Los Angeles
Parents Taking Action
Overview
We help parents stay informed on policies and practices that impact education access for Black, Latino, and low-income communities through our research, offer strategies to influence policy decisions through our organizing, and elevate the issues that impact our parent organizations through our digital communications work. Together, we are redefining how parents, schools, and community organizations can work together to transform public schools.
Since 2018, we ‘ve organized public school families to build power and advocate for the needs of underserved Black and Brown students in LAUSD. Parents and families have historically been left out of conversations that impact their experience in public schools, which is why we are building a united, organized group of parents that can support each other in influencing policies that impact Black and Brown students.
Parent Leader Teams
Black Parent Network
The Black Parent Network is a group of parents, educators, and community members leading a movement to improve the quality of education for Black students in Los Angeles. What started out as the Citywide Black Student Achievement team, a group that formed in 2018 with the goal to secure targeted investments for Black students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, has now evolved to a network of families committed to eliminating the opportunity gap for Black students throughout Los Angeles County.
In 2019, Innovate Parent Leaders on the Citywide Black Student Achievement team hosted a meeting with former LAUSD Local District South Superintendent Mike Romero, where Romero made an unapologetic commitment to Black Student Achievement. Then in 2021, parent leaders partnered with LAUSD Board Member, Tanya Ortiz-Franklin to create The Validated Plan – a plan focused on Black Student Achievement in LD South (you can read our Playbook to the Validated Plan here). Now, the Black Parent Network is focused on organizing for similar policies and practices to promote Black student achievement in Compton and Inglewood Unified School Districts.
Want to learn more about the BPN PLT?
Southeast LA (SELA)
More than 60,000 students attend the 89 LAUSD schools in Southeast L.A., the majority of whom are low-income and Latino. In 2019, only 12 of these 89 LAUSD schools reached the statewide average in English and Math. The Southeast L.A. Parent Leader Team (SELA) represents hundreds of Latino families and community leaders in Southeast L.A. that are dedicated to changing this statistic.
Between February and June of 2021, SELA parent leaders led a Statewide effort with hundreds of parents across California, hosting over 30 meetings with state legislators to advocate for funding that would make it possible for students to receive individualized support. These efforts secured big wins for families, including dedicated funding for enrichment programs through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P). Their most recent organizing efforts to address learning loss resulted in contributions from Mayors in South Gate and Huntington Park over $200k to serve 52 students with free high-quality tutoring. Since then, LAUSD has allocated dedicated funding for tutoring services throughout the district. Parents are continuing to organize to ensure targeted funding for student recovery actually reaches students and results in all LAUSD schools offering high-quality tutoring.
Want to learn more about the SELA PLT?
Westlake/Pico-Union (WPU)
Parents in the Westlake/Pico-Union (WPU) region assess the academic and socio-emotional needs of families and identify opportunities for improvements in schools. Latino students make up 93% of the student population in Westlake/Pico-Union and nearly 4 out of 10 students are English Learners. Very few English learners in LAUSD are on grade level – only 5% are on grade level in English and only 5% are on grade level in math. In 2019, an LAUSD survey also revealed that 29% of Latino students in Westlake/ Pico-Union don’t feel safe in their schools and 41% don’t feel safe in the neighborhoods around their school.
Parent Leaders organizing in WPU are concerned about their student’s academic performance, safety, and mental health since returning to school in-person after the pandemic. In LAUSD, Local District Central is disproportionately behind on reclassifying English Learner students. WPU Parent Leaders are focused on resolving challenges with reclassifying English Learner students, ensuring schools prioritize mental health services, and reimagining school and community safety.
Are you interested in getting involved with the WPU PLT?
