US education provider 'racist'

Private involvement in education has proved controversial

An American corporation, which has aspirations to run privatised education partnerships in Britain, has been accused of racism, elitism and financial dishonesty in the United States.

Edison Schools, which aims to turn around failing schools in deprived areas, has denied claims that ethnic minority and low-achieving pupils were forced out to make results look better.

There has been no cancelling out of children in order for us to look better

Ganor McCann, Edison

The allegations come months after British education officials visited the company on a fact-finding mission to see if its approach could work here.

The criticism will be unwelcome news for the UK government which is keen to increase the involvement of private companies', such as Nord Anglia and 3Es, in state education.

A white paper on secondary school reform - due out next week - is expected to pave the way for head teachers to contract out the running of certain subjects to outside organisations.

And Edison has said it plans to pitch for work in the UK under the government's plans to increase the amount of private investment in education.

Severing a contract

Set up by New York entrepreneur Christopher Whittle, who also runs a controversial commercial television channel aimed at children, Edison has 113 schools in the States, catering for about 57,000 pupils.

I don't see that we have seen any significant positive results

Jill Wynn, San Francisco Board of Education

It is one of the most successful firms running privatised education services in the States.

But now San Francisco's Board of Education is trying to tear up its contract with the company.

President of the board, Jill Wynn, said Edison had never produced the required financial reports on the school.

Pupils there had been "cancelled" - either they did not apply to the school or were taken out, she said.

African Americans

And a disproportionate number of these had behavioural problems or were from an African American background.

"The public school system here doesn't get to make those choices - we have to take and educate every child and we're committed to that," Ms Wynn said.

Of the UK's plans to increase private involvement in schools, Ms Wynn said: "I think that's a mistake".

"I don't see that we have seen any significant positive results and I think that the conflict over this has had a tremendous negative impact on my school system and a lot of others around the country."

When the public education service was struggling for funds, it was wrong that cash was going into the pockets of shareholders, she added.

'Untrue'

But senior vice-president of Edison, Ganor McCann, said the allegations of racism were "absolutely and totally untrue".

"The African American students at the school did incredibly well, so it would be illogical for us to cancel out the same students who actually have done incredibly well and have made us look good," Ms McCann said.

She scorned claims that less able pupils were being "cancelled out".

"This is not something that Edison as a company would allow. There has been no cancelling out of children in order for us to look better," she said.

Ms McCann put the hostility towards the company down to its "different and radical" approach.

So how confident is the company of convincing potential clients in the UK of their worth?

"Like in the United States, I hope that people would quickly understand our product and they'd quickly understand the work we're doing and we'd be able to get beyond that."