about charter public schools. Those who favor charters are more familiar with them than those who oppose them.

In addition to increases in favorability, more than three in four voters believe parents have the right to choose a charter school if they think it is better for their child. Even among those who are unsure if they favor or oppose charters, 68% believe that parents should have this right.

In Los Angeles, most voters feel it would be good if districts approved more charter schools. Statewide, 53% of parents agree. Meanwhile, 60% of parents surveyed say they would consider enrolling their child in a charter school.

Those results are supported by the latest California Department of Education enrollment numbers that show increases in charter public schools. Since the start of the pandemic, more parents have turned to charter schools and their flexible and individualized offerings. It was charter public schools that were able to use their flexibility and ingenuity to quickly adapt to campus closures and mitigate learning loss.

CCSA’s poll mirrors those enrollment shifts and, today, California’s charter schools are providing educational opportunities to nearly 700,000 students at 1,300 schools across the state. California charters are public schools, free, open to all and committed to delivering a high-quality education regardless of a student’s race, gender, religion, LGBTQ identification or test scores.

Check out our video here.

*Myrna Castrejón is the president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association and a board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.*

You Have the Power: Understanding Your Public School Options as a Parent

Published August 27, 2021

Myrna Castrejon

There may be more public education options for your child than you think.

For many California families, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a renewed focus on the education that their child receives. Class schedules varied, children were at home for months and daily learning transitioned from the classroom to the computer screen.

As we emerge from the pandemic, parents can apply lessons learned to reimagine how the public schools in their community can best serve their child. Some parents found that their kids needed additional support in certain subjects or that their school doesn’t offer varied courses to help keep them engaged and challenged. Others saw their kids thrive and enjoy learning at home.

Parents learned that there are options in how their child can succeed academically. There is no reason not to try something new if your child might have a better chance to thrive. For decades, California has provided a wide range of public educational opportunities which may have been left unexamined because parents didn’t know about all the options.

In each community, there are at least a few public educational options for your kids: district public schools, which include magnet schools, and charters which are also always public schools. All of these public schools are subject to the same basic requirements and requirements set forth by the state and local education agencies. And there is never a cost to attend any public school

District public schools are what we have all understood as the “neighborhood school.” They are free and open to all students living in their boundaries. They’re managed by the locally elected school board and funded by state and local property taxes. Your home address determines the school your child attends and quality of education they receive. Magnet public schools are also part of the district school system, but have a specific curricular focus, such as STEM or vocational paths and are open to all children living in that school district. Placement in these schools is often competitive and can be based on past academic performance, an audition and/or scores on an entrance exam.

Charter public schools are another type of public school. Like district schools, they are free to attend. Unlike district schools, they are open to all students, regardless of zip code. These community schools are created by educators who have the flexibility to design instructional models that put students first and deliver a high-quality education. Charter public schools are often established in low-income or underserved communities, in direct response to a desire for additional public education opportunities. A charter public school may also focus on specialized learning like a magnet school, but it will not set prerequisites or require testing. Charter schools accept all students regardless of previous academic performance.

Check out our video here

In the LAUSD, Black charter school students are academically outperforming their peers attending district schools in English Language Arts and Math based on the state’s Distance from Standard metric. Black and Latinx students attending charter high schools are more likely to have completed college readiness courses (A-G curriculum) than their peers at district schools.

The flexibility and adaptability of a charter public school provides educators the freedom from bureaucracy to design an education that can help your child succeed in college, career, and life.

Every child deserve access to a great public education, and California’s 1,300 public charter public schools are continually innovating and evolving to provide parents with more options to make that happen. If you’ve not considered all your public school options, a charter school might be a great fit for your child.

Diversity and Inclusion – The Benefits in Raising Your Children to be Accepting

Published March 1, 2021

By Jeanne Huybrechts, Chief Academic Officer, Stratford School

“Diversity is the mix. Inclusion is making the mix work.” – Andres Tapic

We live in an increasingly diverse world where our children encounter people of varying races, cultures and abilities. As parents, teaching our children about diversity and inclusion is paramount as we focus on raising tolerant, accepting, and empathetic children.

How do you guide your child to grow to be a diverse, inclusive, and compassionate individual? Here are three ways where you, as a parent, can teach your child to have a positive attitude and approach.

1. Be a Role Model. Parents have so much influence on their children’s view of the world and ways of thinking, especially in matters related to how they treat other people and how they make decisions. Parents should message to children at an early age that diversity is not just a nice-to-have, feel-good goal but is a smart goal. Multiple studies of group dynamics in schools and in business have demonstrated the business value of assembling teams composed of people who have different perspectives, different ways of looking at problems and different life experiences to contribute to the collective intelligence of the group. Groups that are more diverse make smarter decisions than homogenous groups. There are deep and long-lasting benefits that inclusion policies and practices can bring to team dynamics, to organizations and to interactions among children in the classroom and on the playground.

2. Explain Differences, Don’t Ignore Them. When developing curriculum and programming related to diversity and inclusion, my three go-to resources are Facing History and Ourselves, the Teaching Tolerance organization, and Common Sense Media. Facing History uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate, and they do this by creating rich and rigorous histories of past injustices, of discrimination based on sex, religion, national origin and race – injustices fueled by unaddressed nationalism, racism and prejudice. Included in every lesson package are prompts and exercises that lead to reflection on the sustained damage produced by the injustices. Facing History has many resources for parents seeking to reinforce the values of acceptance and inclusion within diverse communities – the value of getting to know people different from ourselves.

Along these lines, my favorite resource for parents (and teachers) is Beyond the Golden Rule, published by Teaching Tolerance. The 50-page book is free and downloadable. It features advice and resources for parents of toddlers, teenagers and all ages in between. From the Teaching Tolerance website: “Whether you are the parent of a 3-year-old who is curious about why a friend’s skin is brown, the parent of a 9-year-old who has been called a slur because of his religion, or the parent of a 15-year-old who snubs those outside of her social clique at school, this book is designed to help you teach your children to honor the differences in themselves and in others — and to reject prejudice and intolerance.”

3. Use Children’s Books to Explore Differences. Finally, Common Sense Media maintains a wonderful list of books that promote diversity and inclusion for children of all ages – again, toddlers to teens. Among my favorites are A Snowy Day and Last Stop on Market Street, both read aloud books; New Kid, a marvelous graphic novel; Maniac Magee; Stella by Starlight; Wishtree; and American Born Chinese. What these books have in common is that they promote values of diversity and inclusion in memorable stories about interesting characters — stories that show rather than tell, thus grounding abstract concepts like inclusion in examples of real people having authentic experiences and processing genuine feelings.

It’s tempting to try to be completely politically correct when talking about diversity and inclusion, as children are naturally curious about the world around them. When we help children understand these differences, they’ll be one step closer to respecting and celebrating the differences in all people, cultures and experiences and how those differences ultimately can bring the joy of living into our world.

Stratford School has three locations in Los Angeles County with a focus on infusing a strong liberal arts curriculum with STEAM inspired learning. For more information visit stratfordschools.com

By Jeanne Huybrechts, Chief Academic Officer, Stratford School

L.A. Parent