Across the Pond...Edison Expanding?

From The Times (UK):

Business will seek to run state schools after shift in political attitudes

Greg Hurst, Education Editor

Businesses are looking to revolutionise state education by bidding to run hundreds of schools, as politicians open the door to new education providers.

Companies want to create national chains of state schools, eclipsing the current groups of charitable academy sponsors, which tend to be small and geographically based.

Although both the Government and the Conservatives say that organisations driven by profit should not run schools, both have created a path for them to enter the sector. Governing bodies of new, or existing, schools can appoint a contractor to operate the school on their behalf — a model used widely in the US.

VT Group, Serco and EdisonLearning are among companies that have applied to be accredited schools providers under a vetting system established by Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, allowing them to be involved in running of a handful of schools.

All three are almost certain to be approved, given their educational experience. After an interval, understood to be two years, they would be able to apply to become accredited schools groups — enabling them to run larger numbers of schools.

Capita, another large company, has decided against seeking to run academies but will continue instead to sell pupil data services to schools.

...

Continued here.