Since the December 2001 state takeover of the Philadelphia schools, the initial plan for privatization under one for-profit management company and replacement of the public school board by a five-member School Reform Commission has evolved into a more ambitious reform effort, including school privatization using multiple providers (for-profit, regular public school, charter, and university partnerships) and an array of centrally-managed reform initiatives  The project is attracting national attention because of the groundbreaking nature of the proposed reforms.  Research for Action is conducting its work with support from the William Penn Foundation and others, including the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Mott Foundation.

The unique character of this multi-layered intervention calls for an in-depth study of its progress. Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization engaged in education research and evaluation, has undertaken a multi-disciplinary, multi-method study which will provide documentation and analysis of this reform effort, and a public outreach initiative to communicate the findings of the study to a broad national audience.  Early reports have centered on teacher quality and dissemination, and the reorganization of the central office in response to the diverse provider model.  

Visit the Philadelphia School Reform area on Research for Action's site to learn more about this multi-year research and School District progress to date. Users can also opt to sign up for email notification about future school reform documents produced through this initiative.