Dating back to the mid-1970's and mid-1980's, education was a darling of high-technology in investment. Today, investment in education is only a fraction of overall private-equity spending. Investment trends in education lie within four key segments: schools, products, services, and e-services. The question, it seems, is not whether to invest in education, but where and how. The increasingly voluble cry of parents for better educational systems, for-profit education, and for school-voucher programs is drawing more attention and investment to this sector. The industry has responded to this call for new options through emerging for-profit education market. The question mostly asked is will for-profit education succeed educationally as well as financially?
Channel One, founded by Chris Whittle in 1989, is possibly the most famous. Channel One, an MTV-style classroom news show for junior-high and high- school students, garnered significant criticism from teachers and parents alike because its business model was based on advertising revenues.
Group portrait with Thomas Alva Edison and Sir Tho...
Young Thomas Edison
John E. Sloane & wife, Sec'y Daniels & wife, Thos....Parents and educators feared that the for-profit schools would lose sight of academic goals and instead focus on support for their advertising partners. Whittle sold Channel One in the early 90's. Whittle
Dwyer 2
then returned in 1992, with the intent on proving for-profit critics wrong with his new company, the Edison Project. Figuring that if he could get facilities and tax dollars already that he can turn a profit. The ideal question for any for-profit school company is: If you're going to turn a profit, what is your strategy going to be? This question worries me, not anywhere in this question does it mention children or what will be in the best interest of the children. What are these companies worried about? Are they worried about the educational system working in favor of our children? in favor of the companies? The answer is most likely both...