PHILADELPHIA, PA --  Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a staunch advocate of quality education, today warned the School Reform Commission not to place Philadelphia children’s education in the hands of the for-profit Edison Schools, Inc.

“After carefully reviewing evaluations of Edison by other school districts around the nation, I have found new and compelling information on why Edison should not be hired by the School Reform Commission,” said Congressman Fattah.  

“Edison keeps saying to give them a chance.  Well, in Miami, they gave Edison five years to reform one school.  It didn’t work.  Edison has also been in Dallas for a few years, with lackluster results.  What will it take for the SRC to comprehend the warning signs?”

The Miami Evaluation, compiled by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Office of Evaluation and Research concluded, “Despite the lofty academic standards of the Edison Model, the project students never once exhibited an academic advantage over the students in the regular MDCPS program.  Consequently, the evaluation failed to produce any evidence that the Edison model represents a superior education program.”

In February, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Superintendent of Schools said, “After a very careful review the Administration does not recommend that the District pursue a partnership with Edison Schools, Inc.  Regarding student achievement, it is our firm conclusion that Edison Schools, Inc, has a poor track record of improving academic performance, particularly for students of need….the record is very inconsistent and the overall track record is not compelling.”

The Dallas Independent School District also evaluated Edison.  DISD found, “Results based on the Effective Indices overwhelmingly favor the comparison (non-Edison) schools in 42 out of 49 comparisons.  Given that the District considers these measures to be the most accurate method of measuring school effectiveness, this strongly suggests poor achievement at the Edison Schools relative to the rest of the district and comparison schools.”

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Read why Austin public schools decided against Edison:
http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/k12/docs/misc_superintendent_kipp_edison_recommendation.pdf