ADELANTO, Calif. – The nation’s first “parent trigger” school officially opened its doors on Monday, and early indications are that the Adelanto community finally has a first-rate elementary school for its children.

Desert Trails Preparatory Academy is the happy result of a two-year process which started when a majority of Adelanto residents with children in the failing former school – government-run Desert Trails Elementary – demanded that it be completely overhauled.

Their action was made possible by California’s ground-breaking “parent trigger” law.

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Nearly everything about Desert Trails Prep is different from the traditional public school it replaced.

For starters, Desert Trails Prep is a charter school and is operated by “the founders of a high-performing charter organization affiliated with the University of La Verne,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

Charter schools are simply alternative forms of public schools. What allows them to be different and more effective is that their teachers (typically) aren’t affiliated with teacher unions.

That’s the case for Desert Trails Prep. As a union-free charter, Desert Trails Prep leaders can do creative and innovative things to help ensure students are learning – such as lengthening the school day and year – without first going hat-in-hand to a teachers union for permission.

Another major difference with Desert Trails Prep is the teachers themselves. SBSun.com reports “the school’s staff is all new and includes teachers from across Southern California.” Some 400 individuals applied for those two dozen teaching slots, notes the L.A. Times.

The school’s culture is also completely different. Desert Trails Prep’s almost 600 students are expected to wear school uniforms and follow strict and rules and expectations.

The school’s academic culture is different, too. Students will be tested regularly, to ensure they are receiving the appropriate level of instruction, either individually or in their small group. The testing will help school officials determine the best placement for students.

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As the L.A. Times reports, “Those advanced in math, for instance, may switch to a higher grade for that subject while those struggling may study with a lower grade.”

“We don’t limit anyone’s ability,” said Desert Trails Prep Director Debra Tarver. “We take them as far as they can go.”

That fresh approach to teaching has parents excited.

“That’s what I want: The kids have to be challenged,” parent William Orellana told the Times.

Desert Trails Prep has one thing in common with the school it replaced: the students.

Many Desert Trails Prep students previously attended the government-run, union-controlled school, which completely failed them.

According to the L.A. Times, just one-third of students could read or perform math at grade level last year.

Desert Trails Prep Director Tarver is assuring parents her staff will change that.

“That has been our promise and our goal, our No. 1 goal is that we’re going to get them the opportunity to exceed all expectations,” Tarver said, according to KABC TV.

If Desert Trails Prep succeeds, it should have ramifications for the entire nation.

The reason is simple: If a charter school can take the same students who couldn’t learn at the traditional public school and help them become successful, it will be proof positive that the union-dominated approach to public education simply doesn’t work.

So a lot’s on the line for Desert Trails Prep students, but also for K-12 reformers and their education establishment opponents.

The early returns are promising for our side.

As parent Greg Grant told CBS Los Angeles, “Right now I’m loving it. This school that’s taken over the system here has been proven to be really outstanding.”