Edison Flunks Task At Elementary School
Clark County elementary schools run for the last five years by a private education company, Edison Schools Inc., have fared well enough to warrant extending the arrangement by two years, district administrators say. But another Edison-run campus, West Middle School, has failed to meet expectations, and the district administration is recommending that the School Board not retain Edison to run that school when the contract expires in June.
Henry Levin, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, said the Rand report shows that Edison's formula can be altered by the same factors that affect traditional schools. "Are they hiring the best principals and teachers, and are those people staying with them? What are the home lives of the students? What special needs are the children bringing with them to class?...The challenges we're facing are much more serious than just changing the management of schools," said Levin, professor of economics and education at Columbia University's Teachers College.
This article, written by Emily Richmond, appeared in the February 5th, 2006 publication of The Las Vegas Sun.
Published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006