Vantage Point: Forks in the road—Turns for the better—or worse 

As we prepare for a new school year, I want to share my reflections upon events that transpired as school ended last June. Many of us attended graduation and promotion ceremonies in our districts as we observed the events unfolding in Los Angeles.

At this year’s ceremonies in my district, Ramona Unified, I witnessed some especially touching moments. There was the moment at one of our elementary schools when a small, fragile special education student received his sixth-grade promotion certificate, returned to his seat and hugged the document with a look of great satisfaction, pride and pleasure on his young face. Then there was the eighth-grade student at another school who stood in front of the crowd and sang, “A Moment Like This” with his school choir as tears ran down his cheeks.

At our alternative school, one young woman received her diploma a year early. This was a remarkable feat considering that a rare bone disorder, Marfan syndrome, has caused her to endure multiple operations and miss 150 days at our comprehensive high school. She is now on her way to the University of California at Berkeley. Her family had the added enjoyment of watching her older brother graduate from our comprehensive high school the next evening.

Another young man crossed the stage with a strong limp. He had sustained a head injury during a football accident and had to relearn basic skills, such as walking. As he crossed the stage to receive his diploma, he received high-fives and hugs from fellow students.

The theme of one of our sixth-grade promotion ceremonies was “Fork in the Road.” All of us have chosen the fork in the road that has led us to serve our children and public education. I share these stories with you in order to highlight examples of the successes of our public schools. Our schools are the foundation of our free and democratic society. In fact, most of us were educated in American public schools.

About those events unfolding in Los Angeles: In my July article, I expressed concern about the survival of our public school system. One week after the completion of graduation ceremonies in my district, the mayor of Los Angeles, the United Teachers of Los Angeles and the California Teachers Association reached agreement on a backroom deal that led to the development of Assembly Bill 1381. This bill would reduce accountability in Los Angeles Unified School District, disrupt six years of impressive student gains in that district and disenfranchise families and voters. It is one more blow against public education as a whole. The stories I have shared with you represent the successes of our public schools. We cannot allow the children of Los Angeles and surrounding cities to become the pawns in a political power struggle that will deprive them of educational opportunities, nor can we allow this attack on public schools as a whole. We must all work together to protect our schools, the cornerstone of our democracy.