TURNAROUNDS: Graduation Day At Locke High School

This afternoon is the graduation for Locke High School's first class of seniors under Green Dot.  Hard to believe that just over a year ago this place was locked down and full of riot police.

The big news will be the number of kids graduating this year, which is up, and the colleges they're going to.  There are definitely many success stories to tell, along with a few notable setbacks and hard lessons. The LA TImes has a slew of stories out this morning to help us undestand it all:

A year of steady and promising changes at Locke High
Subtle signs of a turnaround on a troubled LA campus
Green Dot hopes starting early will improve academic culture
Shared control of special education proved problematic

It'll be interesting to see what Steve Barr has to say, fresh off his whirlwind trip to DC for the charter schools conference and to NYC for the signing of the Green Dot NYC contract agreement. Meantime, there's so much planning for summer school and next year that it feels like the future has already started even before the seniors are out the door.