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Under a new program called Re-Start, involves the Department of Education hiring outside management organizations to come in and run troubled schools. Officials say they have 14 schools they thought could improve with a lot of help and asked non-profit organizations to apply for the job.

Dozens submitted proposals, and the DOE chose six and paired each with two or three of the schools.

Most of the six organizations chosen to take over the management of these schools already have partnerships with city schools, like New Visions for Public Schools, Abyssinian Development Corp. (ADC), the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI-PEA), and the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA).

Two others have done most of their school reform work elsewhere, like the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education (SREB) and Johns Hopkins University.

The principals will now report to those outside organizations rather than their superintendents.

The new managers are supposed to remake the schools and pilot a much more comprehensive teacher evaluation system. They will oversee budgets, discipline and staffing.

It is all funded with federal money -- $6 million dollars per school, over three years.

On Tuesday, the principals' union president, Ernest Logan, put out a statement questioning the set-up, saying in part, "We find it curious that public schools would be removed from what should be the responsibility of school superintendents and placed under the management of private entities."

The schools chancellor replied that this is what is best for students at low-performing schools, not the adults.

At several of these outside organizations, officials said they are excited to be part of this school-reform experiment but it is going to be challenging work. Their proposals involve some major changes at these schools, including the curricula, student supports and teachers' training.

The timeframe for getting the program set-up was really delayed, so they do not have much time to get things in place before students arrive.