The Hollywood Reporter – August 14, 2019

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 55 AUGUST 14, 2019

The entertainment industry hasn’t exactly
been sitting this one out. Producer Mark Gordon
and Kristen Bell occupy seats on the board of
Citizens of the World Charter Schools, which has
three L.A. schools serving over 1,300 students.
Ava DuVernay was a keynote speaker in July at
the annual summit of KIPP, a network of 242 U.S.
charter schools, in Houston. LAUSD school board
member Nick Melvoin — the son of screenwriter
and former Writers Guild officer Jeff Melvoin —
is considered one of the most effective charter
school advocates in the city. And Hollywood
executives and talent, from David Nevins to Colin
Farrell, send their kids to L.A. charter schools.
The battle has put progressive Hollywood in
an ideological pickle. On the one hand, charter
schools help underprivileged students greatly
outperform their peers at local public schools. Yet
the entertainment business remains one of the
last unionized industries in America, while charter
schools, the majority of which are not unionized,

work to undermine California’s teachers unions.

And President Donald Trump’s 2017 selection

of pro-charter billionaire Betsy DeVos has been

charged by public-school proponents as a sally

to privatize education, prompting Democratic

charter supporters to re-evaluate their positions.

Several Democratic presidential candidates who

had previously supported charters have pivoted

away from them. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders

has even called for a halt to all federal fund-

ing, and an outright ban on for-profit charters

(California already has a ban).

In September, the California Assembly is

expected to vote on two bills that, if passed,

would place strict new limits on how and where

charter schools can be opened in California.

The bills (AB 1505 and AB 1507) will require the

signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently

faced off against Hastings and California Charters

School Association (CCSA). The lobby had spent

millions of dollars attacking Newsom in last year’s

gubernatorial race. (A spokesman

for the governor declined to com-

ment.) Says Myrna Castrejón, CCSA

president: “This started from an

existential threat where our oppo-

nents wanted to kill us, and we’ve

been digging ourselves out of that.”

Halpern would not be sorry to see

charters wane, saying: “I feel like the

industry has been moving towards

a more civic-minded attitude when

it comes to public education.” On the other end

of the spectrum is Sturman, who waxes nostalgic

over the early days of Larchmont Charter School.

“Both sides have a lot to bring to this table, and

we need to have an honest conversation about

what’s working and what’s not, because we all

share the same goal,” she says. “I deeply believe

that teachers need to have a voice. That said, I

feel like the fight is against Trump and this feels

like we’re wasting our energy.”

Hastings

Sturman

student body is 50 percent white,
27 percent Latinx, 7 percent black
and 6 percent Asian. The senior
class saw placements this year at
Brown and Cornell.

PALISADES CHARTER
15777 Bowdoin St., Pacific Palisades
The facility by the sea has a
“beautiful pool and football
field. Almost every classroom
is accessible from the outside,”
says producer Doug Segal, whose

daughter, now at Trinity College,

attended Pali. A conversion char-

ter, the school gives preference to

residents first; kids outside the

Palisades are chosen by lottery.

This makes the high school more

diverse than its neighborhood,

with a demo of 60 percent white,

20 percent Latinx, 12 percent

African American and 8 percent

Asian. The school (around 2,900)

boasts 23 AP classes, 20 sports

teams, 100-plus clubs, and surf

class as part of P.E. In 2019, the

senior class saw acceptances

at seven out of the eight Ivies.

Famous alumni include will.i.am

and J.J. Abrams, who modeled his

Maz Kanata Star Wars character

after a Pali English teacher.

SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL

601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica

In 2021, a three-story Discovery

Building will open at SaMo High

with 38 classrooms, science and

computer labs, an Olympic-size

pool and a rooftop classroom

focusing on STEAM (just add

arts to STEM) coursework. “It’s a

very large school,” says producer

Jake Wachtel, who has a kid at the

2,856-student site. “My daugh-

ter is self-motivated, so it’s the

perfect situation for her.” In the

’80s, Rob Lowe, Sean Penn and

Charlie Sheen roamed the halls.

Today, the school has 21 APs, 26

sports teams, 125-plus clubs, and