PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) today announced more bad news on Edison Schools Inc.  From Macon, GA, to Wichita, KS, to right here in Pennsylvania, Edison has left students, parents and taxpayers with plenty to be desired.

“Sixth-grade students, who may have had the longest exposure to Edison, have some of the system’s highest failure rates on the CCRT (Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests),” wrote the Editorial Board of The Macon Telegraph in its Thursday editorial,  “It’s time to cut ties with Edison Schools.”

"That is clearly a breach [of contract]," said Superintendent Winston Brooks in a Monday Wichita Eagle article on Edison.  The Eagle reported that a contract provision with Edison calls for an annual review of the district's Edison schools by an independent third party.  No review has ever been done.  

Also on Tuesday, The Detroit News reported that parents in Inkster, Michigan gathered on Monday to complain about a lack of textbooks in Edison-run schools.  The Inkster School District is also in a heated contract dispute with Edison for submitting financial reports late, not consulting with the district superintendent on bonuses and management structure and failing to fully implement the curriculum they promised, which resulted in some test scores plummeting 93 percent in one Inkster school.

Over the weekend, the Associated Press reported that the York, Pennsylvania, School Board is threatening to revoke the charter for an Edison-run school because the school has not provided information the district needs to monitor the school's progress.  The district is seeking the school’s internal audit and copies of its fiscal policies.

On Tuesday, the Associated Press also reported that the Edison-run schools in Chester were privatized too quickly, with the Mayor finally conceding that Edison is “certainly no magic bullet.”