The Private Management of Public Schools: The Hartford, Connecticut, Experience.

Autor/in	Cazares, Patricia
Titel	The Private Management of Public Schools: The Hartford, Connecticut, Experience.
Quelle	(1997), (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Contracts; Educational Finance; Educational Improvement; Educational Objectives; Elementary Secondary Education; Free Enterprise System; Performance; Private Sector; Privatization; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Public Schools; School Districts; Teacher Salaries; Unions + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Vertrag; Bildungsfonds; Teaching improvement; Unterrichtsentwicklung; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Freie Wirtschaft; Achievement; Leistung; Privater Sektor; Privatisation; Privatisierung; Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; School district; Schulbezirk; Lehrerbesoldung; Lehrervergütung
Abstract	During the early 1990s, the Hartford, Connecticut, public school system experienced serious financial problems and a downward trend in the key indicators of educational success. In 1994 the Hartford, Connecticut, board of education granted Education Alternatives, Incorporated (EAI), a 5-year contract to manage the school district. This paper presents findings of an evaluation of the Hartford/EAI experience. Data were obtained through a review of the contract and other documents, a site visit, and interviews. In January 1996, about one and one-half years into implementation, the school board terminated its contract with EAI. EAI assumed responsibility for managing the operations of the 32 schools in the district while the board retained ultimate policymaking authority. The contract did not specify that EAI implement its Tesseract instructional approach. Rather, EAI was to recommend and implement enhancements to the educational program, and spend $20 million on educational technology and $1.6 million on building improvements. Conflict arose when EAI's proposed budget for 1995-96 included cuts in teaching positions. The district reported that the contract was terminated because EAI concluded that it would not operate under the contract as written. EAI stated that it ceased services to Hartford because the district failed to pay for services rendered in accordance with the contract. EAI is credited with improving access to educational technology and making school repairs (concentrated in six schools), and helping the school district secure a zero increase in teachers' salaries for one year. Data on student performance was not yet available. (LMI)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC