NYC Charter Imports Model from Swedish For-Profit

Michelle Natal, 10, rests her head on her mother's shoulder during an open house this month for the Innovate Manhattan Charter School, the first U.S. school to be managed by Kunskapsskolan, Sweden's largest for-profit school chain.

—Emile Wamsteker for Education Week

New School Is the Network's First in the United States

By Sarah D. Sparks

One of Sweden’s largest for-profit school networks plans to gain a toehold in American public schooling by managing its first charter school in New York City this September—a possible sign of the times as U.S. educators and policymakers step up their focus on global competitiveness.

The transplantation process started with a name change, from the tongue-twisting Swedish Kunskapsskolan to Innovate Manhattan Charter School. The school’s charter is held by an independent board—a nod to the city’s restriction on for-profit companies directly owning or operating public schools—but Margaret “Peg” Hoey, the president of Kunskapsskolan USA, said the staff is working to ensure the core Swedish instructional model won’t be lost in translation.

“Even though there may just be one school here, we are really entering into a global community...