Updated Aug 20, 2015
Basic Profile
Opened In 2010
Grades 9 through 12
Environment Urban
Type District - Pilot
Autonomies
Determine learning program
Determine professional development
Transfer or terminate colleagues
Determine whether to take, when to take, how much to count district/EMO/authorizer assessments
Make formal arrangements with district/EMO/authorizer to allow multiple measures in determining school success (not only a mean proficiency score)
Determine teacher workday
Teacher Authority Is...
De Jure and De Facto
De jure authority is granted to the school governing board via the pilot agreement, which is in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LAUSD and UTLA. The MOU gives the board authority to make decisions in some areas. De facto, the governing board transfers this authority to the teachers, who collectively make decisions in areas indicated. In addition to the MOU, teachers collectively write an Elect to Work Agreement (EWA) for their site on an annual basis that outlines the working conditions at the school that are different from those outlined in the collective bargaining agreement between the district and union. For example, they can expand their own work hours, require participation in school events, and expand professional development requirements. This is a means to exercise more autonomy at the school level, at the will of the teachers. Teachers at the site vote on the terms they outline in the EWA, and anyone who does not agree to work under the conditions will enter the district’s hiring pool and default to the working conditions outlined in the existing collective bargaining agreement.
About the Learning Program ELARA is a Pilot School, an innovative model developed in a collaboration of LAUSD, UTLA, and the LA Small Schools Center. It is a result of LAUSD’s Public School Choice program, year one, and won its place at Torres in a public competition. The campus itself is the result of years of community activism, and ELARA’s proposal was developed in collaboration with a variety of community partners. It is one of only three high schools in the United States with an Urban Planning/Design focus.