Compton : Model School Plan Tabled After Teachers Complain

A motion to make George Washington Elementary School a model school affiliated with Cal State Dominguez Hills was tabled Tuesday night by the Board of Trustees of the Compton Unified School District until administrators meet with teachers and parents who angrily complained that they were not told until last week about the change.

“We feel like refugees on a boat of displaced persons,” said Jean Wright, a teacher spokeswoman. Teachers now assigned to Washington would have to be screened to stay on the staff next fall. Those not chosen would be transferred to other schools in the district.

“I didn’t know the teachers would be displaced,” Trustee Bernice Woods said. District Supt. Ted E. Kimbrough was instructed by the trustees to set up a meeting with parents and teachers to discuss the model school plan before the board takes up the issue again.

Under the plan, university faculty would participate in the school’s development and supply intern teachers who would be paired with mentor teachers from the district. A benefit of the plan, according to Compton district officials, is that many of the interns are expected to join the district as full-time teachers. Compton, like many districts, has been having a hard time filling its teaching jobs.