If you ask a teacher what they think schools need to succeed-and I've asked many over the years-you almost always hear that parental involvement is key. I've even often heard it cited as the very thing that is missing from their schools and a major reason why schools have trouble helping kids succeed. I wonder what they'd think of this bit of news coming out of California, where, in the race to rewrite the laws to up its Race-to-the-Top eligibility, the state has also added language that would empower parents to take over schools if they think an underperforming school is failing their kids.It's an interesting idea, but it also assumes, perhaps overly optimistically, that underperforming schools are populated with students whose parents are involved enough to step in if the school totally sucks. Maybe I've spoken to too many heartbroken big-city public school teachers, but I find it difficult to imagine this playing out the way it should in the schools that need help the most.Nice idea, though.
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