Politics & Government

Update: New Contract Would Block Charters From Franklin

The agreement, which is scheduled for a vote this week, would put an end to a practice that allows charters to take over struggling LAUSD schools.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and its teachers are on the verge of ratifying a new contract, which would put an end to a policy that allows charter schools to take over academically struggling campuses.

Highland Park's --which is slated by LAUSD for --would be among the schools diretcly affected by the policy change.

Through the Public School Choice initiative, schools that fail to reach LAUSD's academic benchmarks are opened to "groups of teachers, other educators with proven track records, nonprofit public organizations and charter school operators, to develop research-based instructional plans with the goal of improving student achievement."

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According to the Los Angeles Times, the barring of charters from LAUSD's academically struggling campuses is just one provision of a larger contract currently between negotiated by the district and United Teachers of Los Angeles.

From The Los Angeles Times

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Under a policy known as Public School Choice and approved by the Board of Education in 2009, charter schools and other outside organizations were given the chance to compete with groups of district teachers and administrators to gain control of the lowest-achieving schools and new campuses. The initiative had attracted nationwide attention, and charter schools did especially well at winning campuses in the most recent round.

But under the new deal, charter schools mostly will lose that opportunity. District schools would essentially be off limits for at least three years.

The new contract would also provide more autonomy to individual campuses, allowing schools and groups of teachers to diverge with UTLA policy, within the confines of the law.

Monica Whalen, Franklin's UTLA representative, said she planned to vote in favor of the proposed contract, as she did not think it was fair to allow privately funded charters to operate in public schools. 

"I support the agreement. I just think it's really important to keep charters away and to give schools more accountability," she said.

She said charters, which are allowed to be more selective in their enrollment , have an unfair advantage which allows them to poach the best and brightest students away from traditional public schools. 

"If you're a LAUSD school, you can't deny students but charters can just pick or choose their kids," Whalen said. "Having to share a campus when you don't have same rules--you're not on the same footing."

Charter proponents, though, argue that the public school choice initiative has fostered healthy competition.

Teachers Sonia Sotomayor High School in Cypress Park--which enrolls students from Highland Park and Mount Washington and comprises three LAUSD pilot schools and two charter schools--have reported that the school is off to a strong start. 

updated: Sierra Jenkins, Director of Communications for the California Charter Schools Association, sent the following statement in response to Whalen's comments.

“Charter schools are public schools that are open to all students. We have participated in Public School Choice since the start because we have seen it as a great way to partner with LAUSD on our common goal of ensuring that every student in Los Angeles receives a high-quality public education. We have always been about doing what’s best for students.  That has not and will not change,” Jenkins said.

She added that Whalen's comments about Charters being able to "pick and choose students were also untrue.

"Charters can’t pick and choose students – that is against the law," Jenkins said.

Turnover Still Expected at Franklin

Though the new contract stipulations would mean that charters wouldn't have an opportunity to vie for space within Franklin, the school's teachers could still be required to reapply for their jobs and sign a LAUSD crafted educational compact to stay at the school. Luther Burbank Middle School, which was pegged for reconstitution last year but did not receive any bids from charters or pilot schools, still saw more than

Whalen said she fears a similar turnover might take place at Franklin.

"I still worry about what's going to happen at Franklin,  even if we're not taken over by charter," she said. "We have a lot of teachers who feel like all their work will be for nothing. We have a magnet program that could be lost."

Whalen said teachers are scheduled to vote on the contract by next Tuesday, and the ballots should be counted by Friday, Dec. 16.


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