The School Reform Commission operating the Philadelphia school district has chosen 12 organizations to provide consulting services, as follows:
Lead Adviser: Edison Schools Inc., based in New York City, will offer overall management advice, including assessing the effectiveness of professional development; improving teacher and principal recruitment and retention; strengthening classroom management; and preparing an 18-month action plan for the school system’s incoming chief executive officer.
Staff Development: Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based, nonprofit research and reform group
Curriculum Review: Deloitte & Touche, a professional-services firm based in New York City, and SchoolNet Inc., a company that seeks to help schools improve, also based in New York
Improvement in Lowest-Performing High Schools: Victory Schools, a New York City-based company that manages public schools
School Safety: Foundations Inc., a Mount Laurel, N.J., nonprofit organization that offers technical assistance in education; Kroll Inc., a risk- consulting company in New York City; KMPG Consulting, a McLean, Va.-based consulting firm; the City of Philadelphia; and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia
Procurement: KMPG Consulting
Food Services: KMPG Consulting and Sodexho, a Gaithersburg, Md.-based food-services company
Information Technology: PricewaterhouseCoopers, a New York City-based business- and financial-advisory company