The Parent Trigger was used initially in California to convert a public school into a charter school. This campaign was led by Ben Austin who was paid by the charter school franchise Greendot as a consultant.
There was much controversy about it because parents felt they had been misled when signing petitions to make positive changes to their school, not convert it into a charter school.
That attempted takeover failed.
Two years later the Parent Revolution popped up again in Adelanto, California using the same subterfuge to convert a well-loved community school into a charter school. Again, the community was torn apart and parents wanted their signatures taken off of the petition once they understood what they had signed. After a court battle, the judged ruled that the signatures were to remain on the petition. The school will be converted into a charter school but with many families and teachers leaving in the wake of the disruption.
Both schools have many Spanish-speaking families where the parents have a minimal understanding of English. Many of us believe that the Parent Revolution felt they could easily target these communities and take advantage of parents’ lack of facility of the English language.
Now Ben Austin and his (wrecking) crew have descended onto Weigand Elementary School in Los Angeles, another minority school, and convinced parents to sign a petition to oust the principal. At this time, 21 teachers are planning to leave the school because of this. The principal and teachers were working together, creating a successful program for the students only to have the principal uprooted. Many of the teachers had followed the principal to Weigand and will now be leaving with her.
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To follow are articles and posts providing information about the Parent Trigger:
‘Parent trigger’ campaign divides families at troubled Adelanto elementary school
Ben Austin and His Parent Trigger, Now in Seattle
Ben Austin: The Six Figure Salary Man – Green Dot
Ben Austin’s Antics, Continued
Compton Parents Charge Barr and Austin’s “Parent Revolution” with Deception, Manipulation, and Lies
The Weekly Update: Parent Trigger’s epic fail
Connections between Eli Broad, the Parent Union (aka Parent Revolution, the
creators of the “Parent Trigger”), and Green Dot Corporate Charter Trigger Compton Chronicles
According to Initiative 1240, a school doesn’t need to be “failing” to be converted into a charter school nor does the initiative require a school community to be notified of a petition being circulated. This, compared to other states, is pushing the envelope to the point that Washington State could have the most radical parent trigger law in the country.
The “school conversion” clause in Initiative 1240, the parent trigger and ALEC model legislation
Koch Brothers-Funded PAC Attacking Florida Republican Senators Who Voted Against Parent Trigger
Young Turks on “Won’t Back Down”: “Disguised propaganda”
Parents Across America hails defeat of Florida’s Parent Trigger bill
PAA: Why We Oppose the Parent Trigger Law
How Connecticut Diffused The Parent Trigger
Parent trigger misfires by disrupting and dismantling local schools
Powerful “Parent” Trigger operators target vulnerable school; attack misfires
Triggers Create Nothing but Chaos and Division
Submitted by Dora Taylor
Seattle Education 