Testing Edison: the first day of class

It was no ordinary first day of school at the Morton McMichael School on 34th Street and Fairmount Avenue.

As the just under 600 students trudged through the doors toward another school year, the for-profit Edison Schools, Inc., also embarked on its most ambitious project to date.

The Morton McMichael School is one of the 20 schools in the city now under Edison management, and it is one of 45 privatized public schools citywide.

But despite all the controversy surrounding privatization and particularly Edison's role in it, today involved the normal first-day travails -- a late school bus, unregistered students and a few missing uniforms.

Janice Solkov, the new Edison-appointed principal at Morton McMichael, said that the plans for today's transition began over the summer.

"We're ready to begin," she said.

The school had already contacted the parents and students earlier in the summer and planned to continue with meetings and newsletters informing the parents of the students' and school's activities.

Edison has been plagued by financial difficulties this year. With its stock closing yesterday at 71 cents per share, the company is in danger of being removed from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange if it does not improve market performance in the next few months. It also did not receive certain loans it had expected from the city and state.

The sudden lack of funding forced Edison to cut back the amount it could spend per district student, and its financial situation led school district Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas to demand to view the company's financial statements before allowing the company to open its schools.

But at least decorations were not missing yesterday.

Brightly colored balloons with an Edison logo, for example, marked the Morton McMichael School's entrance, but they did not reassure everyone there that Edison would be a success.

"I don't know yet," grandparent Karetha Overton said of Edison's involvement. "They will have to prove themselves before we can say."

Overton has two grandchildren in the school, where she also works as a custodian.

Like Overton, many of the other school employees had worked under the district's control previous to Edison and have remained for the transfer.

Solkov said that there had been much teacher training in preparation for the management transfer.

The 26 teachers and nine specialist teachers at the school spent a week learning the new curricula and methods, including the Edison-stressed themes of leadership, peer and community involvement and positive incentives.

Solkov said that the Edison model puts a major emphasis on the school environment.

"We want students to feel good about themselves," Solkov said. "Their environment is a big part of that."

Part of that environment and the new curriculum includes character education, which emphasizes the importance of values to students.

The academic curriculum was also altered to conform to the Edison model, honed through years of research -- and costing $45 million in total, according to Solkov.

"In general, there isn't much research into education methods," Solkov said. "Edison has done that, and that's why we have a strong curriculum."

The emphasis on community is stressed beyond the environment and into the curriculum as well.

For instance, there is a designated hour-and-a-half each day when every classroom at the Morton McMichael School will spend time reading.

The large age gap in the school -- McMichael is home to students from kindergarten to eighth grade, roughly five 14-year-olds -- also has been recognized by the Edison model.

The seventh and eighth grades have been developed into an "academy" that uses team teaching, while the younger grades are taught with more traditional elementary school methods.

With further emphasis on the community environment, certain younger grades are clustered into "houses" that create even smaller groups for students and teachers.

According to Solkov, there have been no complaints from neighborhood residents about the change, either.

"They seem very content," Solkov said. "They were grateful and pleased to meet me."

Solkov hopes that the school will become involved with local community groups like the police, fire department and other area agencies.

While the Edison model does not include extracurricular activities, Solkov said that the school would be working with area groups to add further emphasis to the unique type of education the McMichael School now offers.

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