Magic Johnson Forms Partnership with Schools Firm

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``When just over 40 percent of students in Los Angeles, Houston, and Baltimore are graduating from high school and less than 30 percent of black males in New York, Detroit and Miami, steps need to be taken to recapture these students into the education system to better their opportunities in life,'' Johnson said. Photo Rafael Amado
``When just over 40 percent of students in Los Angeles, Houston, and Baltimore are graduating from high school and less than 30 percent of black males in New York, Detroit and Miami, steps need to be taken to recapture these students into the education system to better their opportunities in life,'' Johnson said. Photo Rafael Amado

LOS ANGELES - NBA legend Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson is lending his name and business prowess to for-profit education company EdisonLearning Inc. as it seeks to offer services to school districts in urban areas.

Magic Johnson Enterprises and EdisonLearning announced Monday that the partnership will concentrate on services to help urban school districts boost their performance and reduce dropout rates.

Johnson said in a statement that he hopes to help boost graduation rates and educational achievement in those districts through his participation in the partnership with EdisonLearning. The company seeks contracts with school districts to manage all or part of their operations, including staffing, curriculum development and testing.

The company hopes to establish 25 so-called dropout recovery centers bearing the MagicJohnson Bridgescape name by 2013.

The partnership will also offer its testing, professional development and other services to districts that are seeking to boost student achievement, EdisonLearning said. It currently offers such services to 80 schools in Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Delaware and Nevada. APAssociated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.

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