CHANGETHELAUSD.COM

One Less KIPP

After the charter school chain shut down three franchises, the LAUSD Board rejected renewing another, citing poor academic performance.

“In exchange for operational freedom and flexibility, charter schools are subject to higher levels of accountability than traditional public schools.”

– California Charter School Association (CCSA)

In 1992, the California legislature created charter schools “to stimulate continual improvements in all public schools” through “vigorous competition”. In exchange for flexibility, these publicly funded private schools are supposed to “encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods.” The law also promises that these schools will be held “accountable for meeting measurable pupil outcomes”.

While schools can technically have their charters revoked in the middle of a term, this is not something that happens in Los Angeles, which has a Charter School Division headed by José Cole-Gutiérrez, a former staffer of the California Charter School Association (CCSA). Instead, this evaluation is saved to determine if a charter should be…