The year 2010 was a game-changing year for parents in the United States.
For far too long, many parents with children in failing schools across the country have been left to fend for themselves as best they can.
That began to change for a few California communities in 2010.
In 2010, California became the first state in America to pass a Parent Empowerment law that gives parents real power and legally enforceable rights to transform a failing school into a good one. This law – giving parents a real seat at the decision-making table to determine the educational destiny of their children – marked the beginning of a new paradigm in education.
When we speak with everyday parents in California who have kids in failing schools, we hear of the need for real change now – not proposed change for tomorrow.
We don’t hear about politics and party affiliation. Parents don’t speak about theoretical needs or 10-year plans.
They ask: “Would you send your child here – a school that passes students along and fails to ensure most the students can’t read or do math at grade level?”
Parents know education reform isn’t about political parties. It is about parent empowerment.
Two years after the beginning of the parent power paradigm, we see evidence of this thinking reflected across political parties.
We are in a new paradigm for education reform.
Education advocates across political affiliation recognize that parents with children who are stuck in bad schools need more tools to make real changes to the education system. Parent Trigger laws (supported by 70% of Americans) give parents the power to transform schools from those that fail to teach our kids to read and write into schools that prepare our kids for successful futures.
This theme – providing real solutions for parents without regard for party affiliation – was on display in Washington, D.C. at the Excellence in Action National Summit on Education Reform.
Democrat John Podesta (President Clinton’s Chief of Staff and Chair of the Center for American Progress) and Republican Jeb Bush (former Governor of Florida and Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education) both acknowledged the invaluable contribution of Parent Revolution in helping to take politics out of the picture and bring in opportunities for real reform in failing schools.
This public support comes in the wake of other high profile endorsements across the political spectrum, including resolutions of endorsement from the US Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of Black Mayors; both groups of local leaders endorsed Parent Trigger legislation with unanimous support.
If the year 2010 was a game-changer for parents, then 2013 is looking like it will bring a whole new ball-game to parent power across the nation.