Education

K-6 Business Basics Program

This program is sponsored by chapters of Junior Achievement. Its goal is to curb the drop-out rate by working with young elementary children when they are first exposed to the education system. Volunteers supplement school curricula by demonstrating the relevance of learning to success in adult life.

The Edison Project

In 1994 the Whittle Communications' Edison Project was headed by the former president of Yale University. Whittle Communications had over $200 million in sales in the summer of 1992. Time Warner owned 37% of the shares, Phillips Electronics of the Netherlands owned 25% and Associated Newspapers owned just under 25% and 13% was owned by a group of executives. Whittle is focusing only on projects that can yield $100 million in revenues. Millions of dollars were being poured into a 3-year plan. $2.3 billion needed to be raised by the Edison Project to launch 200 schools by 1995. The USA then spent an average of $5,000 per pupil to educate American youngsters. Whittle intended to show that the private sector could do a better job with less money. He envisioned 20% of his students receiving full scholarships. He wanted to set an example which could be copied by the public sector.

StarServe

SCHOOL REFORM

In Chicago, every public school is now run by a council of six parents, elected by parents; two community members, elected by community residents; two teachers, elected by the school staff; and the principal. This council acts as the board of directors: it hires the principal (on a four-year performance-based contract), prepares a school improvement plan, and prepares the school budget, in accordance with the improvement plan. Principals are now hired and fired based on merit rather than seniority. After the first year, 81 percent of parents and 62 percent of teachers said their schools were operating 'better' than before the reform. Seventy -eight percent of parents reported improvements in safety and discipline, 61 percent saw improvements in the physical plant, and 83 percent reported progress in educational programs.

In 1968 New Haven Connecticut set up Governance Management Teams consisting of parents, teachers, staff and a principal at two poor- performance schools. In ten years their students were performing at their grade level and 6 years later they not only had the best attendance record but students were scoring third and fourth highest in the district. By 1990 this pilot program was in all 42 New Haven schools and in over 60 schools in eight states.

Arkansas encourages parents to give their preschoolers a headstart at home with a program imported from Israel which they call HIPPYÏÏHome Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters. The simple workbooks have been used by over 2,500 welfare mothers who get once a week visits from a trained helper. In 1989 only 6 percent of the children entering the HIPPY program tested at or above the national average but 74 percent fell into that category by the program's end..

PRIVATIZING EDUCATION

EAI (Education Alternatives Inc.), a commercial company, took over nine schools in the Baltimore area in 1993. The program has not been in place long enough to see the difference in test scores but the parents are more involved, the facilities are better and it is evident that the children are flourishing under the private regime. Hartford Connecticut has recently enlisted the services of EAI to turn around its faltering school system.

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