Parents Use Newfound Clout to Demand School Improvements

Two dozen South Los Angeles parents, armed with new legal powers, converged on their children’s public schools Wednesday to demand more textbooks, qualified teachers and safer campuses.

Because of a new state law giving parents more clout when they address deficiencies in their schools, administrators were required not only to listen but to respond.

The mothers and fathers, some of whom took the day off from work, joined in a midday caravan to file complaints at several campuses.

But they also were savoring a more personal and subtle victory: They had challenged the powers that be and gotten answers from those in charge.

“Oh, this is a great day. This is a great day,” said Naomi Haywood after she delivered her complaints about insufficient textbooks and teachers to an assistant principal at Fremont High School.

The parents’ actions were among the first tests of a new complaint system that grew out of a class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In the case, known as Williams vs. California, the ACLU alleged that the state denied tens of thousands of minority children an adequate education in schools that lack adequate books and other resources.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, acknowledging that the allegations had merit, settled the case last year. The agreement gave parents new rights to file written complaints about deficiencies in textbooks, teachers and facilities, and required schools or districts to respond and remedy those problems within 30 days.

Schools are required to post notices in classrooms, informing parents about the complaint procedure. Complaint forms also must be made available in school offices.

The new complaint system took effect in January. Since then, the school district has received about 40 complaints, including those filed Wednesday at Fremont and Locke high schools.

District officials said they were taking the parents’ complaints seriously and would investigate each one.

The parents, brought together by a grass-roots group called Community Asset Development Re-defining Education, started their day with a pep rally and news conference on a street behind the Locke High School football field.

“It’s time for schools to work with parents as equals,” said Kenneth Hill, whose son attends Audubon Middle School in the Crenshaw district. “It’s time for schools to ensure that they are a place of dignity, respect and integrity.”

The parents cheered and marched with signs that read “Keep faith in our kids,” and they chanted, “Parent power.”

Then, with complaint forms in hand, they headed to Fremont High, the first campus on their list.

There, with the media in tow, the parents appeared to startle security aides watching Fremont’s front door. The aides tried to stop a radio reporter from recording the scene and a Times photographer from shooting pictures.

After a few minutes of confusion, Assistant Principal Jack Baroutjian emerged and escorted the group into a conference room near the main office.

There, the parents politely but firmly made their case. Haywood complained about a lack of textbooks in her son’s ninth-grade classes and said he had endured a series of substitute teachers in a course he took during his vacation time -- a special program aimed at boosting student achievement.

“That’s unfortunate to hear. I was not aware of that,” Baroutjian said of the substitute teacher problem in the after-school program run by the district. But he reassured Haywood that the school of 5,000 students had a full complement of permanent instructors.

He also said that textbooks were available for anyone who needed them.

Then it was on to 107th Street Elementary, where parent Roslyn Broadnax stepped forward.

“We’re coming on behalf of parents for the Williams [lawsuit],” she told an administrator who seemed a little bewildered.

“So what do you want to do?” the administrator asked.

“Turn in complaint forms,” Broadnax responded.

Assistant Principal Carolin McKie took over and patiently listened to worries about a shortage of textbooks. McKie said the school had taken steps to correct any deficiencies.

“We had a shortage at one point,” she told the parents. “There should be enough textbooks now.”

Later, Broadnax said, “I feel like I accomplished more today than I have in a lifetime. It was a day well spent.”