Topline:
“Norm Day” often results in the reorganization of classrooms and teachers being reassigned five weeks into the school year. How To LA host Brian De Los Santos speaks with LAist K-12 education reporter Mariana Dale about what parents say is the "outrageous" impact of this process, and how LA Unified and individual schools are responding.
Why it matters: For over 30 years, Angelenos have been complaining about a student tallying practice called “Norm Day” that matches the number of students with the district’s allocated resources. If the school has less students than they have money for, they redistribute the students and reassign the teachers, often disrupting the relationships that have been established between students and teachers and norms already set in the classroom. Already, LAUSD has been steadily losing students for 20 years. The city is growing more expensive. Families are leaving. People are also having fewer kids.
Why now: Parents at Atwater Elementary school have been advocating for school leaders to take action. They have been able to keep teachers by pleading their case, starting a petition and even emailing journalists like Mariana. Since her story published, an LAUSD spokesperson said the district is working on some internal changes for "Norm Day" and making money available to help schools retain their teachers.
Go deeper:
What Happens If LAUSD’s Enrollment Doesn’t Stop Dropping? Two Schools Offer Painful Previews