Community Schools across LAUSD started ringing the alarm at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year as admin were directed to enforce the district-mandated Professional Development schedule, overruling the PD trainings that Local School Leadership Councils (LSLCs) had thoughtfully developed and tailored for their school. 

As outlined in Article XXV-C, Section 4 of the UTLA-LAUSD 2022-2025 contract, LSLCs at all designated Community Schools have 100% purview over their school’s PD. But last summer, the district issued a bulletin imposing mandated PDs on all LAUSD schools.  

Towne Avenue Elementary Community School Coordinator Christie Caric says the district’s one-size-fits-all PD mandate is detrimental to the Community Schools foundation of shared decision-making. 

“That disconnect was especially frustrating within the Community School model, where we’re supposed to be guided by the voices and needs of our students, families, and educators,” said Caric. “Instead of feeling empowered, we often felt like we were just complying with top-down directives that didn’t reflect what was happening at our school sites.” 

Mendez High Community School Coordinator Emily Grijalva says the district’s unilateral mandate put a drain on educators’ time and morale. 

“Unfortunately, these cookie-cutter PDs are denying us meeting the needs of our school community and growing as learners,” says Grijalva. “These PDs lead to disengaged educators who are not given the opportunity to learn and plan together.” 

Once members at Monroe Community High School caught wind that their principal would enforce the district’s bulletin over their LSLC’s elected plan, they promptly coordinated a sticker-up action for the first mandated PD of the year.  

But when Monroe High science teacher and UTLA Chapter Chair Lourdes Quevedo met with other Community School educators in September, she quickly realized the district’s PD mandate was a widespread concern. So, in the fall, Community School Coordinators and Chapter Chairs across the district started to organize. They surveyed educators and families at their schools, then set up meetings with LAUSD school board members to share what they gathered, including a list of specific training topics their site would most benefit from — like behavior plans, project-based learning, strengthening family engagement, and more. 

“It really resonated with the school board that although every Community School held the same position, we all spoke about different needs and focuses,” says Quevedo. “All schools, but specifically Community Schools, need to be able to determine their own Professional Development based on the needs of their campus and their community.” 

Jefferson High Community School music teacher and UTLA Chapter Chair Michael Gray met with Board District 5 member Karla Griego, a Community School Coordinator who earned the UTLA endorsement in the 2024 elections. 

“We shared stories of how using our Assets and Needs Assessments and empathy interviews would guide our PD planning,” said Gray. “It also really helps to have pro-UTLA members on the school board.” 

Griego was immediately on board and sponsored a resolution directing the district to honor the Community Schools PD agreement in our contract. Board District 2 member Dr. Rocío Rivas and Board District 6 member Kelly Gonez signed on as co-sponsors. Other board members needed multiple conversations to be convinced to sign on.

“We made sure Tanya Ortiz Franklin heard directly from the people most affected,” said Caric. “We didn’t go alone — we brought parents with us to speak alongside educators. Hearing directly from families about how district-mandated PDs were pulling us away from them really made a difference.” 

In addition to delegation meetings and making public comment at school board meetings, over 86 UTLA Chapter Chairs and Community School Coordinators from over 50 Community Schools signed a petition and presented it to the school board in February. 

All the conversations and organizing to build a united front worked. On May 13, the resolution passed unanimously, reinforcing Community School LSLC and Pilot School decision-making purview over all site-based Professional Development. 

“Our educators are talented, award-winning, and dedicated professionals. They model what it means to be life-long learners,” says Grijalva. “I’m excited to see what plans our teachers will come up with for next year.”