Experiment 101: Knowledge for Profit
RICHMOND, Va., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Is school reform via private
enterprise possible? For-profit education companies promise to jump-start
ailing public schools in the Fifth District and elsewhere in the United States
using the tools of the entrepreneur. The firms say they can efficiently
improve curricula and training programs, adopt new technology, and invest
heavily at start-up -- all key ingredients to success.
"There's a strong argument to be made that without the ability to invest
substantially in whole school reform at one time -- in the beginning of the
process -- most school reforms fail," says Richard O'Neill of Edison Schools
Inc., a company operating schools in D.C., Maryland, and North Carolina.
It's a powerful sales pitch. But earning good grades from educators,
taxpayers, and Wall Street -- all different taskmasters -- can be as perilous
as it could be profitable for education management firms. The risks are high,
the path murky, and the results not yet easily measured.
In the recently released Region Focus, business writer Betty Joyce Nash
examines the concept of for-profit education and its effects on public
schools. Also in this issue:
* Community Profile: Towson, Md.
* Person Profile: Duke University President Nan Keohane
* Photo Essay: Science is Fun: Informal Learning Centers Combine
Scientific Concepts and Curiosity
Region Focus, a quarterly business magazine published by the Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond, covers the economy and business activities of the
District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
most of West Virginia.
For copies free of charge, contact the Bank's Public Affairs Division at
804-697-8111. The article abstracts are available at
http://www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus .
SOURCE Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
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Related links:
http://www.rich.frb.org
http://www.rich.frb.org/pubs/regionfocus
CONTACT:
Laura Fortunato, Executive Editor of Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond's Region Focus, 804-697-8196
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