Which Way, L.A.?
Another 'Parent Trigger' Effort Ends in Defeat
Compton and Adelanto school boards in have rejected parents' efforts to reform failing schools. Parents' signatures to "trigger" reforms were withdrawn at the last minute.
By Warren Olney • • 53m ListenFirst in Compton, now in Adelanto — out in the Mojave Desert — elected school boards have rejected petitions by parents to reform failing schools. In both cases, the signatures of enough parents to "trigger" reforms have been withdrawn at the last minute. Was there fraud, intimidation or outside pressure? What was the role of the teachers' union? Will Adelanto become ground zero for education reform? Also, movie director James Cameron's dive to the deepest place in the ocean. Will 3-D pictures create a craze for Marine Biology? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, is there unconscious racial bias in America's justice system?
Banner image: Desert Trails Parent Union, courtesy of Parent Revolution
In this episode
3 storiesWill Parents Ever Be Able to Pull the "Trigger?"
The so-called "Parent Trigger" has failed again. That's the name of a new law providing that parents of kids in a failing school can initiate reforms, from replacing half the staff to converting the school to a charter. The signatures of 51 percent of the parents are required.
Read the story18 minJames Cameron's Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
The director of Titanic and Avatar has now been where only two others have been before -- to the deepest place in the ocean, 35,000 feet below the surface, lower than Mount Everest is high. James Cameron did it alone and felt "complete isolation from all humanity."
Read the story10 minRacial Bias and America's Mass Incarceration
The full story of the Trayvon Martin case may never be known, but it's raising important questions about America's justice system. Why do we imprison so many people — seven to 10 times more than any other developed country? Sixty percent of them are black or Latino. What's the role of racial bias?
Read the story26 min
