Concerns on New School Councils Surface at Training Session

Principal Lloyd Houske said he was concerned about power--specifically giving up some of his, only “to let someone else be the controller.”

Teacher Ana Coria wanted to know how teachers can learn to change roles, from adversary to partner with principals.

And parent Elizabeth Bennett wondered whether any of them--teachers, administrators and parents--would ever stop “passing the buck” when it comes to making schools better.

Those were among the concerns voiced Friday in meeting halls and classrooms at USC, where 300 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, parents and principals gathered for the first joint training session on “shared decision-making,” a new form of local school governance that goes into effect districtwide next month.

Sponsored jointly by the district and United Teachers-Los Angeles, the local teachers union, the daylong conference was hailed by officials on both sides as the first step toward a “revolutionary” change that all hope will ultimately improve the quality of education for the district’s nearly 600,000 pupils.

“What we are doing has to change--and will change--everyone in this school district,” Supt. Leonard Britton said in a brief morning address. “We can’t do business the way we have done in the past. We’ve got to do it in a better, more cooperative way.”

UTLA President Wayne Johnson, sharing the podium later with Britton in an unusual display of good will, said he completely agreed. Shared decision-making “will dramatically alter the face of public education in Los Angeles,” Johnson said.

“And we have very little time in which to do it. Public education is in trouble,” he said.

The two officials, who had been antagonists during a year dominated by teacher unrest, both attempted to strike an upbeat note Friday at the start of what experts say is the most extensive effort among school districts nationally to restructure schools and give teachers and parents more power.

Last June’s hard-won teachers’ contract, settled after a nine-day strike, called for the creation of the “shared decision-making” councils at every district school. Half of each council is made up of teachers, with the remaining seats divided among administrators, parents and community representatives.

The councils are empowered to make decisions through a consensus process on such matters as spending, discipline, event schedules, teacher training, even access to the school copying machine. Members were elected at most schools during the summer and are expected to begin holding meetings soon after the start of the traditional fall term Sept. 12.

The 300 members who met at USC Friday were from the district’s 102 year-round schools, which began their school year in July. Training for council members at 617 other schools, children’s centers and adult schools will begin later this year, according to Andy Cazares, assistant superintendent in charge of shared decision-making.

Enthusiasm Friday seemed particularly high among some parents, who said the conference was the first time that they were treated as equal partners with teachers and administrators in making decisions that would affect their children.

“It’s really fun and challenging to be a part of the decision-making,” said Stella Contreras, a parent from Lillian Street School in Southeast Los Angeles. “We (parents) have got our first feet in the door. We are in on this at the beginning, and we’re going to be treated as equals.”

Most of the day was spent in small group sessions, with principals, teachers and parents discussing their concerns separately. Teachers in some groups said they were worried about whether they would receive enough information to make good decisions and whether principals would withhold key resources in an attempt to “undermine” teacher involvement.

The principal “has got secretaries, telephones, he knows what the rules and regulations are,” said Ana Coria, a teacher at Fishburn Avenue School in Maywood. “We have to get on an equal footing.”

In their session, a group of principals voiced resentment about shared decision-making, which they said had been foisted on them. In the view of some administrators and teachers, principals have the most to lose under the new system.

“I would say we were taken for granted,” said Larry Gonzales, principal of Betty Plasencia Elementary School near downtown Los Angeles. “We’re being directed to be a part of the (shared decision-making) process . . . but we were not involved” in its planning. “This is a major change, and I’m having a heck of a time finding out where the ground is and where the air is.”

Later, Gary Hinrichs, a psychologist who led the principals’ session, said he sensed some “fear of the unknown” among the participants in his group.

“What is unknown is their role, their function and who are all the players. . . . They’re having difficulty being real cheerleaders at this point, and that is very natural,” he said.

By early afternoon, the principals, teachers and parents met together to hear each other out. Several themes kept surfacing, such as accountability for school failure, trust and communication.

For instance, Bennett, a parent from Main Street School in South Los Angeles, said during her mixed-group session that she wanted to know how parents could be sure teachers are presenting all the material they are supposed to cover. Because test scores at her school are low, she suggested that means “children are being tested on curriculum they haven’t had.”

But J.B. Fitzpatrick, a sixth-grade teacher at Main, said the problem may be parents who do not care.

“That is where the accountability is lost,” he said.

Michael Romo, a second-grade teacher from Norwood Street School in Central Los Angeles, said that despite the apparent disagreements, everyone in the room seemed to share one goal.

“We are all talking about the same thing,” he said, “accountability and achievement for students. But we’re coming at it from three different perspectives. Once we get in there and hash things out, we’ll find the answers.”