"Parenting is never easy. But parenting during a global pandemic can feel exasperating." - Rachel Wagner
This year will be a defining one for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rear its ugly head, the district will forge ahead with a new Superintendent. The primary election in June will set the table for a November General election that will determine the course for public education in Los Angeles. Behind the scenes, the Student-Centered Funding scheme is very much alive, endangering funding for schools like Kennedy High School.
With no parents of school-age children on the Board of Education, Parents Supporting Teachers has taken the lead in trying to guide decisions towards outcomes that will benefit public school families. In this first edition of the Voices From The Community series in 2022, Rachel Wagner writes about how she discovered the group and how it became a vehicle for her newfound activism surrounding public education"
I am the mother of Benji, a seven-year-old second-grader enrolled in the LAUSD. He is a sweet, inquisitive, and friendly kid who loves to learn and loves school, so much so that playing teacher has been a recurring staple of play in our household. In these play sessions, his parents are evidently mediocre students.
Benji does not just love recess and playing handball, he loves all aspects of being inside a school building. He knows every single teacher, every aide, the principal, assistant principal, office staff, custodians, cafeteria workers, librarians, and volunteers. He could doubtless tell me about other school people I left off this list. For many children, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but not for my son. His neighborhood public school is his happy place. At school, he feels safe and secure. He feels himself.
Being a parent who works full-time, I had never found the time to be active in his school. I felt too busy to even consider it. Many days I would leave for work before he woke up and arrived home close to bedtime. While he was in pre-school and early elementary school, I rarely volunteered, served as a room mom, fundraised, or attended parent-teacher organization meetings. Nor did I pick him up at 2:30 pm at the front gates, waiting with open arms and a warm meal.
Working mom guilt is real. I am fortunate to love what I do professionally; working in local government, public service is my passion. In March 2020, the world changed, and along with it, my own perspective on career and family. As my son and I were forced to learn and work from home together, I finally (and forcibly) seized the opportunity to be more present.
Over the next year, from March 2020 to April 2021, I got to see first-hand the cornerstones of why my child loves learning - his teachers. Their dedication, adaptability, compassion, and commitment to their students' success was as inspiring as it was effective. Their herculean efforts placed families like mine at ease during an incredibly stressful time. They instilled confidence in Benji and, despite all uncertainties, helped him and his classmates persevere and often thrive.
I have known the value of public education for a long time because I am a product of public schools. I attended an LAUSD public school through fourth grade before moving to a neighboring district in the early 1990s. My dad was a highly regarded baseball player at Hamilton High School in the 1960s. After my grandma passed away when I was three years old, my grandfather remarried a math teacher who taught at Birmingham High School. My brother is a principal of a Blue Ribbon awarded Denver Public School and my sister-in-law is a high school English teacher in the same district.
While scrolling through Facebook late one night, I saw a post from a friend raving about a group they had recently discovered, Parents Supporting Teachers (PST). I was curious because, after all, I am a parent who supports teachers. But at that time, my Facebook group experience was limited to cheap meal ideas for working moms, so I expected something less than nirvana. Nevertheless, I requested to join. The rest is life-changing history, dramatic as that sounds.
PST members dedicate themselves to advocacy for the betterment of public education in both Los Angeles, and nationwide. PST has been at the forefront of important issues impacting LAUSD teachers, staff, and families for more than two years. In 2021, we influenced the district to abandon a poorly thought out plan to add extra days to the school year, coordinated a holiday donation drive for underserved students at continuation high schools, called for a transparent process for selecting LAUSD's next qualified superintendent, promoted stringent covid safety measures at schools, and supported vaccines for teachers and students. There are many more achievements that predate my membership.Since joining PST, my only regret is that I did not discover it sooner. The group originated during the 2019 United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) strike. Benji was in pre-school at the time so, I forgave myself for being late to the party and became an active and engaged member. During remote learning, PST was my sanctuary. One day, PST co-founder Jenna Schwartz asked for help with a press release, and I offered to assist. Having served as a City's Communication Director for five years, I felt capable.
Fast forward through scores of press releases, growing media coverage, the launch of PST's Twitter, development of our website, and unending advocacy on behalf of LAUSD stakeholders, here I am as the sole group Moderator. Sometimes I still feel like a new member because I am truly excited to be a part of the group. While PST can be overwhelming at times, it is volunteerism, and I would not change it. I am grateful to have gained the trust and confidence of co-founders Jenna Schwartz and Nicolle Fefferman and am fortunate for their friendship and unwavering support each day. They define selflessness and decency. But I'm going to let everyone in on a secret...externally Nicolle looks like the good cop, and Jenna the bad, but it's the other way around! I love them both.
PST's most recent achievement is one that I am particularly proud of: baseline testing for all students and staff returning to schools after winter break. In the face of a massive covid surge, LAUSD had no plans and provided zero reassurances to the public. As the County's case numbers were skyrocketing, they were silent for nearly three weeks. The original plan the district set forth in November 2021 was to test everyone during the first week after returning to school.
While PST did not receive the media attention it deserved for helping to influence baseline testing, our 27,000+ members know the truth. Ironically, our push to demand testing came about through an authentic organic process. In the late evening of December 30th, Jenna called Nicolle and me for an emergency meeting to discuss an urgent plan. Minutes later we were on Facebook Live, in pajamas with thousands of viewers watching us as we drilled home the need for baseline testing before going back to school amid a Covid surge of the Omicron variant. Ultimately, after our consistent advocacy, LAUSD listened. Parents Supporting Teachers and its amazing members prevented nearly 80,000 positive cases from entering schools on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
PST's important work continues in 2022. I cannot think of a singularly more important issue than students' social and emotional health. The mental health crisis that children have been experiencing since the pandemic's onset cannot be understated. Intermittent rhetoric from elected officials and political pundits will not suffice to meet the challenge. Doing well for our children requires effective steps toward demonstrable results. Let standardized testing take a backseat. I do not claim to have all the solutions, but I hope others do. We all need to be actively and transparently focused on this paramount goal. I'm confident PST will remain at the forefront of advocating for our children. Our children, parents, and teachers are counting on us.
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