March 2007

Volume 1 Number 4

In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer commentary - Straight talk about a report on achievement at city schools, authors Brian Gill and Jolley Bruce Christman note that the recently released RAND/RFA report, State Takeover, School Restructuring, Private Management, and Student Achievement in Philadelphia, "was designed to contribute to a public discussion on how Philadelphia can learn from the experience of having some schools operated by the school district and others run by private operators as a model of school reform." The public discussion is occurring as seen through the continuing, widespread and varied media coverage the report has received around the country. Visit www.researchforaction.org for more information.

Jolley Bruce Christman, Ph.D. and Eva Gold, Ph.D. - Founders and Principals

New AJE Article Highlights Diverse Provider Model

"Blurring the Boundaries - A Case Study of Private Sector Involvement in Philadelphia Public Schools" an article by RFA researchers Eva Gold, Jolley Bruce Christman, and Benjamin Herold, appeared in the February issue of the American Journal of Education published by the University of Chicago Press. This study explores the first three years of the diverse provider model, examining the shift away from the rhetoric of school choice and competition to the evolution of a public-private hybrid system that emphasized collaboration between the district and the providers and among the providers themselves. In this new hybrid model, both sets of actors are adapting to support cross-sectoral collaborative relationships.

Bringing the Private into the Public

A new article titled, "Bringing the Private into the Public-Changing the Rules of the Game and New Regime Politics in Philadelphia Public Education" by Katrina E. Bulkley was published in the February issue of Educational Policy. Dr. Bulkely is an RFA Associate and Associate Professor of Education Leadership at Montclair State University. Using the lens of urban regime analysis, this article examines the Philadelphia education regime and the policies it has promoted since 2001. The author determines that although decision-making is highly centralized under the governing coalition, the role of privatization helps to define the regime as a 'contracting regime' in which public-private interactions shape the political and policy context.

RFA Receives New William Penn Grant

RFA was recently awarded a new two-year grant from the William Penn Foundation for a project titled, "School Choice in a City of Neighborhoods - Philadelphia's Approach to High School Reform." This grant will build and expand on current high school research including a study on the new small high schools being created in the city and five years of research on the current reform underway in Philadelphia.

Need in Deed, a Philadelphia non-profit organization, provides professional development and ongoing support to teachers as they develop service learning projects that focus on the curriculum "My Voice", a one-year service-learning program. RFA's evaluation will focus on ways that Need in Deed's program is benefiting teachers and translating into positive outcomes for students.

Mark Your Calendars!

The Education Policy Leadership Center has invited RFA researcher Elizabeth Useem to serve as a panelist at their Annual Conference on Friday, March 30 at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The session is entitled, "Linking Research to Policy - Pennsylvania-based Resources for Policymakers and Education Leaders." Dr. Useem is a Senior Research Consultant for RFA.

RFA researchers will be presenting at the annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) meeting in Chicago, April 9 to 13, 2007. Look for us at the Invited Presidential Panel titled, "The World of Community and Youth Organizing and Educational Quality" on April 12, 4 to 6 p.m. You are cordially invited to attend a reception to follow.

Inside RFA

Holly Maluk has joined RFA as a Research Associate. Holly has a doctorate in anthropology with a focus on educational anthropology from Emory University. Her dissertation focused on race relations and cross-race friendships among students in a racially diverse high school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Editors' Note

RFA eNews is a publication of Research for Acton. Please email us your thoughts and comments at info@researchforaction.org. We respect your privacy and will not share your contact information.

Editors
Gail E. Danckert and Morgan Riffer

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