The leadership of our nation’s major school systems matters a lot in the education of millions of kids. Yet each transition sets off a deeply counterproductive scramble. It doesn’t need to be that way. The news that Michelle King is stepping aside as superintendent of Los Angeles Unified due to a serious illness is deeply...

On Sunday, Feb. 11, Parent Revolution’s co-founder Shirley Ford passed away. While Los Angeles lost a tireless champion for underserved children, she left behind a living legacy of parent leaders and allies ready to continue her work in this city and across the nation. As we reflect on the qualities needed in LAUSD’s next superintendent, we...

Nowhere in the Los Angeles Unified District are the feelings of parent frustration, anger, and confusion more palpable than in the district’s central parent committees. These are groups of parents elected by their peers in local districts to represent the parent voice and provide feedback to the superintendent and Board of Education. It is here...

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires school districts to set aside at least 1 percent of their Title I funding for parent engagement. Yet the parent engagement policies we’ve seen rarely reach their potential to improve student success. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, district funds are often spent on programs that teach parents...

A lobbyist for the California Teachers Association took to Twitter recently beating the drum for transparency and accountability in advocating for a bill related to charter schools. Having private and secret meetings to discuss how tax dollars will be spent is not acceptable. Too much is at risk when our students are counting on sound...

An open letter to the governor of California prior to his final State of the State Address: Dear Governor Jerry Brown, Your January 25 State of the State Address coincides with the midpoint in the academic year for our local schools and students. A review of public education’s progress and challenges is warranted. Much work...

In fall 2016, one of my students dropped a well-written essay on my desk. It was the first essay of the semester, so I only asked students to write three to four pages. He wrote six. Fernando Arellano had just enrolled in Mt. San Antonio College after years serving in the National Guard. A father...

My wife and I have two boys, ages 3 and 1. We are just a few years away from sending them to kindergarten, and like all parents, we want them to go to a “good school.” We want our children to learn and grow academically and socially so they can live rewarding and secure lives...