For many parents, Parent Trigger laws — which allow the majority of families to replace teaching staffs and principals at their schools with those of higher quality or even abandon the district altogether for a charter school operator — have proven to be a promising solution for systemic academic failure. Yet asDropout Nation noted last week (and comments from some in education have proven) many teachers, along with NEA and AFT bosses and so-called education experts, see Parent Trigger either as a nefarious plot to end public education or think that the parents are dupes and worse. This condescending attitude — even among ‘parent engagement advocates’ like Larry Ferlazzo — is another sign that in education, parents are expected to been seen and not heard. It also explains why charter school operators and other grassroots-based school reformers have been welcomed by many parents with open arms.
Gwen Samuel, the president of the State of Black CT Alliance — whose group successfully pushed for the nation’s second Parent Trigger law — offers her thoughts on why parents are so tired of their kids being denied high-quality education. Read, consider and for parents, take action.
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