Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, school districts across the country have been working to satisfy new federal guidelines. Those regulations have sparked many attempts at school reform, but few as extensive as in Philadelphia.

Officials hired five private companies and two universities to run 45 of its lowest-performing schools. The city also restructured 21 schools and renewed deals with 47 charter schools. By doing this, Philadelphia has embarked on the nation's most extensive experiment to see whether non-traditional techniques can cure an ailing public school system's woes.