School Performance - Schools For Sale

The chart shows the growth in the number of Edison for-profit schools since the first four opened in 1995. The Edison Project is the country's leading for-profit public school management company. When Philadelphia decided in April 2002 to turn over 42 of its lowest performing schools to outside managers, Edison got 20. Management companies like Edison either take over public schools (conversion) or open new charter schools.

Education is big business. Eduventures.com, a Boston market research firm, happily reported industry revenues of $96 billion in 1999, an 11% increase over 1998. The traditional industry sectors—for-profit schools, learning products, and educational services — posted growth rates ranging from 8% to 12.3%.

Education management companies promise to improve student achievement and make money at the same time. Edison's Web site claims: "Student achievement in Edison schools has been heading steadily upward." The American Federation of Teachers is watching Edison closely; they report "mediocre" reading results. Is Edison making money? Not as of February 2002, when the company reported a net loss of 15 cents per share. CEO Chris Whittle, who started the trend, remains optimistic, however.

Source: Chart: The Edison Project. Online. Available: www.edisonproject.com/ April 19, 2002. Susan Snyder and Martha Woodall. "42 schools to be privatized." Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 April 2002. Online. Available: http://www.philly.com/. April 19, 2002. "The for-profit education industry is quickly adding clicks to bricks." Online. Available: http://www.edweek.org. April 19, 2002.