Los Angeles Unified School District Structures and Processes: The View From Boyle Heights

• In Event: 72.030 - Examining School District-Community Relations: Perspectives on Local Governance as a Lever for Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Study Purpose
This paper reports on findings from an investigation of how stakeholders from an historically marginalized neighborhood perceive centralized decision-making processes of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board of directors and central office administrators. Locally, the eastside community of Boyle Heights is experiencing intense gentrification pressure and is directly exposed to demographic shifts happening in the city’s downtown area. At the state level, an increased focus on community engagement is part of California’s recently implemented Local Control Funding Formula for schools. Additionally, educational administration professional standards include expectations of community engagement (Johnson, 2009) and school board directors are expected to actively solicit feedback from stakeholders (Allen, 2008). Winton and Evans (2016) found that community-based organizations can effectively engage with educational policy decision-making and enhance democratic processes, while other studies have documented the unique challenges that residential segregation poses to the leaders of racially and economically diverse school districts (Diem, Frankenberg & Cleary, 2015). Although the LAUSD headquarters is located just a short geographic distance from Boyle Heights, many barriers exist to participation across the linguistic and socioeconomic divides that separate the neighborhood from centralized power structures.

Theoretical Approach
We borrow Levinson, Sutton and Winstead’s (2009) conceptualization of policy as a “broad chain of sociocultural practice” in framing a study that seeks to give voice to community stakeholders and provide a contextualized, asset-based characterization of Boyle Heights residents. Long a home to new immigrants and a predominantly Latinx community, residents experience educational challenges including high rates of childhood poverty and low rates of high school completion. The neighborhood is also one with a vibrant sense of identity and place-based pride; it is a community of great potential and with a depth of experience and local expertise.

Data Sources
Our research team consisted of a professor, as well as one graduate research assistant, and one undergraduate research assistant, both long-time residents of Boyle Heights. We collected four types of data: 1) Meeting agendas and minutes from the LAUSD School Board and Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council meetings, 2) Interviews with key stakeholder groups and leaders, 3) Media coverage of educational issues in the Boyle Heights community, and 4) Data about each public school in the neighborhood.

Results of Analysis and Significance
A cross-comparative analysis of the entire data set revealed key themes in Boyle Heights residents’ responses, including: the importance of a local high school, parents as untapped political power, and that displacement of residents due to housing pressure was seen as a distraction from education rather than a shared concern.

By triangulating the perspectives of internal and external stakeholders, we noted similarities and differences, and identified particular points where misinformation or lack of access appear to create barriers to engagement and/or policy agreement. We suggest the LAUSD school board build linkages with the existing Neighborhood Council system in the city to create additional lines of communication between the board of directors and central office administrators and identify ways to open up spaces for participation by local stakeholders.

Author

• Allison Mattheis, California State University - Los Angeles