Teacher, Inc.: A Private Option for Educators

This study profiles the experiences of a number of educators in private practice, and discusses the benefits that teachers, students, and schools may realize by contracting for instruction. Also included are the results from two national surveys about the legal authority of school boards to contract for instruction, and a chart to help administrators identify the fully allocated costs of in-house and contract service. 23 pages.

Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
  • A. Background
    • Figure 1
  • B. What is Private-Practice Teaching?
• Entrepreneurial Educators
• What Can Private Practice Bring To Schools?
  • A. Accountability
  • B. Enrichment
  • C. Cost Savings
    • 1. Competition
    • 2. Private-sector Efficiencies
    • 3. Known Costs
    • 4. Staffing Levels
• Comparing the Cost of In-house and Contracted Services
  • Table 1
• Policy Considerations
  • A. Legal Authority of Public Schools to Contract for Instruction
    • Table 2
  • B. Charter Schools
  • C. Teacher-Certification Requirements
  • D. Teachers Unions
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix I: Recommendations for Policy Makers
• Appendix II: Model Legislation
• Appendix III: Contacts
• Case Studies
  • Case Study #1 :Reading and Language Arts Centers, Inc.
  • Case Study #2 :Learning Styles
  • Case Study #3 : Science Encounters
  • Case Study #4 : Sylvan Learning Systems
  • Case Study #5 : Math Enrichment Resource Center (MERC)
  • Case Study #6 : Ready Go, Inc.
  • Case Study #7 : Berlitz Jr.
• Endnotes