We the Parents

Gr 10 Up—This documentary explores what happened when parents of students at McKinley Elementary School in Compton, CA, petitioned to change their public school to a charter school. The parents were able to do this under the state's parent trigger law, which was passed in California in January 2010. This "parent empowerment" law gives parents a legal pathway to make a change in an underperforming school. The parents in Compton, with the help of the organization Parent Revolution, were the first in the state to attempt to do so. It was a long process, and the school district ultimately rejected their request, and the case ended up in court, where the suit gained national attention. While the parents lost, they were still determined to help other parents. Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto was the next school in the state to petition their district, and it won. This win spurned other schools into action and inspired other states to look into similar legislation. This is a provocative glimpse at what happens when parents decide to become proactive in their children's education.