The shifting
educational
landscape in
Los Angeles
A PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE
Los Angeles Unified
School District has a rich
history of partnering on
initiatives that move the
public school agenda
forward, including charter
schools. But shifts in the
education landscape have
not always been easy.
30
Leadership
Since the approval of its first
charter school in 1998, Los Angeles Unified
School District has become the largest char-
ter school authorizer in the nation. Under
the L.A. Unified umbrella there are 274
independent and affiliated charter schools,
serving more than 138,000 students. And
there has always been conflict between the
district and the charter school movement.
There are many reasons for the polariza-
tion – competition over personnel and re-
sources and a fight to attract the 700,000
students in the Los Angeles region. This on-
going battle has mostly been behind closed
doors, but with a Broad Foundation offer in
2015 to infuse funding for many additional
charters in the district, the conflict came out
in the open.
As an educator who has been working in
public schools both in L.A. Unified and for a
charter management organization for many
years, I saw this new concept of a partner-
ship as a wonderful step for all children. I
am saddened by the polarization that is
taking place between L.A. Unified and the
charter community. This could be a time of
uniting. My hope is that we can join forces,
produce additional successful schools and
provide additional public school choice.
From 1968 through 2005 I worked for
L.A. Unified in a variety of roles from class-
room teacher to principal to my final job
as director of charter schools for the entire
district. I experienced many different shifts
to the educational landscape during my ten-
ure. Every time there was a willingness to
broaden our perspectives and join with other
partners, students benefitted.
The most hopeful times were the ones
where the community and the school dis-
trict partnered in an effort to improve the
education for all students, especially ones
who are disenfranchised. I experienced
numerous partnerships during my tenure,
and I thought that shining a light on some
of those experiences could bring another
voice to the current conversation about the
expanding charter school movement in Los
Angeles.
There were a number of times when L.A.
Unified did become involved in specific ini-
tiatives that moved the public school agenda
By Roberta Benjamin Edwards