One of the most broken things about our city is the public education system. It has one of the lowest test scores in the country and varying reports have over fifty percent of those who enter into the system dropping out. The problem is compounded by the budget crisis. This coming year we’ll have less teachers, larger class sizes and no summer school for students below High School. It’s no wonder that many parents are opting to either 1) move to the suburbs where the public school system fares much better or 2) go to an expensive private school.

But as Christians we’re called into the city. What does this mean in the realm of education? I see three possibilities here:

1) Help reform the system

This would mean placing your children into the education system and working for change. But one of the problems I see with this is that the LAUSD is simply too massive to seemingly tackle. We’re dealing with a powerful board, unions and tenured teachers. If this were to happen it could only happen on a really massive scale of concerned parents bringing change from the grass-roots. I’m also not sure how many parents would be willing to place their children in a system when change dangles on a string.

2) Begin a Private Christian School

This would seem like a good alternative. There are enough excellent Christian teachers in Los Angeles to bring together a really excellent teaching staff. What greater testimony would there be when one of the highest performing schools in the country is in the middle of the city, diverse and Christian. It would have great Christian values, high academic standards and really engage the city. But the big problem with this is capital. Where would the capital to start the school come from? Land is massively expensive in the city. If you wanted diversity, you would also need to offer a lot of scholerships for underserved people in the city. The only way I see this happening is a massive financial push from churches in the city, parents and donors. This could take a while.

3) Begin a Secular Charter School

The third alternative would be to begin a charter school in downtown. A charter school would take public money which would eliminate the capital problem. On the downside, it would have to be completly secular in order to take public funds. But there still can be a lot of translatable values in education, ethics and love for the city. It would also appeal to a broader demographic of people and be theoretically open for every child in the city. This to me seems like the most practical choice right now.

What are your thoughts on this issue? What people do you know that can begin the push to make this a reality?