One of the most popular classes at 20th Street Elementary School has 43 dedicated students who come twice a week.

They’re all parents.

The parents of this 600-student school just south of downtown Los Angeles come here to learn English. They do projects for teachers. They discuss school issues. Their children even help them with their English homework. And it’s all taking place at one of the most active rooms on campus: the parent center.

LA Unified officials, board member Monica Garcia and about 50 parents gathered Tuesday to dedicate the new parent center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and student performances. The ceremony also marked a healing of sorts among divided parents who had twice moved to use a “parent trigger,” a California law that allows parents to take over a failing school.

District officials and the school board have come to realize that encouraging more parent centers on school campuses leads to more community engagement, higher attendance and eventually better test scores and higher graduation rates.

Nearly half of the school sites — more than 500 — at the nation’s second-largest school district have at least one classroom dedicated specifically as a parent center. Many of them have computers, Internet, desks, materials, copy machines and other supports for parents to use during and after school and sometimes on weekends.

This year alone, 70 parent centers opened at district schools and 40 more will open before the end of December, said Rowena Lagrosa, senior executive director of parent, community and student services. The district has a request before the school board for 155 more centers.

The 20th Street parent center.

“These centers are a game changer, and it results directly in improved classroom attendance,” Lagrosa said. “Getting our parents involved with the school is integral to getting our children college-bound, and as we see here, it starts at the elementary level.”

The costs per school for a new parent center run from $65,000 to $100,000, according to Lagrosa, who added, “Some of our schools need a little more TLC.” The district provides a cart with 20 Chromebooks, like those already provided to schools for testing.

“This is a great space for parents to come together and work together now,” said Karla Vilchis, who is on the English Language Advisory and School Site councils. She recalled the contentious years when parents tried to take control of the school. “Everyone has the desire to get the best education for our children.”

The school’s principal, Mario Garcielita, welcomed the parent center and acknowledged the difficult period with different factions of parents. For the past year, parents met at nearby homes to figure out how to force improvements at the school. Now they can meet on campus to voice their issues and talk among themselves.

“This was a tough year this last year, and I respect that past and the issues that came up, but I’m so excited about the future,” Garcielita said. “Parents are now coming together and sharing their vision for the school. This is a great new beginning.”

In June, the parents, teachers and the district agreed to move 20th Street into the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, which now operates 19 schools in South LA, Boyle Heights and Watts. With Partnership, the school remains under district control but is granted more educational autonomy. It also benefits from the nonprofit organization’s many community connections and resources. Partnership CEO Joan Sullivan attended Tuesday’s dedication and pointed out the importance of parent centers.

“Investing in adults, who are the primary teachers of our children, is a centerpiece of what Partnership believes,” Sullivan said. “Equal access to quality education is the biggest civil rights battle going on, and it’s more important than the suffragette movement or integration or abolition, and the movement will look to parents to lead the way.”

Although the parent center was in the planning stages before Partnership came on the scene, Sullivan said they have helped with equipment and supplies for the center.

“Sometimes parent centers are second thoughts and put off in the corner of the school somewhere,” Sullivan said. “But these are important spaces where parents come together and feel empowered. They learn together and strategize. It is a space where parents can raise their voices and realize they are true partners in the education of their children.”

This is the best way to start turning around the school, said Central District Administrator of Operations Eugene L. Hernandez. “This is the beginning of turning this into a top-notch school,” he said. “Parents need to be engaged.”

Annabella Sales, the community representative hired to work with the 20th Street parent center, said, “Most of the parents who come in are not familiar with technology and they do not have computers or Internet at home. They come here and they learn not only how to help their children with their homework, but the children help them too.”

Cutting the ribbon.

Parents also learn how to navigate getting financial help and looking ahead to college enrollment for their children. “It is a great team effort for everyone involved in education,” said Lorena Padilla-Melendez, director of community relations for the district’s Facilities Services Division. “It shows we are all part of the team.”

Mark Hovatter, chief facilities executive for the district, said, “I am a parent and I love the parent center projects because it costs a small amount of money and we do something that is so critical for the schools.”

Board member Garcia chatted in Spanish with parents and children after the second-graders recited the poem “I, Too, Sing America” and sang “This Little Light of Mine.” Then the school drill team performed.

“This parent center represents power and love and hope and shows something great for the future of these talented children,” Garcia said. “This is your classroom, parents, and if you have doubts and concerns, you can come here to discuss. Everything you need is available here. We will work together for your children.”

As parent Vilchis pointed out, parent involvement could be as simple as helping a teacher cut out shapes or sweep the classrooms.

“There’s a lot of cutting and sweeping to do,” Vilchis said. “There’s enough to do to feel proud and happy and making the world a better place for our children.”

“The district approached us about supporting Grape Street, and the promise there is as great as the need, so we are excited to get involved,” said Partnership CEO Joan Sullivan.

The five-year memorandum of understanding signed between the district and the Partnership “includes a plan to strengthen instructional practices, implement socio-emotional learning, support teacher and school leader development and increase parent engagement,” according to a press release from the Partnership.

The Partnership schools in South LA, Watts and Boyle Heights are part of a nonprofit started by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2007 while he was still in office. Although still considered traditional district schools, they receive extra funding and support through philanthropic donations and coordination with over 1,000 public and private partners.

The Partnership targets struggling schools and has a track record of improving student performance. According to the Partnership, the organization’s graduation rate has more than doubled, from 36 percent to 77 percent, since its inception, and the organization says it has also seen gains every year on math and literacy assessments. The Partnership last month added 20th Street Elementary to its network, ending a two-year “parent trigger” battle at the school.

One thing that made Grape Street a good fit for the Partnership is that it is a feeder school for Markham Middle School and Jordan High School, which are already part of the Partnership network.

“The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools has been an exceptional partner to LA Unified,” said Local Area South Superintendent Chris Downing in a statement. “This is the second year in a row we have asked them to partner with us in order to propel the progress at our school sites.”

Grape Street has struggled in recent performance indicators. On the California Office of Reform Education (CORE) school accountability system, which was released this year, Grape Street scored a 30 out of 100, while the average score at LA Unified was 60. On the 2015 Smarter Balanced standardized tests, 14 percent of Grape Street students met or exceeded the English language arts test standard and 13 percent met or exceeded the math standard, compared to 33 percent for the district as a whole in English and 25 percent for the district in math.

Grape Street in the 2015-16 school year had a total of 623 students, according to the California Department of Education. Seventy-one percent were Latino, 26 percent were African-American, 43 percent were English learners and 95 percent qualify for free and reduced price lunch.

Sullivan said parents and students at Grape Street “can expect to see a commitment. We are in it for the long haul. We are excited to work with these schools not just over months, but over years and decades,” Sullivan said. “From a macro perspective, we are a capacity building organization, so we invest in building capacity among the adults who serve our children.”

Thelma Melendez, Mayor Garcetti’s education deputy

Eight weeks ago Mayor Eric Garcetti named his new education deputy, Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana. In that time, only a few people have any idea who she is what she does or how she’s going to do it.

She has met with various board members and some community groups in her official capacity as director of education and workforce, but all efforts to interview Melendez have been ignored or denied.

Marie Lloyd, a press assistant in Garcetti’s office, told LA School Report Melendez isn’t doing interviews.

Melendez has yet to make any public statements outlining goals for herself or staffer Abigail Marquez so it’s difficult to know with any certainty what her priorities are and how she will measure her own success.

Some things are known about her: she resigned from her previous post as Superintendent of Santa Ana Unified School District in Orange County rather abruptly and amid scandal. Before that, she served as an Assistant Secretary of Education under Arne Duncan, and she headed Pomona Unified for about three years.

Her ties to LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy go back to 2006 when both attended the Broad Superintendents Academy. Former superintendent Ray Cortines tried to lure her to LA Unified several years ago.

Through interviews with a few LA Unified school board members, it’s possible to sketch out only a rough picture of what she’s been up to.

It seems her resume has appeal across the ideological spectrum. School board members pushing for Deasy-style reforms, like Monica Garcia, and those against them, like Bennett Kayser, are excited to work with Melendez.

Garcia, who has known Melendez professionally for years, said she is thrilled with the idea of working alongside her even if Melendez’s role remains amorphous.

The two had one private meeting during which Garcia says Melendez outlined the need to raise graduation rates for Hispanic and English Language Learner students throughout the district.

According to Garcia, Melendez gave no indication she plans to meet with the school board as a whole or with any regularity.

“I think there’s a lot she’s trying to learn and catch up on, but I see her as a strong ally for the children of Los Angeles,” Garcia told LA School Report.

Similarly, Sarah Bradshaw, Kayser’s chief of staff, agrees Melendez is “taking this time to ask all the right questions.”

Bradshaw attended a brief meeting between Kayser and Melendez last week. Much of their time together was spent talking about improving “cradle to gainful employment” strategies, a reflect of Garcetti’s interest in job creation and economic development.

“The impression she gave us is that her focus is going to be on linking adult education, community colleges, and workforce programs to the district,” Bradshaw said. “I don’t think she’s going to be hands-on when it comes teaching strategies in the classroom or changing education policies.”

Kayser, who recently took part in an education funding conference in Oakland and San Francisco, is hoping Melendez will look at cross-services programs implemented in the Bay Area as a model for Los Angeles and LA Unified, Bradshaw said. For instance, the city of San Francisco pays for school police, not the local school district as is the case here. Students qualify for free transit and they have free access to the city’s museums in San Francisco.

“We want to work with her to get some of those types of services for our kids here,” Bradshaw said.

It’s unclear to what extent Melendez or Garcetti will be involved in the Partnership of Los Angeles Schools, which manages 22 schools within LA Unified and was founded by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2007.

“Every mayor will make the position their own,” said Joan Sullivan, CEO of Partnership of Los Angeles Schools, who served as education deputy under Mayor Villaraigosa.

Garcetti’s decision? Maybe some day Melendez will explain it.

Previous Posts: Melendez to Be Hired Under Unusual Salary Arrangement; The Buzz: Thelma Melendez Likely to Run Garcetti’s Education Team.

Eric Garcetti visits 99th St. Elementary’s parent center

We’re less than one week away from Eric Garcetti’s inauguration as the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles, and yet very little is known about the shape his administration might take, or indeed about the names of people it might employee.

Garcetti aides have said the transition team is considering a major restructuring of the organizational chart — possibly by having far fewer Deputy Mayors than Antonio Villaraigosa had.

That could mean an end to the Deputy Mayor of Education position — a post held until recently by Joan Sullivan. Garcetti could opt instead for an education advisor, instead of the three-to-four person shop that Sullivan had.

A lone education advisor could be a signal that Garcetti plans on taking a less active role in using his office as a lever to reform education policy than his predecessor.

Of course, who that advisor is and what background she or he comes from will also have important symbolic value. Some possibilities include a policy wonk, a political operator, an academic, and an educator.

So far, at least, no one has been willing to spill the beans on who it’s going to be or even who’s on the short list. Garcetti, who is currently vacationing in Belize, will be inaugurated on Sunday at 6 PM on the Spring St. steps of City Hall.

Previous posts: Garcetti’s Education Staffing Plans Unclear; Mayor-Elect Garcetti Searching for the Middle; New Mayor’s Wife Has School Reform Past; An Unbalanced Breakfast for Mayors Villaraigosa & Garcetti

Marshall Tuck

Marshall Tuck was 33 when Mayor Antonio VIllaraigosa asked him to leave his position at Green Dot Public Charter Schools to become the first CEO of a new entity called the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools.

Six and a half years later — just a few weeks before Eric Garcetti takes over as the new Mayor of LA — Tuck is stepping down from the position and considering his options.

Tuck told LA School Report the timing of the decision had nothing to do with Villaraigosa leaving office or with Garcetti’s arrival.

“This was a hundred percent personal decision by me,” said Tuck. “The timing has to do with my belief that the organization is in a really strong place… We’re out of the start up-phase. I felt that it’s a good opportunity.”

Tuck doesn’t have any specific job lined up — at least not one that he’ll share with us — although he said he wants to work on making changes to education policy at the state level. He’s also “exploring” the idea of running for public office.

“There’s a lot of talent focused on school systems, but we need more talent focus on driving policy change… in Sacramento,” he said.

Taking Tuck’s place as head of the Partnership will be former Deputy Mayor for Education Joan Sullivan.

Previous posts: Joan Sullivan to Head LA Partnership Schools;  Garcetti’s Education Staffing Plans Unclear; Garcetti Praises Partnership School

Eric Garcetti visiting 99th Street Elementary, a Partnership for LA school

On Friday, Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti named longtime advisor Rich Llewellyn to oversee his transition team.

According to the LA Times, he’ll help “identify hundreds of people who will work in his office and serve as political appointees.”

The big question in education circles is whether Garcetti will have an education team like Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa before him, including a Deputy Mayor for education?

So far, at least, the answer isn’t clear.

“The positions aren’t set in stone,” said campaign spokesman Jeff Millman, who’s helping out with the transition. “There could be differences… It’s a total blank slate. Obviously, there’s gonna be some education component.”

The Mayor-elect didn’t have anyone on the campaign assigned solely to cover education issues, though his wife has a background on education reform.

Garcetti, who takes office on July 1, may not himself know yet what his education team, if any, will look like. As Millman said: “We’re planning for the planning stage.”

As for current Education Deputy Joan Sullivan, her last day at City Hall is Wednesday. She told LA School Report she has no next job lined up, but is looking forward to taking some time off.

Previous posts: New Mayor’s Wife Has School Reform Past; An Unbalanced Breakfast for Mayors Villaraigosa & Garcetti; Education Small Factor in Mayoral Voting

Zimmer, Villaraigosa, and Sullivan

It was perhaps no surprise that District 4 School Board member Steve Zimmer was visibly upset when he happened to run into Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Deputy Mayor for Education, Joan Sullivan, at today’s United Way education event.

“RFK, Joan? Really?” said Zimmer as the two rode the escalator together. “That’s just wrong.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Steve,” responded Sullivan.

The exchange, followed by harsh remarks from Mayor Villaraigosa about Zimmer later in the day, reveals just how antagonistic things have gotten between City Hall and the District 4 incumbent who was once considered something of an ally.

The bad blood between District 4 Board Member Steve Zimmer and Mayor Villaraigosa’s allies goes back to 2009, when Zimmer was endorsed by Villaraigosa in his initial race for School Board as part of a cease-fire with UTLA. The two men even stumped together, as you can see from this 2009 Daily Bruin clip.

But then Zimmer failed to show sufficient support for Villaraigosa’s views about school reform once he was in office. Four years later, Villaraigosa’s Coalition for School Reform has spent over $900,000 supporting District 4 challenger Kate Anderson and opposing Zimmer — much of it in the form of  television ads and direct mail flyers attacking Zimmer for laying off teachers and approving the construction of the $500 million Robert Kennedy School.

In total, over $1.7 million has been spent by the Coalition, SEIU and UTLA on the District 4 race alone, with more than $550,000 of it going to negative ads.

“There are very legitimate things to come after me about,” Zimmer told LA School Report. “Layoffs shouldn’t be politicized.”

Both the layoffs and the building of RFK were approved by School Board President Monica Garcia as well as Zimmer, who is being supported by the Coalition for School Reform.

“That’s the height of hypocritical cynicism,” said Zimmer’s campaign consultant, Mike Shimpock. “Monica Garcia was the driving force behind getting that school approved.”

But if Mayor Villaraigosa is feeling any remorse over the attacks, it isn’t showing. Talking to reporters later in the day, the termed-out Mayor took credit for raising what he claims to be $3.7 million for the Coalition thus far.

“I’m the one raising it,” he said. “If we lose Los Angeles and New York, we lose the heart and soul of the education reform movement. And the reason I’ve raised as much money across the country is because people get that.”

And he also took time to lambaste Zimmer.

“He was a very good teacher, but he’s been an absolutely abysmal School Board member,” said the Mayor. “I’ve known him for years, and it’s not personal… He’s equivocated on virtually every one of the reforms that we have.”

There was perhaps one good thing that happened for Zimmer at today’s event.  Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti endorsed him.

Previous posts: Zimmer Volunteers Focus on Reaching District 4 Voters, Jewish Journal Returns to Steve Zimmer, Coalition TV Ad Attacks Zimmer over Robert Kennedy School