10 GOLDEN RULES FOR STARTING A SCHOOL



Copyright © 2007 Halladay Education Group Inc

Are your School Founders up for the challenge? The mechanics of starting a school can be challenging. In today's complicated environment, the need to work smarter and be ready for the day-one of school opening is critical. With proper planning, founders can be prepared to start the school of their dreams, and manage costs and project development effectively, establishing a school for generations to come. Here's our time-tested rules for starting a school:

RULE 1: CLEAR VISION. Create your vision and mission statement, core values, and educational philosophy for your school. This will drive your decision making and be your lighthouse. Identify the kind of school your market needs and will support, as well as what you want as parents. Ask parents and community leaders for their opinions. If possible, perform a feasibility study to support the process of identifying demand and market.

RULE 2: STEERING COMMITTEE & GOVERNANCE SYSTEM. Form a small working committee of capable peers to do the initial work, including parents and highly regarded stakeholders with financial, legal, leadership, and building experience. It's critical to ensure that each member is on the same page in reference to the vision, publicly and privately. Eventually these same members will likely become your board, so follow effective board governance process. Utilize the strategic plan you'll develop later to set up supporting committees.

RULE 3: INCORPORATION & TAX EXEMPTION. File incorporation/society papers with appropriate Province or State agency. The lawyer on your Steering Committee will deal with this. Establishing incorporation will limit liability in the case of lawsuits, create a stable image, extend the life of the school beyond the founders, and provide an insurable entity. A 3rd party lawyer should be consulted. Submit as early in the process your tax exemption application with appropriate authorities to obtain your non-profit status. You can then begin to solicit tax deductible donations.

RULE 4: STRATEGIC PLAN. Develop your strategic plan at the start, culminating in the later development of the business, financial, and marketing plans. This will be your blue print of how the school is going to start and operate over the next 5 years. Don't try to do everything in the first 5 years unless you have been fortunate enough to find a donor to fund the entire project. This is your chance to lay out, step-by-step, the process for the development of the school. You'll determine the enrollment and financial projections, prioritize staffing, programs, facilities, in a methodical, measurable way. You'll also keep your Steering Committee on track and focused.

RULE 5: BUDGET-FINANCIAL PLAN. Develop your formation and 5 year budget based on the goals of the Strategic Plan. The financial person on your Steering Committee should take responsibility for this. As always project your assumptions conservatively. You should also map out the school's accounting procedures: record keeping, check signing, disbursements, petty cash, bank accounts, record keeping, reconciling bank accounts, and audit committee.

RULE 6: FUNDRAISE. You need to plan your fundraising campaign carefully. Resist the urge to jump in. Develop your capital campaign and case statement methodically and then implement systematically. Let your Development Committee lead this. They say that you should raise at least 50% of the funds before you even announce the campaign. Your strategic plan is important at this stage as it provides potential donors concrete evidence of your vision and where the donor can fit it, and your financial priorities.

RULE 7: LOCATION & FACILITIES. Find your interim/permanent school facility and either purchase or rent/lease, or develop your building plans if you're building your own facility from scratch. The Building Committee will lead this assignment. Check requirements of building zoning, class size, fire - building codes, and teacher-student ratios, etc. You should also take into account your mission-vision-philosophy and the learning resources. Rental space for the classroom can be obtained from unused schools, churches, park buildings, community centers, apartment complexes, and estates. When renting, consider the availability of additional space for expansion, and obtaining a lease with at least one year's notice for cancellation, with opportunity for alteration of the building and some protection against major capital expenses and a long-term arrangement with specified rent levels.

RULE 8: STAFFING Through a search process defined by a detailed position profile based on your mission-vision, select your Head of School and other senior staff. Conduct your search as widely as possible (don't just hire someone you know). Write job descriptions, personal files, benefits, and pay scales for your staff and faculty and administration. Your Head will drive the enrollment campaign and marketing, and the initial decisions for resources and staffing. When hiring staff, make sure they understand the mission and how much work it takes to start a school. It's invaluable to attract great faculty; in the end it's the staff that'll make or break the school. To attract great staff you need to ensure that you have a competitive compensation package.

RULE 9: MARKETING AND RECRUITING You'll need to market for students, that's your lifeblood. Members of the Marketing Committee and Head need to develop a Marketing-Enrollment Plan to promote the school. This includes: public meetings, newspaper ads - inserts, mail drops, radio, community TV, and coffee sessions. You'll need to you're your message based on your mission-vision. You'll need to design your own brochure, communication materials, web site, and set up a mailing list to keep interested parents and donors in touch with progress. Open your school office and phones, and have the Head of School begin admissions interviews and tours.

RULE 10: INFRASTRUCTURE Your Head of School and senior staff will put together the critical internal elements of a successful school: insurance, educational and extra-curricular programs, uniforms, timetable, handbooks, contracts, student management systems, reporting, policy, traditions, etc. Do not leave the important things until the last minute. Set your structure on day 1.

Now it's opening day. Welcome your new parents and students and begin your traditions. Start off with a something memorable, bringing in dignitaries, or having a family BBQ. Start to set up memberships in national, provincial, and state private school associations.