No Longer in the Dark

No Longer in the Dark: How a Partnership Between State and National Advocates Helped L.A. Parents Get the Answers They Deserve is a case study produced by PIE Network that showcases the power of long-term partnerships between state advocates and national thought leaders, and offers proof that campaigns grounded in real stakes for families can take on even the wonkiest of policies.

DOWNLOAD THE CASE STUDY for advice from advocates at Parent Revolution and Data Quality Campaign, and learn how parents fought for, and won, access to data. You can also DOWNLOAD A BRIEF OVERVIEW.

Below, follow a timeline of their work. Interested in connecting with these advocates? Reach out.

2009
04
May
05/04/09
Parent Revolution launched, and soon played a leading role in passing and implementing California’s historic Parent Empowerment Act. Over the next decade, the organization supported thousands of families in L.A. and across California who were organizing to improve educational opportunities in their communities.
2014
13
Mar
03/13/14

California suspended the Academic Performance Index (API), which had previously been part of the state’s school accountability system.

2015
26
Aug
08/26/15

Seth Litt was named as the new CEO of Parent Revolution. Beginning this year, Seth connected with Paige Kowalski of the Data Quality Campaign via annual PIE Network meetings.

2016
11
Jul
7/11/16

LAUSD suspended local school report cards.

2017
15
Mar
03/15/17

California launched the California School Dashboard, a website to provide parents and educators with information on school and district progress.

 

21
Dec
12/21/17

U.S. Department of Education rejected California’s ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) plan for the first time.

2018
20
Apr
04/20/18

Parent Revolution supported families in organizing for the passage of a School Performance Framework (SPF), used to evaluate school performance in terms of student achievement using both status and growth-related measures. LAUSD school board voted to create the SPF on April 20, 2018.

11
Jun
06/11/18

U.S. Department of Education rejected California’s ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) plan for the second time.

12
Jul
07/12/18

U.S. Department of Education accepted California’s ESSA plan, one of only two in the nation (along with Kansas) that didn’t commit to measuring and reporting individual student growth.

15
Aug
08/15/18

LAUSD SPF (School Performance Framework) Working Group began meeting. Parents attended working group meetings and participated in feedback sessions. Any parent who engaged with LAUSD reported back to Parent Revolution’s School Performance Framework Committee to discuss the development process. All members of the committee developed deep knowledge of the issue and the process.

01
Sep
09/01/18

Throughout the 2018-19 school year, Parent Revolution worked with members of the Parent Power Network to understand how LAUSD families received academic information about their children.

08
Oct
10/08/18

LAUSD Board missed its 180 day deadline for creating a student growth measure and recommitted to completing it by the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

2019
23
Jan
01/23/19
17
Aug
08/17/19

Negative press coverage conflated growth with proficiency and criticized the SPF (School Performance Framework) for being overly reliant on standardized test scores.

28
Aug
08/28/19

Less than two months from its release date, which had already been delayed by a year, Board Member Jackie Goldberg authored an anti-SPF (School Performance Framework) resolution, including language that says student growth measures were subject to variability and error.

By this time, families were deeply invested in the issue and ready to use their power to demand that the Board release growth data to parents and the public.

06
Sep
09/06/19

Ahead of the 2019 PIE Network Summit, Seth reached out to Paige to tee up a conversation about growth data.

17
Sep
09/17/19

Seth and Paige connected and began drafting an op-ed on growth data.

19
Sep
09/19/19

Local partners submitted a joint letter to Superintendent and Board of Education members about the importance of releasing student growth data. These groups stayed closely coordinated during the campaign—some worked behind the scenes, others led on social media, and others organized members.

24
Sep
09/24/19
21
Oct
10/21/19

Parents launched social media campaigns to encourage LAUSD to release growth data, with support from local partners SPEAK UP and Great Public Schools Now.

22
Oct
10/22/19

Two op-eds in local media called for LAUSD to release student growth data to parents: one from parent Jose Murcia and another from Seth and Paige.

22
Oct
10/22/19 2

Parent leaders spoke at LAUSD Board meeting and shared DQC report. Board committee recommended eliminating use of growth measures entirely.

01
Nov
11/01/2019

A revised version of the Board resolution was publicly released, stating that the Superintendent and Local Superintendents, but not parents, could see growth measures.

04
Nov
11/04/19

Jeimee Estrada, Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-Los Angeles, wrote an op-ed for The 74’s LA School Report, LAUSD has a chance to help city’s students and teachers by releasing growth data.

04
Nov
11/04/19

Several days after rejecting an offer to release the data to superintendents only, parents organized a candlelight vigil at district headquarters.

05
Nov
11/05/19

 

Facing a boardroom packed with students, parents, and coalition members, the Board voted to publicly release student growth measures through the School Information+ website.

04
Dec
12/04/19

LAUSD launched new School Information+ website, which included student growth measures.