Phila. Panel Taps Temple University, Others to Run Troubled Schools

By Catherine Gewertz

In a decision that could prove pivotal for Philadelphia's school system, the appointed panel running the district has chosen three school management companies and three nonprofit organizations to manage 75 of its lowest-performing schools.

Assembled by the city's mayor and Pennsylvania's governor to run the schools when the state took over on Dec. 21, the School Reform Commission is charged with turning around the fiscally and academically troubled district. With their April 10 announcement, the five panel members took what many view as a big step into uncharted waters, attempting a large-scale improvement with a variety of methods.

The panel's chairman, James E. Nevels, characterized the decision as "a major step...