Edison Project to Run Two Dade County Schools
The Dade County, Fla., school district has hired the Edison Project to run two public elementary schools next fall.
The Miami-area district voted unanimously last month to contract with the New York City-based school-management concern founded by media entrepreneur Christopher Whittle.
The schools, yet to be identified, will serve about 2,200 students, officials said. The for-profit Edison Project will receive the same per-pupil expenditure as other schools in the district.
Edison is operating public schools this school year in four sites: Boston; Mount Clemens, Mich.; Sherman, Texas; and Wichita, Kan.
The company last month named John C. Reid as its chief operating officer. Mr. Reid was a senior executive with the Coca-Cola Co. and is a former chief administrative officer for the city of Atlanta.
Proposal To End Busing
The Kansas City, Kan., school district has proposed a school-improvement plan that, among other features, would end busing of elementary school children.
The proposal, approved by the school board last month, would help the 21,000-student district reach five main goals by 2001. One of those goals, greater community involvement, could be attained by returning students to neighborhood schools, according to a district spokesman.
Under an 18-year-old desegregation order, about 360 students from six of the district’s 33 elementary schools are bused to improve racial balance. The district is working with the U.S. Department of Justice to find ways to end the busing order.
