Some Trends in the Education Industry
Applied Research Center
December 1st, 1997
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Corporate Sponsored Public Schools |
Corporate Managed Schools |
Sponsored Educational Materials |
What is it? |
Private businesses adopt a local school or schools and pay for facilities or service, often in exchange for say in curricula |
Private Management of public schools. Educational management corporations are contrcted by districts to run the schools. |
Free "educational" materials provided to schools. Many of the materials have clear consumer messages. |
Trends |
New, not widespread. Met with some trouble. |
Mixed results, but growing trend. |
Major Growth Industry |
Examples |
Disney "Celebration" and Burger King Academies. |
Edison, EAI, Advantage, and others |
"Digging for the Data" |
Who's behind it? |
Corporations (like Disney), free-market ideologues. |
Corporations, Charter Schools USA, Center for Education Reform, think tanks, potentially parents |
Public Relations firms, Ad Agencies, Publishing, Marketing, potential teachers and Administrators |
Impact on communities of color |
Academic and career tracking |
Ignores specific needs, loss of community jobs, and imposes corporate curricula |
Kids are trained as consumers |
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Corporate Standards |
Vouchers |
School-to-Work |
What is it? |
Everyone wants standards, but what kind of standards. The economic right and corporations want made-to-order workers. |
Public money goes to private schools in the form of a voucher or tax-credit. Also, "private vouchers" are a growing trend. |
A broad range of programs, some good, some bad. Usually includes work experience during school and job placement. |
Trends |
related to school-to-work, very timely, winnable? |
Small but growing. |
Exists in some form almost everywhere. |
Examples |
Business Coalition for Education Reform's "Standards Mean Business" campaign |
Milwaukee, Cleveland, HOPE and HELP scholarships. |
Donation of FAX machines for resume faxing |
Who's behind it? |
Clinton, BCER, Empower America, chambers of commerce, Pete Wilson, and others |
Bradley Foundation, Children's Educational Opportunities Foundation, Wal-Mart, Texas Public Policy Foundation, and many parents |
Business Coalition for Education Reform (BCER)and chambers of commerce |
Impact on communities of color |
Tracking, stigmatizes students and communities of color |
Give individual kids access to exclusive schools. No systemic solution |
Tracking in educational opportunities and job choices |
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