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Improving low performing public schools is a problem that has troubled educators and parents for decades.This year, Ohio is trying a new tactic - allowing for parents to take over a troubled school.Under a 'pilot project' set by Ohio lawmakers, nearly two dozen Columbus City schools are eligible for the so-called 'parent trigger' option.With an end of year deadline approaching the state's largest district has not received a parent petition.
By bus, by car and on foot 300 students arrive for another school day at Trevitt Elementary in the city’s ‘King Lincoln’ neighborhood. Trevitt is among the poorest performing schools in Columbus. It’s one of 20 city schools eligible for intervention by parents under a 2011 “parent trigger” law.The deadline for petitioning for intervention is December 31st. But, few, if any parents at Trevitt know the law exists. Janet Bennett has three children enrolled at Trevitt.“I wasn’t aware of that Q: you were not aware of the parent trigger law? No, not at all, that’s new on me. I never heard of that,” said Bennett.The parent trigger law passed in 2011 by the Ohio legislature. Columbus administrators agreed to allow a test of the law. Under the ‘pilot project’ parents at 20 low performing or failing schools could petition to convert any of the schools to charter schools. Robin Saunders has a first grader at Trevitt.“I don’t think it would work at this school to be honest, because you don’t have involved parents at this school,” said Saunders.Like other Trevitt parents, Saunders is unaware of the ‘parent trigger’ option for her child’s school.“That would interest me, but then you also have to have other parents that are willing to get involved too,” Saunders said.In fact, at least half of the parents at Trevitt would have to petition for change. Saunders said her interest in parent trigger comes from her experience at the school this year. She moved to the city from Mississippi.“I don’t really favor this school highly because a lot of the children that are in this school they automatically label them as bad children and they’re not. Some of them are misguided,” said Saunders.Julius Brittman has two kids at Trevitt. When told of the parent trigger law, he was also uncertain whether parents at the school would use it to make changes.“Definitely the parents would consider it but the reason for consideration would have to be strong enough to make them take the reins from existing principals and teachers, because I think I speak for most the parents, a lot of parents like the job that’ they’re doing here,” said Brittman.Brittman said he has never sought to move his kids out of their school. Trevitt, like most other poor performing schools in the district, has a new principal.If the district or the third party organization ‘Students First” of Cincinnati do not receive a petition for parent intervention at any of the schools it’s uncertain whether the pilot project would continue. Greg Harris of Students First faults Columbus schools for lack of effort to promote the parent trigger. Columbus has a page on its website with ‘parent trigger’ information.“But that doesn’t necessarily reach these parents where they’re at. So as a third party partner here we’d encourage a more deliberate effort to reach parents directly,” Harris said.Columbus schools did not respond to requests for interviews for this story.The Columbus pilot project is open ended but it must be reviewed annually by the state department of education. Recommendations to continue or expand the program would need legislative approval.Ohio is one of seven states to have a ‘parent trigger’ law. The concept was first introduced in California in 2010 and so far there’s few examples of possible outcomes. Ohio’s law was passed in 2011 , for instance but it requires three years of school data before a school is determined eligible for a “parent trigger.”