FAQs for families

From New LA Executive Director Dr. Brooke Rios:

Over the past few months, you have received email updates on our partnership with The City Schools. And, as a parent, I understand how easy it can be to miss something from your child’s school. I have a lot to share today, and so I have chosen to communicate with you through video messaging. This video is the first of several for the next few weeks. Moving forward, you can expect regular, Friday updates from me until your new principal is in place. These updates may include video or email messages.

One of the cornerstones of our success at New LA has been relationships. We understand that partnering with parents is a non-negotiable when it comes to providing children with a high quality education. We are very eager to get to know you, and for you to get to know us, so I hope you are able to join one of our upcoming coffee events. You can find the complete schedule here. Please note that we translate everything at New LA, and these events will include a hispano hablante portion of the meeting. 

I do understand how hard change is, and New LA has been through quite a few ourselves in the past decade. And while I am confident that good things will come of our partnership, I know that your community is experiencing loss, grief,and uncertainty right now. It is my understanding that this started during the pandemic, and is culminating in all that has happened this school year. 

As an educator who believes that social emotional well-being comes first, I was glad to hear about some recent facilitated community circles at CLIC. I received a list of questions and feedback that arose during the circles and would like to take the opportunity to answer some of those now. 

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Questions:

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“I would like more transparency around teacher retention.”

As we shared on Parent Square earlier this week, all credentialed and qualified CLIC employees who have expressed their desire to stay received employment contracts for the 2023-2024 school year on Monday, May 15. As a charter management organization, New LA has an excellent track record of teacher and administrator retention in both our elementary and middle school. In addition to placement on the New LA salary table, returning faculty and staff will receive a generous retention bonus. 

It’s inappropriate to share confidential HR information about CLIC employees, but I can share publicly available information. We have posted positions for a principal, assistant principal and dual language teachers. Like all schools experience every year, we anticipate a small number of teacher openings for next school year. 

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How are we bringing in new staff, and how can parents help?

New LA Charter Schools uses an effective and inclusive hiring process. Our goal during the hiring process is to identify high quality candidates who are a fit for the school’s mission and vision. As stated earlier, New LA has an excellent track record of teacher and administrator retention in both our elementary and middle school. We will apply the same rigor to both keeping the teachers who plan on returning, and hiring new CLIC staff.

For CLIC, we are looking for candidates who have expertise in progressive, constructivist, dual language instruction and who will carry forth CLIC’s mission of community, service, and learning.

This process is led by Kate O’Brien, New LA’s Head of Schools, and involves multiple steps. Kate is bilingual and began her career as a bilingual educator before moving into administrative roles, including as an elementary school principal. 

Teachers and staff play a substantial role in providing feedback that will inform hiring decisions for future colleagues. The parent hiring committee will participate in the interview process for the principal, but are not for staff, teacher, or other school administrator interviews. 

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What supports are being offered to the teachers?

New LA has attended several faculty meetings since January to connect with faculty  and staff and share pertinent information and updates. All faculty and staff met one-on-one with Dr. Xochilt Lira, New LA’s Chief Operating Officer, to discuss compensation and benefits. A team of 8 faculty and staff members have been working closely with Kate O’Brien on the teacher hiring committee. And, Kate, Xochitl, and I are on campus weekly for office hours, where teachers and staff can pop in with their questions, discuss curriculum, or just to say hello and grab an after school treat.

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When New LA says, “CLIC will stay CLIC” what does that mean?

The vision for this partnership has always been that the program at CLIC will remain CLIC, while benefiting from the support of a high functioning, fiscally responsible charter management organization that has demonstrated long-term sustainability. This means  that New LA will provide additional support behind the scenes as the parent charter group, and students from CLIC will have the opportunity to attend New LA Charter School (Middle School) after 5th grade. This gives CLIC families a clear K-8th pathway and the opportunity to attend an excellent middle school with a similar mission and values as CLIC, that is located in the same neighborhood. It would be disingenuous to promise that nothing will change, but I can assure that you that we are committed to working together to carry forth the mission of a high quality, progressive, dual language immersion school. We will support the next principal in implementing the charter petition alongside faculty and staff, a majority of whom are staying.

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When New LA says, “CLIC will stay CLIC” what does that mean?

One of the reasons that the City Board chose New LA is because we have similar values. Both organizations value community, passion for learning, respect, relationships, and progressive education. Aside from our mission alignment, New LA will inherit the CLIC charter petition, and will be responsible for supporting a new school leader with implementation. The charter petition will serve as a map for the next principal, who will be tasked with collaborating with faculty and staff to ensure a positive school culture. This individual will also be expected to work closely with parents to bring back the sense of community that folks are craving post pandemic.  

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Can we have an update on the plan and timeline for hiring a new principal?

The process of reviewing candidate resumes is underway and we have formed family and staff hiring committees. Seven family representatives will be joining the committee, and are meeting this week to discuss the next steps. We have some good resumes in the queue, and more information will be forthcoming.

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Can we get a clearer explanation of the transition to New LA Charter?

A charter management organization is the home office for a group of charter schools. A home office may provide additional support and resources to schools in a network in the areas of compliance, operations, academics, governance, fiscal management, human resources, culture, and enrollment. Currently, CLIC belongs to The City Schools charter management organization, which is dissolving. New LA will support CLIC through the structure I just explained, but New LA  will not run the day-to-day operations of the school. This will be the responsibility of the administration, faculty and staff. CLIC students will have matriculation rights to New LA’s middle school. One current City School board member has met with the nominations committee of the New LA Board and join next year. Another Board member is interested and in process.

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Again, thank you for your questions and for watching this video. If additional questions come up, please do not hesitate to reach out. We hope to meet you in person soon!