In Compton, Parent Trigger Supporters File Intimidation Charges With U.S. Department of Education

Parent Revolution organizers Shirley Ford and Mary Nareja (center) with McKinley Elementary parents

Two parents in Compton have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. They charge that intimidation tactics have been used during the ongoing Parent Trigger battle to take over a chronically failing school in the Compton Unified School District.

The parents, Marlene Romero and Hebert Hidalgo, filed the complaints last Friday, and charged that teachers at McKinley Elementary have been trying to intimidate their children.

Compton Unified acting superintendent Karen Frison released a press statement, saying the district has "zero tolerance for harassment."

Herbert Hilgado, who has worked closely with the Los Angeles-based education reform group Parent Revolution, which has led the effort to organize parents and help them use California's Parent Trigger law to take over McKinley Elementary School, writes in his complaint:

"My son, Angel Sanchez, got to his classroom late one day in December 2010 because he was in the bathroom. His teacher, Dr. Miranda Pesa, sent him to the office. The office sent him back to class. Dr. Pesa then said to Angel that his parents are there complaining about education but can't get him to class on time. She said to Angel that his parents have a big mouth and that they're crazy. Since then my son has said he no longer wants to be in her classroom."

Marlene Romero, who has also worked with Parent Revolution, writes:

"A CNN reporter came to my house in November 2010 to talk about the charter school. My son, Ivan Hernandez, heard us talking about charter schools and said we shouldn't support them. After the reporter left, Ivan told me on the way to school that he hated me because I was changing his school to a charter which would be a bad thing according to Ivan's teacher, Mr. Victor Tellez.

"In December 2010, Mr. Tellez asked to speak with me when I was at Ivan's school. In his classroom, Mr. Tellez told me that he'd worked in two charter schools and did not like them. He said the head of one charter school spent $600 of school funds to buy shoes. On Youtube, Mr. Tellez said I would 'regret having supported Celerity when your child is rejected by them.'"

In December, L.A. Weekly published the cover story "California's Parent Trigger," which gives an exclusive, behind-the-scenes account of how parents and organizers worked together to use the Parent Trigger in Compton.

Parents are seeking to replace McKinley Elementary with a charter school run by the Celerity Educational Group.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

Tags:

Compton, Herbert Hidalgo, Marlene Romero, Parent Revolution, Parent Trigger, Patrick Range McDonald, U.S. Department of Education

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CarolineSF

It sounds like Compton teachers and anyone else who disapproves of Parent Revolution's actions had better take a vow of silence -- the billionaires are playing hardball now, and you don't want to play hardball against billionaires.

curious

Billionaires?

CarolineSF

Yes, billionaires. Parent Revolution is funded by the nation's wealthiest billionaires and corporate titans. It's not a parent organization at all but an "astroturf" (fake grassroots) group founded by the charter school operator Green Dot. Here's how the L.A. Weekly described Parent Revolution:

“Parent Revolution, with 10 full-time staff members and a $1 million annual operating budget, is funded by blue-chip philanthropic endeavors, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wasserman Foundation, the Broad Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.”

The parents at McKinley Elementary didn't start or run this Parent Trigger crusade themselves. Parent Revolution looked around the state for a vulnerable school, chose McKinley to target, and then sent paid operatives out to go door to door finding McKinley parents to sign the petitions. An actual grassroots parent effort from within the school community would not need to send paid staff out to cold-call in search of parents to sign the petition, needless to say.

As the L.A. Weekly has also reported, the petition drive ignited "civil war" within the McKinley community. It's not beneficial for a school community or for the children to ignite "civil war" among their parents.

Parent Revolution's PR firm, the Rose Group of Culver City, has been experimenting with various damage-control strategies ever since. The claim of filing charges with a federal agency against teachers over their various blurts is the latest one. It's not clear what the process is here, though the news reports are portraying it as though the U.S. Dept. of Education is some sort of law-enforcement/judicial operation.

Reyes

Wow! So what you are saying is that parents should have no say in their children's education. Do you fail to mention the milllions and millions of dollars that the Teachers Union has in their pockets? The way I see it these philanthropists are allowing parents to have a voice. California schools are under performing and are also responsible for 40% of the yearly state budget. We should be getting a lot more for our money than what we have been getting over these past several years. Unfortunately parental actions are squashed by the pockets of the Teachers Union and the politicians they pay (campaign contributions). Cry me a river, you sound like an over payed spoiled government worker who is use to getting the high pay and benefits without showing results. That is no more, those days are gone. Perform or be thrown out, that is the message that should echo here.