No Longer in the Dark: How a Partnership Between State and National Advocates Helped L.A. Parents Get the Answers They Deserve is a case study produced by PIE Network that showcases the power of long-term partnerships between state advocates and national thought leaders, and offers proof that campaigns grounded in real stakes for families can take on even the wonkiest of policies.
DOWNLOAD THE CASE STUDY for advice from advocates at Parent Revolution and Data Quality Campaign, and learn how parents fought for, and won, access to data. You can also DOWNLOAD A BRIEF OVERVIEW.
Below, follow a timeline of their work. Interested in connecting with these advocates? Reach out.
Parent Revolution launched, and soon played a leading role in passing and implementing California’s historic Parent Empowerment Act. Over the next decade, the organization supported thousands of families in L.A. and across California who were organizing to improve educational opportunities in their communities. 
California suspended the Academic Performance Index (API), which had previously been part of the state’s school accountability system.
Seth Litt was named as the new CEO of Parent Revolution. Beginning this year, Seth connected with Paige Kowalski of the Data Quality Campaign via annual PIE Network meetings.
LAUSD suspended local school report cards.
California launched the California School Dashboard, a website to provide parents and educators with information on school and district progress.
U.S. Department of Education rejected California’s ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) plan for the first time.
Parent Revolution supported families in organizing for the passage of a School Performance Framework (SPF), used to evaluate school performance in terms of student achievement using both status and growth-related measures. LAUSD school board voted to create the SPF on April 20, 2018.
U.S. Department of Education rejected California’s ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) plan for the second time.
U.S. Department of Education accepted California’s ESSA plan, one of only two in the nation (along with Kansas) that didn’t commit to measuring and reporting individual student growth.
LAUSD SPF (School Performance Framework) Working Group began meeting. Parents attended working group meetings and participated in feedback sessions. Any parent who engaged with LAUSD reported back to Parent Revolution’s School Performance Framework Committee to discuss the development process. All members of the committee developed deep knowledge of the issue and the process.
Throughout the 2018-19 school year, Parent Revolution worked with members of the Parent Power Network to understand how LAUSD families received academic information about their children.
LAUSD Board missed its 180 day deadline for creating a student growth measure and recommitted to completing it by the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
DQC releases report, Growth Data: It Matters and It’s Complicated.
Negative press coverage conflated growth with proficiency and criticized the SPF (School Performance Framework) for being overly reliant on standardized test scores.
Less than two months from its release date, which had already been delayed by a year, Board Member Jackie Goldberg authored an anti-SPF (School Performance Framework) resolution, including language that says student growth measures were subject to variability and error.
By this time, families were deeply invested in the issue and ready to use their power to demand that the Board release growth data to parents and the public.
Ahead of the 2019 PIE Network Summit, Seth reached out to Paige to tee up a conversation about growth data.
Seth and Paige connected and began drafting an op-ed on growth data.
Local partners submitted a joint letter to Superintendent and Board of Education members about the importance of releasing student growth data. These groups stayed closely coordinated during the campaign—some worked behind the scenes, others led on social media, and others organized members.
DQC and National PTA released a brief, Parents Deserve Clear Information About Student Growth in Schools.
Parents launched social media campaigns to encourage LAUSD to release growth data, with support from local partners SPEAK UP and Great Public Schools Now.
Two op-eds in local media called for LAUSD to release student growth data to parents: one from parent Jose Murcia and another from Seth and Paige.
Parent leaders spoke at LAUSD Board meeting and shared DQC report. Board committee recommended eliminating use of growth measures entirely.
A revised version of the Board resolution was publicly released, stating that the Superintendent and Local Superintendents, but not parents, could see growth measures.
Jeimee Estrada, Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-Los Angeles, wrote an op-ed for The 74’s LA School Report, LAUSD has a chance to help city’s students and teachers by releasing growth data.
Several days after rejecting an offer to release the data to superintendents only, parents organized a candlelight vigil at district headquarters.
Facing a boardroom packed with students, parents, and coalition members, the Board voted to publicly release student growth measures through the School Information+ website.
LAUSD launched new School Information+ website, which included student growth measures.