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 Edison Schools Says Partnership with Two Schools in Wichita, Kansas Will Likely End Due to Significant Reductions in Kansas Educational Spending. No Thursday, November 21, 2002 The company has been advised that it will be asked to continue to operate the schools until July 1, 2003, and it is committed to working with the Wichita Public Schools to create a transition plan for future years that is beneficial to all parties. The company said this will not have an impact on current year guidance. The two schools in Wichita are not EBITDA positive. We are disappointed that we are unable to continue our relationship with the Wichita Public Schools. We have spent more than seven years serving the students and families of Dodge-Edison and Jardine-Edison schools, and they have both been academic successes, said Chris Cerf, Edison President and COO. We are pleased that Winston Brooks, Wichitas Superintendent, believes these schools have served as models, stimulating healthy competition and thus helping raise achievement among all district schools. Despite their strong achievement gains and broad parental support, reductions in Kansas educational spending are causing the district to seek every possible savings. Under Edison management, Dodge was quickly transformed from an under-enrolled campus to an achievement-focused school. When Edison started its partnership, Dodge students were performing below the district in all subject areas. Since the initiation of the partnership, Dodge has made significant achievement gains across all subjects. Dodge average total gain was 24.3 percentile points, progress that compares well with strong gains made at other Wichita Public Schools. Dodge parents continue to support the school, with approximately 80 percent giving the school an A or B. Before Edison began work with Jardine, the school struggled with discipline, and achievement was low. In 1996 Edison recruited a new principal, built an enthusiastic and collaborative staff, and installed a demanding academic program. The schools decorum improved, parent involvement and enrollment increased, and the school became the pride of the community. When the partnership at Jardine began in 1996, students were performing below the district in mathematics (the only subject tested at the time). Since the initiation of the partnership, Jardine students have made significant gains. Jardine is now one of the top middle schools in the Wichita Public School District, with 86 percent of Jardines parents giving the school an A or B. Edison began its relationship with Wichita Schools in 1995. We leave these schools in an improved state including a major investment in infrastructure in essential areas such as technology, curriculum and facility improvement, said Cerf. We believe that our schools have made a positive difference to the educational opportunities and outcomes not only for our Wichita students and their families, but for the entire community.
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