The parent "demands" include: "We want teachers to ... foster a positive school culture" and "All students must be taught science, history, art and physical education as prescribed by the California State Teaching Standards."
Diaz's daughter began first grade in a special-ed class that was "just a nightmare. It was first to sixth grade, all mixed together — screaming at each other, fistfighting." But later, in a mainstream class, her daughter again learned nothing. "This year, she started fifth grade — at a second-grade reading level."
Holly Odenbaugh and a youngster tailgate for Parent Trigger reforms in Adelanto.
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So this week, these families will present Adelanto Superintendent Darin Brawley with a thick stack of petitions signed by parents. Within 40 days, district officials must either agree to work with parents to overhaul Desert Trails — in which case the district would still have access to its state funding — or turn the school over to parents.
When the Weekly contacted Desert Trails principal David Mobley a little more than a month ago, he seemed to believe the district had the upper hand, saying: "There could be lawsuits for years."
In his opinion, the Parent Trigger approach is just a trend, "one of those things in education where the pendulum goes back and forth," he said. Still, he added that he admired the parents for being "very aggressive and passionate about their cause."
In fact, unless there is something technically unsound with the paperwork that Desert Trails parents submit Jan. 12, they will, under California law, have the power to hire new teachers and administrators — as they see fit.
Parent Revolution policy director Christina Vargas in Los Angeles has been holding informational sessions with the Adelanto mothers on the steering committee, providing them with research on what makes an academically successful school.
The parents told Vargas a "traditional college-prep" model looks right for Desert Trails.
If the district refuses to collaborate, the Desert Trails parent union would form an Education Management Organization (EMO), whose board would be made up of parents and experts in areas such as finance, law, nonprofit management and school curriculum. The board would hire a new principal and other administrators, who then would hire teachers — perhaps an entirely new crop.
Principal Mobley, who's relatively new to Desert Trails, prefers a slower, more collaborative approach, saying, "We need to work within the system to make the changes. There are [union] contracts and budget constraints, but that's going to be the process. We'll get there."
But former Principal Lewis says simply, "Sometimes you have to force change."
