Public school districts signing on with private companies to provide services need to set up contracts with performance standards. Provides seven general advice tips about what to include in contracts and case studies of what three school districts have done in setting up contracts with private companies. (MLF)

By pooling talents and resources of seasoned educators and the private sector, Education Alternatives, Inc. is invigorating school systems in several urban areas, including Dade County, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; and Hartford, Connecticut. A private-public partnership has two advantages over conventionally managed districts: readily available…

The Wilkinsburg (Pennsylvania) School Board's decision to hire Alternative Public Schools, a private company, to manage a failing elementary school has alienated the teacher union and many town residents. If teachers lose their court challenge, Turner School will become the only U.S. public school to be both privately staffed and managed. (MLH)

Charles Whittle's Edison Project aims to create 1,000 efficient schools driven by technology and the marketplace; students will supposedly generate high test scores and become competitive, proficient workers. Those opposing the profit motive's incursion into public education predict that the Edison Project and other privatization efforts will…

Before signing on with a private firm to manage schools, school boards should consider whether privatization will save the school district and the taxpayers money, lessen bureaucracy, and lead to higher test scores or other objective measures of improvement. In addition, boards should ask whether the proposal is free of bias and whether the…

Israel has recently seen the growth of a movement demanding greater parental choice and more diversity in public schools. This article examines the state-supported TALI (or reinforcing Jewish studies) schools, focusing on a study analyzing the motives behind parental choice and the effects of choice on the social and cultural composition of…

A group of 100 experts, backed by marketer Chris Whittle, will convene in January 1992 to invent a new, for-profit U.S. school. Whittle also plans to offer his proprietary school design to public schools and/or contract to administer schools or districts. Privatization benefits and concerns are debated. Sidebars profile Whittle and other education…

Besides endorsing a children's bill of rights, teachers at this year's annual National Education Association meeting urged a moratorium on most standardized testing, opposed a federally mandated national test, urged teacher study programs to include courses promoting multicultural education, agreed to a many-sided analysis of Christopher…

Discusses three ideologies relating to school design that attempt to positively address functional and technical trends in school construction. Discusses privatization and the ideologies of schools as marketplaces and communities, as well as cautionary comments on technology's influence on replacing the traditional school facility. (GR)

Discusses survey results that show a school district's aversion to privatize noneducational services. Top reasons why some school districts and colleges turn to, or resist, privatization are provided. Also revealed are the administrators who are most likely to be directly involved in privatization efforts and statistics on how much privatization…

Charter schools can be grouped into two camps: newly created schools or converted public schools (deserving further study). New charters arise to help at-risk kids, serve poor ethnic minorities, make profits, or address disgruntled parents' concerns. For-profits are leery of contracting to improve student performance. (MLH)

Although charter schools are both public and accountable, they are increasingly being operated by private, for-profit educational management organizations. EMOs profit by reducing labor costs (cutting employment or compensation), using economies of scale (operating larger facilities); and providing fewer services (educating "mainstream"…

As colleges and universities increasingly outsource management of services, partnership models between institutions and private management firms are emerging. Contracts should consider that (1) the institution will remain involved in operations, (2) cultural clashes will occur between profit-making firms and institutions, (3) institutional leaders…

Examines international origins, national intentions, and local interpretations and actions of the recent education decentralization movement in Argentina, focusing on three provinces. Discusses the international policy environment in which privatization, deregulation, and decentralization have flourished. Both material capacities and symbolic…

Discuss advantages and disadvantages of the privatization of public schools, including for-profit companies and charter schools. (PKP)