Of the Alisal, revolutionaries, and the future of No Child Left Behind

I recently finished listening to Havana Nocturne, and I was struck by the similarities between the Cuban revolutionaries and some community leaders of the Alisal. Like the members of the Movimiento 26 de Julio, members of the May 1 Alliance of the Alisal are persistent. They know the system is rigged against the poor, against Latinos, and they will be happy at nothing but a complete overhaul of the Alisal Union School District. Like Castro and his followers, May 1 and his followers have been underestimated, dismissed as one would a pesky gnat. For years, they have spoken their truth at board meetings of the Alisal and the California Department of Education, and through their tactics -- which many people despise -- they've managed to bring on a new entire board, and get on it at least two members who are in complete agreement with their political views. I chronicle that story in today's paper.

Like the Cuban revolutionaries, May 1st followers have charismatic leaders who inspire some people to follow them. Disillusioned by an educational and political system that seems to have no room for them, hard working people of the Alisal see in May 1st the answer to their troubles. If you show up to enough meetings, film your opponents and distort the facts to your advantage, you are bound to win elections and get somebody on board who supports your political leanings. Then you'll get what you want: the books you want, the educational system you want, the teachers you want. If you get rid of State Trustee Carmella Franco, and get a local boy to lead the schools, then he'll do what the newly elected board wants, the children will blossom, and the happy ending will make Cenicienta feel like a total loser.

This is where July 26 and May 1 part ways. Castro and his revolutionaries were aiming at the meros meros, at the source of Cuba's inequalities. May 1st is barking -- very loudly -- up el árbol equivocado. The entire forest still stands. For as long as No Child Left Behind continues to brand school districts as failures, the Alisal and hundreds of other school districts will remain labeled as "under performing", in need of dramatic intervention that will have little to do with the desires of May 1. California will have no choice but to demand the changes required at the federal level, or withhold financial support.

With the effectiveness so far displayed by May 1, maybe they ought to focus on trying to dismantle No Child Left Behind. The law has many detractors, and May 1 could win lots of supporters in the process. Already, South Dakota has pulled out of NCLB, even risking to lose millions of education dollars. But Education Secretary Melody Schopp was quoted as saying the law is proving unworkable.

My post is not aimed at endorsing either the Cuban revolution or May 1 supporters. Nor am I advocating for the dismantling for NCLB. All I'm doing is an analysis of what's going on a district that educates 7,000 children, is in desperate need of help, and, in many ways, reflects what's going on at a national level.