Doreen,

My critique about the “Won’t Back Down” movie went to the media in August and then just three weeks ago we were on a panel together at NBC Ed Nation. So, I was surprised to see the petition Parent Revolution sent today from you.  As you know, the AFT does not represent the educators at Desert Trails; therefore the statement in my memo about the use of the parent trigger law in Adelanto was based on the public record, newspaper articles and the actual California parent trigger law. If you had concerns, or thought my memo was wrong, I would have been happy to discuss them when we were in NY together or frankly at any other time.
 
As I said on the panel, my heart goes out to you. I believe you did everything you could to help your daughter, and the school bureaucracy did not respond. You have every right to do what is best for your daughter. But while you may oppose for-profit charter schools, the California state law, promoted by Ben Austin and Parent Revolution, allows for them as an option when the trigger is exercised. Nothing stops the California parent trigger law—or the one that was proposed in the Florida legislature earlier this year—from being used by for-profit operators to make a profit from public education dollars that would otherwise be used for kids. That is one reason why every parent group in Florida opposed that state's trigger proposal last year.
 
Indeed some of the Parent Revolution’s funders and board members have supported for-profit operators taking over public schools. The Walton Foundation and the Broad Foundation have done much to open the education “market” to for-profit operators.
 
You took exception to the characterization that many of the Desert Trails parents felt deceived by the organizers who collected signatures for the petition. Yet several news outlets, including Businessweek, the LA Times, and MSNBC, quoted parents saying they felt deceived when they learned that their signatures would lead to turning over the school to a charter operator. The press reported that those were quotes of parents, just like you, who sent their children to Desert Trails Elementary School.
 
I hope our differences over the parent trigger don’t stop a conversation about how to achieve real and effective parent engagement. Parent groups from around the country, including Connecticut, New York and Chicago, are succeeding in establishing very positive parent-school-teacher-community partnerships that are strengthening schools and improving student learning—not dividing communities as the parent trigger has done in California.
 
I have spent almost three decades fighting to improve public schools, because, for parents, kids and teachers, there is a deep sense of urgency. I saw that in your eyes and heard it in your voice as you spoke about your daughter. I know the right approach can make a difference, and I would be honored to discuss this with you further.
 
Sincerely,
 
Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers