A Brief History of Edison Schools and a Review of Existing Literature

This chapter presents background information that provides context for the analyses and findings discussed in subsequent chapters. First we describe the history and growth of Edison as an organization, and then we review the small body of existing research literature that has examined Edison schools. Private firms, both for-profit and nonprofit, have long maintained contractual relationships with public schools in the United States. Historically, such contractual relationships were often limited to the provision of materials, such as textbooks and testing materials, or support services, such as transportation and food services (Hentschke, Oschman, and Snell, 2003). Although some firms provided educational