The Lights Come Up On First Four Edison Project Schools

People who were once sick would travel from all over the country to visit a city near Detroit in order to find healing in the mineral waters of its many bathhouses. However, this city, Mount Clemens, now has a new claim to fame. It is participating in a nationally watched experiment aimed at revitalizing public education in America.

Last year, the Mount Clemens school district, which has 3,100 students, became the first in the nation to sign a contract with the Edison Project. The Edison Project is a for-profit school reform venture created by media entrepreneur Christopher Whittle.

This contract was put into effect recently at the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, an elementary school that is being operated by the Edison Project in partnership with the school district and the local teachers’ union. During a reception on August 21, the opening day of the school year, Mr. Whittle expressed his belief that Mount Clemens is setting a positive example for other cities in Michigan and across the United States. The school year in Mount Clemens will last for 210 days, extending until late June.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Academy was the third partnership school opened by Edison officials last month. The first was Washington Elementary School in Sherman, Texas, which opened on August 1, followed by the Dodge-Edison Partnership Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas, on August 14. The final school of this initial round of Edison schools will open in Boston next week. The Boston Renaissance School will operate under a charter issued by the state and will be the largest school in the project, with over 600 students.

Enrollment at the King Academy is voluntary and open to parents from all over the district. However, there was such high demand that the Edison Project had to relocate the school to a larger building to accommodate nearly 500 students instead of the original target of 375.

It seems that Edison has remained true to the much-discussed design and curriculum that have been developed over the past few years by a research team including Chester E. Finn Jr., who worked for the U.S. Department of Education during the Reagan Administration, and John Chubb, a prominent advocate of introducing free-market influences into public education. The design features a longer school day and year, Spanish instruction starting in kindergarten, cooperative learning groups that stay together for two years, and a rigorous curriculum that emphasizes the classics, character education, and technology.

The technology aspect of the Edison design has generated attention due to the promise of providing a computer and a connection to a school network to every student’s home. Once the computers are installed later this year, parents will be able to communicate with teachers through email after completing the required training. Teachers have also been given laptops.

“Computers are an essential skill,” said Shannon Rose, a restaurant manager, whose daughter is starting kindergarten at the school. Charles Newton, the school’s technology director, stated that based on a survey of parents, only 5 percent of families at King Academy have a home computer. He explained that they approach technology as a second language and aim to make it as easy as speaking English.

Overall, Mount Clemens’ involvement with the Edison Project has garnered attention and praise, and the introduction of technology into the curriculum has been well-received by parents and teachers alike.

Mr. Whittle, the leader of the Edison Project, made an agreement this year to share his leadership duties with the Sprout Group, a venture-capital company that invested $30 million in the project. Despite resistance, Mr. Whittle remains the primary spokesperson for the Edison Project and was thrilled to lead a question-and-answer session for parents at the open house. He emphasized to the parents that they are the project’s customers. Many parents were drawn to the school because of Deborah McGriff, an Edison vice president and a former superintendent of the Detroit school district. Misty Brooks, a parent whose son attends the King Academy as a 4th-grade student, praised the school because of Dr. McGriff’s involvement.

The privatization of public education has sparked intense controversy, and the school districts that have partnered with the Edison Project expect close scrutiny. Blanche E. Fraser, the superintendent of the Mount Clemens district, acknowledged that they will be under intense scrutiny. Critics argue that entrusting the fundamental public mission of educating students to for-profit businesses is problematic, as these businesses may prioritize their own interests over the students’. Henry Levin, an education and economics professor at Stanford University and a critic of privatization, expressed concern about evaluating whether programs like the Edison Project genuinely improve student achievement at the same cost as existing schools. He predicts that Edison may invest significant funds to achieve success for marketing purposes. Despite criticism from the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, union leaders in Mount Clemens agreed to support the Edison Project after ensuring that the partnership school’s teachers would be union members. Additionally, King Academy teachers receive a 16 percent stipend on top of their regular pay due to the longer school day and year. Around half of the staff were recruited from the Mount Clemens district and received high praise from the union representative.

After the excitement of the opening day, the King Academy began to settle into a routine on the second day. Supporters of the Edison Project emphasize that the school design has numerous appealing qualities beyond technology and an extended school year. The teachers at the King Academy are excited about the opportunity to teach smaller groups of children for focused reading sessions. The Edison design incorporates Success for All, a reading program developed at Johns Hopkins University, in which groups of 15 students spend 90 minutes each day on reading while others attend music, art, or physical education classes. In Michelle Waun’s combined 3rd- and 4th-grade classroom, students work in pairs and help each other read challenging words. From the beginning, the Edison Project has maintained that it welcomes students from all backgrounds, including those with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Sandra Truitt Robinson, the project’s site director in Mount Clemens, emphasized the importance of having a diverse student body and showcasing best teaching practices to demonstrate student achievement. The school’s enrollment consists of approximately 48 percent white students, 43 percent African-American students, and the remaining 9 percent without a racial breakdown. Around 38 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, which is consistent with the districtwide figure.

Despite some minor issues, the King Academy and the Edison Project are off to a promising start.

“We acknowledge that we will be under observation,” she expressed. “However, if we execute this as intended, it seems improbable for us to meet with failure.”