L.A. Unified overturns changes at Carthay Center Elementary

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday overturned a principal’s decision to replace half of the teachers at Carthay Center Elementary when it converts to a magnet school next year, allowing any teacher who applied to stay at the campus to do so.

The decision is a victory for a group of vocal parents at the school, who have rallied against the decision and demanded the district reinstate the teachers and remove the school’s first-year principal.

On Tuesday, the district announced Principal Crystal Campbell-Shirley would not return to the school. L.A. Unified soon will begin the interview process for a new principal, officials said.

The school system last year decided to convert the campus into an environmental magnet school — a move that required teachers to reapply for their jobs.

Last week, seven of the school’s 14 teachers were informed by Campbell-Shirley that they were not selected to return.

The decision sparked protests from a group of parents that had clashed with the principal throughout the school year.

The relationship between parents and Campbell-Shirley, which had been rocky since she took over as principal at the beginning of the school year, deteriorated further after parents alerted district officials to what they saw as a lack of collaboration during planning for the conversion into a magnet school.