ERIC Number: EJ1008523
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May-8
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0277-4232
EISSN: N/A
Private Firms Run Two Mich. Districts
Ash, Katie
Education Week, v32 n30 p1, 12-13 May 2013
Educators and policy observers are keeping a close eye on two controversial experiments in private management of public schools now unfolding in the western Michigan city of Muskegon Heights and in the Detroit-area community of Highland Park. Citing chronic budget woes in the communities' low-performing school districts, Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan last year declared a state of financial emergency and appointed an emergency manager for each district. The managers, in turn, hired two separate companies--Mosaica Education and the Leona Group--to run the schools. Gov. Snyder, a Republican, has also appointed emergency managers for one other district, the Detroit public school system, and six Michigan city governments--almost all of which represent primarily black communities. The moves have caused pushback from civil rights groups and aggravated racial tensions in the state. For educators and K-12 analysts, however, these ventures have implications for evaluating what happens when for-profit companies manage public schools on a systemwide basis. This article includes an analysis of the performance of these two private companies.
Descriptors: School Districts, Public Schools, Educational Administration, Privatization, Elementary Secondary Education, Educational Change, Administrative Change, Faculty Mobility, Poverty, Academic Achievement, School Security, Charter Schools, Teacher Salaries, Court Litigation
Editorial Projects in Education. 6935 Arlington Road Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5233. Tel: 800-346-1834; Tel: 301-280-3100; e-mail: customercare@epe.org; Web site: http://www.edweek.org/info/about/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A