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Edison schools and programs can be found in 25 states across the country, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. For a listing of Edison District Partnership, Edison Charter, and Edison Alliance schools, click here. What is a charter school? Charter schools are independently operated public schools that must meet the same academic requirements as traditional public schools but are free from most of the bureaucratic and regulatory constraints of their traditional counterparts. The charter establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, and ways to measure success. A charter school is accountable to its sponsor-usually a university, state board, or local board-to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. To find out more about Edison School’s Charter School Division, click here. What is a district partnership? Edison contracts with local school districts and assumes educational and operational responsibility for individual schools as well as, in select cases, for entire districts. To find out more about Edison School’s District Partnerships, click here. What is Edison Alliance? Built on the three pillars of alliance, achievement, and accountability, Edison Alliance provides a comprehensive school reform option for innovative school districts seeking a partnership program that is proven to help them increase student achievement and close existing achievement gaps. For additional information, click here. What is the Edison design? The Edison school design is the product of three years of research by a team of 30 full-time professional employees and numerous outside experts led by former Yale president Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. The design team, which included respected education researchers, teachers, school administrators, technology specialists, and experts in school finance and management, integrated many of the world's most successful educational practices into a comprehensive program. For additional information, click here. What is the curriculum used in Edison schools? Edison has designed a rich and challenging curriculum that has been carefully integrated to help students see the connections between knowledge and ideas and to encourage practical applications of learning. The curriculum is built around five domains: mathematics and science, humanities and the arts, character and ethics, practical arts and skills, and physical fitness and health. For additional information, click here. How are Edison schools organized? Edison schools are organized in small, flexible schools within a school, called Academies, which help ensure that every student is well known and closely guided. Each academy is led by a team of teachers who stay with the same group of students for the duration of their stay in the Academy, facilitating strong, supportive relationships between teachers and students. Our program features a Primary Academy for grades K-2; an Elementary Academy for grades 3-5; a Junior Academy for grades 6-8; a Senior Academy for grades 9 and 10; and a Collegiate Academy for grades 11 and 12. What are the Edison school hours? Start and end times vary from school to school. Edison schools are focused on providing a better use of time. For a view of a typical Edison day, click here. When does the school year start and end? Start and end dates vary from school to school. How does Edison serve students with special needs? The special educators in Edison Schools ensure that the Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) of all special-needs children are followed. Most special-needs students attending Edison charter schools are served through a flexible model known as responsible inclusion. Under this model, special education students are full participants in regular classrooms, with additional in-class support from certified special education teachers and related service staff (e.g., speech/language therapist, etc.) as needed. For an in-depth look at responsible inclusion, click here. How do Edison schools address discipline problems? Each Edison school develops and implements a written policy on student conduct and school discipline that promotes responsible student behavior and is consistent with the Edison school design as well as local and state laws and requirements. Day-to-day management of student behavior is guided by a written school discipline plan instituted before the opening of school each year. Do Edison schools charge tuition? No. Edison schools are public schools, open to all students at no cost and funded with tax dollars. Does Edison have a uniform policy? No, Edison does not have an official uniform policy. Each Edison school, however, may establish a dress code or uniform policy according to the consensus of the school community. How do I enroll my child in an Edison school? Contact the school or the start-up office for the particular school in which you are interested in enrolling your child. For a list of schools and contact information, click here. Are Edison teachers certified? All Edison teachers are thoroughly screened and interviewed, and the majority of Edison teachers meet or exceed the certification requirements of the state in which they are teaching. In general, Edison requires all teachers in schools managed in partnership with school districts to meet the certification requirements in that state. The exceptions to those requirements are typically exceptions that the state has granted to the partnering district as a result of intense teacher shortages. These shortages are most often felt in hard-to-staff positions such as special education, teachers of foreign languages, and/or secondary math and science teachers. In addition, because many charter schools are granted greater hiring freedom by the charter law under which they operate, these schools are able to recruit a number of diverse and exceptional individuals for teaching positions. For example, an individual with an engineering background may be hired to teach mathematics. To find out more about teaching opportunities or to apply online, click here. What is the average salary of an Edison teacher and what benefits does Edison offer? All Edison teachers receive competitive salaries, and full-time teachers receive a complete benefits package. In general, teacher salaries at Edison correlate with compensation programs in the communities where our Edison partnership schools are located. Edison teachers may receive a slightly higher salary than their local peers to compensate for their longer school hours and days. At some Edison schools the teacher salary structure is unlike more traditional staffing models, as it is connected to a career ladder within the Edison school design. According to the Edison career ladder, career advancement is not dependent on seniority. An outstanding teacher with five years of experience could serve as a lead teacher in an Edison school and be compensated at a level equal to a teacher with more experience in a neighboring school or district. Teacher benefit packages depend on whether the school is being managed in partnership with a district or charter board. Teachers at Edison District Partnership schools receive the full benefits package offered to all teachers in the partnering district. Teachers in Edison Charter Schools receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes life, health, dental insurance, vision, long term disability, short term disability, employee assistance programs and state pension plans where applicable. What is Edison's relationship with the teachers' unions? Edison recognizes the importance of the role of teachers' unions and has maintained positive, strong, working relationships with the unions in communities throughout the country. Does an Edison school cost the state/district/taxpayers more money than a traditional public school? No. The per-pupil funding that Edison receives for managing a particular school is comparable to that spent on other public schools in the district or area. What is the process for starting an Edison school in my community? To contact an Edison representative, click here. How does Edison choose the schools that it manages? In the case of a partnership with a school district, the district selects the school or schools to be managed by Edison. In the case of a charter school, Edison may begin working with the local, non-profit organization that is applying for the charter during the application process itself or immediately after the charter has been granted. Back ... |
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