Starting a private school is a lengthy process. Fortunately for you there's absolutely no need to re-invent the wheel. Plenty of folks have wanted to start their own school and have done the same thing you are thinking of doing. You will find much inspiration and practical advice from their examples.
In fact, you will find it extremely useful browsing the history section of any established private school's website. Some of these stories will inspire you, while others will make you question your intelligence for undertaking such a project.
Difficulty: Hard
Time Required: About Two Years
Here's How:
Identify Your Niche
18-24 months before opening: Determine what kind of school the local market needs. (pry,secondary, day, boarding, Montessori, etc.) Ask parents and teachers for their opinions. If you can afford it, hire a marketing company to do a survey. It will be worth it.
Once you determine what kind of school you will be opening, then decided how many grades will actually open the school. Your long range plans may call for a K-12 school, but it makes more sense to start small and grow solidly. Get the primary division established, then add the upper grades over time as your resources permit.
Form a Committee
24 months: Form a small committee of talented supporters to begin the preliminary work. Include parents with financial, legal, management and building experience. Ask for and get a commitment of time and financial support from each member. This important planning work which will demand much time and energy. These people can become the core of your first board of directors.
Co-opt additional paid talent, if you can afford it, to guide you through the various challenges, indeed, road blocks, which will inevitably confront you.
Incorporate
18 months: File incorporation papers with your Secretary of State. The lawyer on your committee should be able to handle this for you. There are costs associated with the filing, but he should donate his legal services to the cause.
This is a critical step in your long term fund raising. People will give money much more readily to a legal entity or institution as opposed to a person. If you have already decided to establish your own proprietary school, you will be on your own when it comes to raising money.
Develop a Business Plan
18 months: Develop a business plan. This should be a blue print of how the school is going to operate over its first five years. Always be conservative in your projections. Do not try to do everything in the first five years unless you have been lucky enough to find a donor to fund the program in its entirety.
Develop a Budget
18 months: Develop a budget for 5 years. This is the detailed look at income and expenses. The financial person on your committee should be responsible for developing this critical document. As always project your assumptions conservatively and factor in some wriggle room should things go wrong.
You need to develop two budgets: an operating budget and a capital budget. For example, a swimming pool or an arts facility would fall under the capital side, while planning for social security expenses would be an operating budget expense. Seek expert advice.
Find a Home
20 months: Locate a facility to house the school or develop building plans if you will be creating your own facility from scratch. Your architect and contractor committee members should spearhead this assignment.
Think carefully before you leap at acquiring that wonderful old mansion or vacant office space. Schools require good locations for many reasons, not the least of which is safety. Older buildings can be money pits. Investigate modular buildings which will be greener as well.
Tax Exempt Status
16 months: Apply for tax exempt 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. Again, your lawyer can handle this application. Submit it as early in the process as you can so that you can begin to solicit tax deductible contributions.
People and businesses will definitely look upon your fund raising efforts much more favorably if you are a bona fide tax-exempt organization.
Tax exempt status might also help with local taxes as well, though I do recommend your paying local taxes whenever or wherever possible, as a gesture of goodwill.
Choose Key Staff Members
16 months: Identify your Head of School and your Business Manager. Conduct your search as widely as possible. Write job descriptions for these and all your staff and faculty positions. You will be looking for self-starters who enjoy building something from scratch.
Once IRS approvals are in place, hire the head and the business manager. They need the stability and focus of a steady job to get your school open.
Solicit Contributions
14 months: Secure your initial funding - donors and subscriptions. You will need to plan your campaign carefully so that you can build momentum, yet are able to keep pace with actual funding needs.
Appoint a dynamic leader from your planning group to ensure the success of these initial efforts. Bake sales and car washes are not going to yield the large amount of capital which you will need. Well-planned appeals to foundations and local philanthropists will pay off. If you can afford it, hire a professional to help you write proposals and identify donors.
Identify Your Faculty Requirements
14 months: It is critical to attract skilled faculty. Do so by agreeing on competitive compensation. Sell them on the vision of your new school. (The chance to shape something is always appealing!) While it is still over a year until you open, line up as many faculty as you can. Do not leave this important job until the last minute.
An agency such as Carney, Sandoe & Associates will be helpful at this stage in finding and vetting teachers for you.
Spread the Word
14 months: Advertise for students. Promote the new school through service club presentations and other community groups. Design a Web site and set up a mailing list to keep interested parents and donors in touch with your progress.
Marketing your school is something which has to be done consistently, appropriately and effectively. If you can afford it, hire an expert to get this important job done.
Open for Business
9 months: Open the school office and begin admissions interviews and tours of your facilities. January before a fall opening is the latest you can do this.
Ordering instructional materials, planning curricula and devising a master timetable are just some of the tasks your professionals will have to attend to.
Orient and Train Your Faculty
1 month: Have faculty in place to get school ready for opening. The first year at a new school requires endless meetings and planning sessions for the academic staff. Get your teachers on the job no later than August 1 in order to be prepared for opening day.
Depending on how lucky you are at attracting good teachers, you may have your hands full with this aspect of the project. Take the time needed to sell your new teachers on the school's vision. They need to buy into it, or else their negative attitudes could create a host of problems.
Opening Day
Make this a soft opening at which you welcome your students and any interested parents at a brief assembly. Then off to classes. Teaching is what your school will be known for. It needs to begin promptly on Day 1.
The formal opening ceremonies should be a festive occasion. Schedule it for a few weeks after the soft opening. Faculty and students will have sorted themselves out by then. A feeling of community will be apparent. The public impression which your new school will make will be a positive one. Invite local, regional and state leaders, and, of course, the politicians.
Stay Informed.
Join national and state private school associations! You will find incomparable resources. The networking opportunities for you and your staff are virtually limitless. Plan on attending association conferences in year 1 so that your school is visible. That will ensure a nice pile of applications for vacant positions in the following academic year.
Tips:
Be conservative in your projections of revenues and expenses even if you have an angel who is paying for everything.
Make sure real estate agents are aware of the new school. Families moving into the community always ask about schools! Arrange open houses and gatherings to promote your new school.
Submit your school's website to sites like this one so that parents' and teachers can begin to be aware of its existence.
Always plan your facilities with growth and expansion in mind. Be sure to keep them green as well. A sustainable school will last many years. One which is planned without any consideration of sustainability simply will fail.
What You Need:
A Planning Committee
A Head of School
A Business Manager
A Business Plan
Dynamic, effective fund raising
Professional marketing
FOR MORE DETAIL, CONTACT ROYALKONSULTS EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, 01-8220521;08033461576. MAIL:royalkonsults1@yahoo.com
2 comments:
Excellent write-up! You advised that funding could be sourced through a well packaged appeal to certain foundations. Would you be kind enough to let us in on a few of such foundations that will be interested in investing in worthwhile effort at establishing a school.
Yes, you can get funding if you business plan for the business is logical and acceptable to your would-be investor.This is why you need experts to package this for you!
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