In Search of Heroes

By Edward Ring
08/02/2017
California is not just any “blue state.” By many measures, California is a blue nation. It boasts the world’s sixth largest economy, isolated from the rest of the nation by mountains and deserts that were virtually impassable before modern times. It is blessed with diverse industries, abundant natural resources, and the most attractive weather in...

TAGS: Charter schools, Civic Openness in Negotiations, COIN, Palm Lane Elementary School, pension reform

Anaheim City Elementary School District Should Stop Thwarting Parents

By Private: Gloria Romero
08/14/2015
It didn’t take long for Anaheim City School District’s trustees to snub Orange County Superior Court Judge Andrew Banks’ July 16 ruling that the district had unlawfully rejected the reform effort, supported by almost 67 percent of Palm Lane Elementary School’s parents, to restart the chronically underperforming school. Not only had Judge Banks issued the...

TAGS: Palm Lane Elementary School, underperforming schools

The CTA Empire Strikes Back

By Edward Ring
07/28/2015
Emperor Palpatine: There is a great disturbance in the Force. Darth Vader: I have felt it. Emperor Palpatine: We have a new enemy, the young Rebel… Darth Vader: How is that possible? Emperor Palpatine: Search your feelings, Lord Vader. You know it to be true. He could destroy us. The Force is strong with him. –...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, CTA, Friedrichs vs. the CTA, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws, Vergara vs. California

Palm Lane Reform Activists Win Court Ruling – District Immediately Appeals

By R. Claire Friend
07/28/2015
The yearlong battle with the Anaheim City School District and Anaheim City Board of Education has ended. The parents of the 733 students enrolled at Palm Lane Elementary School have finally been granted the right to restart their decade-long failing school as an independent charter school. Judge Andrew P. Banks, Orange County Superior Court, issued...

TAGS: education reform, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws

Parents and Children Win The Right to Start a Public Charter School at Palm Lane Elementary

By Craig Alexander
07/17/2015
Yesterday (July 16, 2015), after a seven day trial, Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Banks issued his decision awarding the parents and children who wished to convert their failing public school Palm Lane Elementary into a public charter school under the Parent Empowerment Act (also known as the Parent Trigger Law). To read the Court’s ruling...

TAGS: Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws

Report From Palm Lane – Court Battle Over Parent Trigger Begins

By R. Claire Friend
06/22/2015
The Palm Lane Elementary School parents and their attorneys squared off against the Anaheim City School District and Anaheim City Board of Education on June 15th in Courtroom C11 in the battle to determine whether the parents will succeed in their efforts to restart the academically troubled school as an independent charter school. The parents are...

TAGS: Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent Trigger, Parent trigger laws, teachers union

After Parent Trigger – A Success Model for Palm Lane Elementary School

By R. Claire Friend
05/21/2015
If the parent activists at Palm Lane Elementary School are successful in their battle to invoke SB54, the Parent Trigger Law, they would be well advised to study the network of high-performing charter schools in New York City founded by former teacher and City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz as the template for the school it must...

TAGS: Palm Lane, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent Trigger, parent trigger law, Success Academy

Palm Lane: Right vs. Might

By R. Claire Friend
05/08/2015
Palm Lane Elementary School in Anaheim, a failing school for at least the past decade, has become a battleground in the war against union power and its unconstrained efforts to retain absolute control over public education. At stake may be America’s future itself. Palm Lane parents, disheartened by the school’s abysmal academic record and the...

TAGS: Charter schools, Friedrichs, Palm Lane, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent Trigger, parent trigger law

Union Controlled Anaheim School Board Forces Parent Activists to Fight in Court

By Private: Gloria Romero
04/24/2015
Over 40 years ago, California’s Supreme Court recognized that a child’s access to an adequate education – regardless of race, ethnicity or wealth – is a fundamental right of the highest order. In Serrano v. Priest the Court affirmed “education is a major determinant of an individual’s chances for economic and social success in our...

TAGS: education reform, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws