Timeline
1974
The concept of "performance marketing" is introduced, proposing schools contract with private companies to improve student performance.

1983
The U.S. Department of Education releases "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform," sparking a push for alternatives to public education.

1986
Education Alternatives, Inc. (EAI), Minnesota-based school management firm is founded.

1989
Chris Whittle (pictured left), former publisher of Esquire magazine, launches Channel One, an advertiser-supported television program for schools.

1992
Chris Whittle founds Edison Schools, Inc.

1992
EAI signs a five-year contract to run nine inner-city schools in Baltimore, Maryland - the first deal of its kind.

1994
A Maryland state investigation finds that EAI misspent federal funds targeted for special education programs.

September 1994
Whittle sells Channel One to K-III Communications.

October 1994
The Hartford, Connecticut school district becomes the first to turn the management of its entire system over to a private, for-profit company, EAI.

August 1995
Edison opens its first four schools.

November 1995
Baltimore ends contract with EAI.

January 1996
Hartford ends contract with EAI.

November 1999
Edison's initial public stock offering.

2001
The Philadelphia school district embarks on the largest school reform project in recent history, hiring 5 companies and two universities to run 45 schools, restructuring 21 schools and maintaining 47 charter schools. Edison is hired to run 20 schools for five years at a price tag of $60 million, the largest for-profit school contract to date.

July 2001
Pennsylvania takes over the Philadelphia School District, and the Pennsylvania State Education Department signs a $2.7 million contract with Edison to evaluate Philadelphia public schools.

December 2001
Philadelphia Mayor John Street (pictured left) and Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker dissolve the school board and appoint a five member School Reform Commission.

January 2002
Massachusetts-based Beacon Education Management merges with Miami based Chancellor Academies to form Chancellor Beacon Academies, making it the second largest for-profit education management manager.

January 2002
President George Bush signs the No Child Left Behind Act into law.

November 2002
State Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. says Edison received a "sweetheart deal" when it was awarded the $2.7 million contract to evaluate the Philadelphia school system.

The Philadelphia City Council files a lawsuit asking Pennsylvania's Supreme Court to restore local control to the schools, contending that Gov. Schweiker had "illegally taken over the Philadelphia School District in order to privatize it." The council asserted that the state takeover violated the city's Home Rule Charter, which calls for a nine-member Board of Education, to be appointed by the mayor.

U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.) requests that the General Accounting Office conduct a review of privatized schools. The GAO report is released with inconclusive results, citing a lack of "rigorous research" on the effects of school privatization.