Edison flunks task at one area school

By Emily Richmond

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 | 12:32 p.m.

Clark County elementary schools run for the last five years by a private education company, Edison Schools Inc., have fared well enough to warrant extending the arrangement by two years, district administrators say.

But another Edison-run campus, West Middle School, has failed to meet expectations, the district administration has concluded. Administrators are recommending that the School Board not retain Edison to run that school when the contract expires in June.

"It's clear that Edison and West are not a good fit," said Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction. "And we believe it is in the best interest of our students to try something different."

The administration's recommendations about West and the six Edison-run elementary schools will go to the School Board for action later this spring. The issue is destined to rouse strong public debate, as it did before the board agreed to invite Edison into the district in 2001.

Under the terms of the contracts, Edison is paid the same amount per pupil as the districtwide average. In exchange, Edison promised higher student test scores as well as contributions of $1.4 million in philanthropic funds to each of the seven campuses. The contract left open the possibility of Edison expanding to 10 additional campuses by 2005, provided the company showed significant gains in student achievement.

But the district allowed that deadline to pass for the same reason its administrators now favor extending the elementary schools contract: lack of information. Administrators and Edison officials said that the first two years of Edison's work at the elementary schools cannot be evaluated accurately because the transition was rocky and in 2002, Nevada changed its standardized assessments - going from TerraNova to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

That change made it impossible to compare student achievement levels over the entire five years. "For all practical purposes the five-year contract has turned out to be a three-year experiment," Orci said. "We ought to give it another couple of years to see if it works."

The results over the three years at those schools is mixed.

Of the district's six elementary campuses managed by Edison, three - Lynch, Park and Ronnow - have fallen into "needs improvement" status for three straight years because of low student scores on standardized tests.

Of the other three, Lincoln-Edison Elementary School has been classified under "needs improvement" for two years and Crestwood-Edison Elementary School did not make "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. That school was placed on the state's "watch list."

The sixth school, however, is performing quite well. Cahlan-Edison Elementary School in North Las Vegas was one of 19 "high achieving" district schools.

At West, the problems have been growing, said Carla Steinforth, superintendent of the district's northwest region.

"We saw teachers and administrators struggling with Edison's curriculum, which did not allow much flexibility," Steinforth said Friday. "Students did not have textbooks to take home. And we saw a lack of strategies in dealing with discipline."

West's test scores jumped significantly last year, but only after the district conducted intensive teacher training and put new classroom instruction strategies in place, Steinforth said.

Edison's chief academic officer, John Chubb, had a much more positive view of the company's performance. Test scores, attendance and behavior have improved across the board, even at West, he said.

"The progress has been better than local norms and we are happy about that," Chubb said. "On the other hand, our goal is to reach high levels of proficiency in all schools with all kids and there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done. We've made a very good start and are anxious to continue the work."

Edison has had to overcome a number of hurdles. Several of the elementary schools operate on a year-round calendar, which required restructuring Edison's instructional model. Clark County's teacher turnover was also higher than usual even before Edison arrived, Chubb said.

"For a company that spends millions of dollars a year on professional development, it was difficult to see your investment walk out the door and have to start over again and again," Chubb said.

At West last week, students and staff said they were aware that Edison's contract was being evaluated.

Carmen Goribay, a seventh grader in her second year at the school, said she wouldn't miss Edison. "We're kind of happy they might be gone," Goribay said. "Then we don't have to worry about our parents forking over the money for uniforms." All students are required to wear uniforms on campus.

However, Elizabeth Rivera, a sixth grader, said she wants to remain under Edison. "The teachers are nicer and next year they won't be so helpful."

West and its 97 percent minority population has long been a forgotten island, teachers and staff said. Community members felt the district was abdicating its responsibilities by turning over operations to Edison, said one teacher, who did not want to be identified.

"We've never been treated the same or fairly, we've never had the opportunity or resources," the teacher said. "With Edison it just got worse. We feel even less like a part of the district."

Edison's critics decry the rigid uniformity in its schools. They use the same textbooks, instructional techniques and even daily schedules at every school.

Supporters say Edison's structured environment, longer academic day and emphasis on reading succeeds where public education fails. Each of Edison's 101 campuses nationwide follow the same core curriculum and rigid schedule of daily instruction.

But the district's decision to hire Edison met with significant opposition from teachers, who bridled at being forced to follow strict guidelines. The state teachers union and the county union representing support staff filed a lawsuit. It was settled with the district's agreement to involve parents, teachers and administrators in evaluating Edison's performance.

Karlene McCormick-Lee, associate superintendent of research and accountability for the district, said it's too early to call Edison a success or a failure.

By one measure, the Criterion-Reference Test, which is used to gauge progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, students at Edison elementary schools outperformed their peers from similar socio-economic backgrounds elsewhere in the district.

But for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, which measures students against statewide standards, Edison students differed only slightly from students at other schools. For both sets of tests, Edison students continued to lag considerably behind the district average.

For example, McCormick-Lee said, Ronnow Elementary School "at one point was out-performing all the others, and then the principal moved on and that trend came to an end. So is it Edison or other variables impacting achievement?

"I don't see consistency across grade levels, across subjects and across schools that is clear evidence of significant change," she said.

Edison's first year at the elementary schools saw changes in staff, teachers and principals as well as the introduction of instructional programs that required intensive training. And while Edison's performance may not be outshining comparable schools, the company's programs are "not doing any worse," McCormick-Lee said.

School Board member Shirley Barber said she was uncertain about Edison at first but now believes the partnership is helping at least some at the elementary schools. As for West, Barber said in the last year the number of complaints she has received from parents and staff at the school has dropped significantly.

"I used to get calls every day saying, 'We need more help over there,' but that's not happening any more," Barber said. "West has always been a tough school with a lot of problems, but the new principal seems to be making a difference. I hope he sticks with it no matter what happens with Edison."

Jimmie Jones, who took over as West's principal last year, could not be reached for comment.

Other Edison teachers say the workload of tests, evaluations and other reporting requirements has meant more paperwork.

Edison teachers are covered by the same contract as the rest of the district's licensed personnel and are paid slightly more for working longer days. But one Edison teacher said the pay "works out to 4.5 percent more money for 20 percent more time."

Bonita Jimenez, whose daughter is a sixth grader at West, said so far she has been impressed. "Her grades are even better than they were in California," Jimenez said. "If the school changed a lot I would be disappointed."

As Edison worked on its performance in Clark County, nationwide it struggled. Edison's stock dropped below $1 per share in 2003 following a rebuke from the Securities and Exchange Commission for shoddy bookkeeping. Edison founder Chris Whittle bought back the company's stock in 2003 and returned it to private status.

A report by the Rand Corp. last October said Edison's performance nationally was uneven. "The Edison Schools model has potential to improve student achievement at chronically low-performing schools," Brian Gill, lead author of the report, said in a written statement. "Some schools have shown extraordinary gains under Edison's management. But others have not."

Henry Levin, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, said the Rand report shows that Edison's formula can be altered by the same factors that affect traditional schools. "Are they hiring the best principals and teachers, and are those people staying with them? What are the home lives of the students? What special needs are the children bringing with them to class?

"The challenges we're facing are much more serious than just changing the management of schools," said Levin, professor of economics and education at Columbia University's Teachers College.

Extending the elementary school contracts in Clark County seemed reasonable, he said. "If the district truly isn't paying Edison any more money and is getting about the same results or even slightly better, there isn't any harm."

Sheila Moulton, vice president of the School Board, said last week that she has made periodic visits to Edison schools.

"From what I've seen, Edison has had some successes but so have other district programs at similar schools," Moulton said. "I'm not convinced we couldn't do just as well or maybe even better without them."

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at [email protected].