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July 2007 Volume 1 Number 8 RFA Comments on SRC's Decision to Extend Provider Contracts The School Reform Commission's June 27 decision to extend the contracts of each of the six outside providers that currently manage 38 of Philadelphia's public schools stirred strong reactions in Philadelphia. The providers will retain control over all of the schools that they currently manage with the exception of three schools that are closing. RFA believes that this decision reveals the challenges to accountability in a public school system that is increasingly outsourcing education functions. The SRC made its decision, despite evidence from four separate studies, including the RAND/RFA report released last February that showed that, on average, schools run by private managers did not outpace the achievement gains of district-run schools - although individual schools under a provider might have shown greater gains. In light of this research, RFA and several other groups recommended that decisions be made on a school-by-school basis. Instead, the SRC renewed the contracts for all schools, even schools that had shown little or no improvement in the last five years. In a fiscally distressed district, it is imperative that the SRC hold the providers accountable for performance. Citizens and public officials are counting on the SRC to do so. RFA continues to present its research findings on the diverse provider model at such forums as the annual conference of the National Education Association and at meetings of the SRC itself. For
more information on the SRC's decision please see: Jolley Bruce Christman, Ph.D. and Eva Gold, Ph.D. - Founders and Principals RFA Joins Coalition to Support Community Organizing for Public School Reform This spring, Research for Action joined with other organizations in Philadelphia to form Southeastern Pennsylvania Communities for Public Education Reform, one of four such groups created across the United States thanks to support from the Ford, the Bill and Melinda Gates, and the William Penn Foundations, among others. The effort represents an important new philanthropic investment in grassroots, community-based public education reform and seeks to improve education for all students by building the power of low-income and minority communities to influence educational policies at the local and state levels. The coalition's organizing campaigns will target school funding and high school reform policies. RFA's role will be to provide the groups with technical assistance about how to incorporate research evidence into their campaigns. RFA Phi Delta Kappan Article Selected for College Textbook Suzanne Blanc and Elaine Simon, RFA authors and senior researchers, recently learned that their article, "Public Education in Philadelphia - The Crucial Need for Civic Capacity in a Privatized Environment," is being reproduced in full text by McGraw Hill in the Annual Edition of their college textbook, Multicultural Education. Editors' Note RFA eNews is a publication of Research for Action. Please email us your thoughts and comments at info@researchforaction.org. We respect your privacy and will not share your contact information. Editors Copyright 2007 Research for Action. To
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