Guest Blogger Jenny’s "LA Times" Letter To The Editor

Jenny’s insightful letter to the LA Times editor was published today in response to the paper’s editorial, “Don’t Expect Miracles” from Sunday’s edition.

The trouble with charters

Re “Don’t expect miracles,” Editorial, Oct. 17

I was saddened to hear of the Inner City Education Foundation’s troubles. I don’t know if charter schools are education’s magic bullet, but I do think that our schools could vastly improve by applying some charter school teaching and operational methods to our public schools. By bypassing union and district restrictions and instituting innovative teaching methods, many charter schools really do thrive.

ICEF became too big too fast. The larger an educational system becomes, the more alienated it seems to be from its actual purpose of educating our children. Breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District into smaller districts, renegotiating with unions for reasonable terms and creating true neighborhood school districts might deliver the results charter schools strive for.

Although I believe in the concept of excellent public education for all, I gave up on L.A. Unified recently; I switched my child to a private school.

Jenny Heitz

Los Angeles