Ed Source – Louis Freedberg
“California has established parent involvement as one of eight priority areas that local educators must focus on, but school districts have a long way to go to make that involvement “authentic” and “meaningful,” according to a new report. The report, issued by Families in Schools, a statewide advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, is urging the state to adopt “consistent, high quality” standards to determine how effectively schools and districts are engaging parents. It is based on interviews with 30 school district leaders from 14 school districts in California. The report did not identify the names of those interviewed or the districts, offering them anonymity “so that fear or politics would not prevent them from sharing their real opinions and experiences.” The State Board of Education is currently still drawing up “rubrics” or guidelines for how to assess progress, or the lack of it, in each of the eight priority areas prescribed by the Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, the landmark school financing reforms championed by Gov. Jerry Brown.”(more)