New Beginnings
(No) Back To School
A look back on my family’s long history with the LAUSD makes me even more determined to fight to ensure the promise of public education.
“Don’t get discouraged, don’t be afraid, we can
Make it worth the price we pay”
- Triumph
This morning, parents across Los Angeles are sending their children off for their first day of school, but for the first time in 23 years, I am not one of them. Last month, two of our triplets completed their last extended school year session and joined their three siblings as LAUSD alumni. Instead of boarding a school bus this morning, they will begin a new program found with the help of one of their former LAUSD teachers and funded through the Regional Center.
My family started our LAUSD journey reluctantly. Just before my oldest daughter was set to begin kindergarten, the Daily News ran a story that listed Cohasset Street, our neighborhood elementary school, as one of the hundred worst schools in Los Angeles. My ex-wife and I gave into the fear that this article was meant to produce and scraped together the money to enroll her in the Valley School, a private school in Van Nuys.
We were active in this school and even served as co-treasurers of the parent…
