SCHOOL
FORMATION 101
Our team at Halladay Education Group is recognized as the global leader in school formation. Our team has
been involved in the development of more than 100 private schools in the USA,
Canada, and internationally, and we understand the fundamentals of starting a
 successful private school from the ground
up. We recognize that starting a private school is a lengthy process.
However, there's no need to re-invent the wheel. People like you have started
their own school and have been able to do the same thing you are thinking of
doing now. Every school you see today started with a bold vision and courage
to do what many would have told them was impossible. But it's not. You should
find inspiration from these schools.
With proper pre-planning and
controls in place over the projects life cycle, founders can be prepared to
start the school of their vision, and manage costs and project development
efficiently and effectively, establishing the foundation for generations to
come.
Here's a guide to moving
forward with the development of your new school:
Step 1: Develop A
Vision For Your School
Determine your niche and type
of school your local market needs and will support (e.g., K-7, 8-12, day,
boarding, single gender, IB, Montessori, University Preparatory). Ask parents
and community leaders for their opinions. If possible, hire a consulting firm
to perform a market survey to support the process of the development of the
school to determine market demand by grade and program elements. You can only
start a new school once, and first impression in the marketplace is critical
to the school's long-term success.
Step 2: Form Steering
Committee
About two years before opening
for operation, you should form a small working committee of capable,
dedicated cohorts to set in motion the foundational work. Include parents and
highly respected community stakeholders with financial, legal, management and
building experience to sustain the process. Ask for and get a commitment from
each member as this is important work that will demand much of each member's
time and energy. It is critical to ensure that each member is on the same
page in reference to the vision, both publicly and privately. You always want
everyone to be on the same page, and not distracted from your vision or goals.
Step 3: Incorporation
& Tax Exemption
File incorporation papers with
the appropriate Province or State agency. The lawyer on your Steering
Committee should be deal with this. By establishing incorporation, it will
limit liability in the case of lawsuits, present a stable image, extend the
life of the school beyond the founders, and provide an insurable entity for
the school. A 3rd party lawyer should always be consulted. Types of schools
include: (1) For-Profit status allows for specific ownership of the
resources, profit-making, and liquidation of resources for-profit. The owner
has complete control, with the parents taking the role of consumers; (2) Non
-Profit status allows for federal and/or state tax-exempt status,
solicitation of tax deductible gifts, and solicitation of gifts from
foundations. It also helps when enlisting volunteer help from the community.
Some non-profits operate as parent cooperatives, with parents of enrolled
children making up the majority of the Board. Others have a Board made up of
members appointed by the founding members of the initial society; apart from
the parent community; (3) Sole Proprietorship requires no incorporation and
no systematic representation of procedures and resources. Because of
increasing liability of schools, a sole proprietorship carries more risk and
should be well insured; and (4) Non-Profit Foundation may be established by a
for-profit, under strict legal supervision. The non-profit foundation
supports the for-profit to provide fundraising capability.
Apply for tax exemption from
appropriate authorities for your non-profit status. 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.
Step 4: Develop
Strategic Plan
Develop the strategic plan.
This of course will culminate in the subsequent development of the business,
financial, and marketing plans. This will be your 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. This is your chance to lay out, step-by-step, the process for the
sequential development of the school. You will determine the enrollment and
financial projections; you will prioritize the staffing, programs,
facilities, in a methodical, measurable fashion. Remember the old adage,
"Those that fail to plan, plan to fail." You will also keep your
Steering Committee on track and focused on the mission of the school.
Step 5: Develop Budget
Develop a five year budget
based on the goals of the Strategic Plan. This is a comprehensive review of
the projected revenues (AR) and expenses (AP). The financial person(s) on
your Steering Committee should take responsibility for developing this
important plan. As always project your assumptions conservatively and factor
in a contingency should the financial reality change from the projections. You
should also map out the school's bookkeeping procedures (e.g., record
keeping, check signing, disbursements, petty cash, bank accounts, record
keeping, reconciling bank accounts, audit committee), and accounting cycles.
It should be noted, that you don't have to use a full-time employer as your
school's accountant; it can be more economical to contract out.
Step 6: Fundraise
You will need to plan your
development campaign carefully so that you build momentum yet are able to
keep pace with actual funding needs. 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. Of course, it will also drive your enrollment as
parent's see how their child fits in.
Step 7: Choose School
Location & Resources
Locate a facility to
accommodate the school (purchase or rent) or develop building plans if you will
be creating your own facility from the ground up. The Building Committee
member(s) should spearhead this assignment. Check requirements of local
social and health services, building and zoning, health record keeping, class
size, food service, fire code, building code, and teacher-student ratios,
etc. You should also take into consideration the learning resources,
furniture, computers, etc. needed for start-up. In addition, you will need to
begin thinking about the outdoor environment and natural habitat. Rental
space for the classroom is frequently obtained from schools, churches, park
buildings, community centers, apartment complexes, private school buildings,
nursery schools, and estate mansions. When renting, consider the availability
of additional space for expansion at the same site. Look closely at tenants
with whom you may have to co-exist. Try to obtain 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 (three to five years). Review the
site, keeping in mind zoning, fire, and health regulations, before finalizing
classroom design.
Step 8: Select Key
Staff Members
Through a search process select
your Head of School and your Business Manager (or sub-contract a local
accountant to deal with AP and AR). Conduct your search as widely as
possible. Write job descriptions, benefits, and pay scales for your staff and
subsequent faculty and administrative positions. You will be looking for
self-starters who enjoy building something from scratch. Your Head will drive
the enrollment campaign, marketing and promotions, and the initial decisions
of classroom-based resources and staffing.
Step 9: Promotions
At this step you need to begin
to aggressively market for students. Members of the Steering Committee and
Head need to devise a Marketing Plan to promote the new school. This could
include: public meetings, newspaper ads and inserts, mail drops, radio,
community TV, and coffee sessions. You will also need to design your
brochure, communication materials (e.g., business cards, letterhead), web
site, and set up a mailing list to keep interested parents and donors in
touch with your progress.
Step 10: Open Your
Doors
Open the school office and
phones, and have the Head of School begin admissions interviews and tours of
your facilities. Acquire insurance protection against business interruption,
liability, boiler malfunction, building casualties, etc.
Step 11: Select
Faculty & Administrative Staff
It is critical to attract
capable faculty; in the end it is staff that will make or break the school -
reputations can be formed so quickly in a school environment. To attract great
staff you need to ensure that they buy into the vision and have a competitive
compensation package. Also, you need to develop the Staff Handbook,
contracts, and structure for personnel files. While it is still a year from
the school opening, line up as many faculty and senior leadership positions
as you can. Do not leave this important job until the last minute. Remember
these staff members will also be your ambassadors for enrollment and will be
in demand.
Step 12: Orient &
Train Faculty
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.
Step 13: Opening Day
Welcome your students! Begin
your traditions. Explore membership in national, provincial, and state
private school associations! Start off with a bang. Have dignitaries there to
cut the ribbon, have a family BBQ; make it special.
Next Step
If you are considering starting your own private school and
would like more information on our school formation services, please contact Doug Halladay directly by
sending an email to info@halladayeducationgroup.com
or calling HEG at 1-604-868-0002.
To your success,
Douglas Halladay
President
Halladay Education Group
P.S. Don't forget to go to our
secure Online
Store to invest in our Strategic
Planning or Start-A-School
Toolkits.They're affordable and practical.
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Showing posts with label start a school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label start a school. Show all posts
Thursday, June 21, 2012
How To Start A New Private School
Friday, March 23, 2007
Halladay Education Group’s Inner Circle eZine Newsletter - March 23, 2007
Hi
I wish I could tell you about my updated website, but it’s about 99% there, and should be up by next Monday.
Enjoy today’s eZine,
Doug Halladay
President
Halladay Education Group Inc.
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com
http://www.HalladayEducationGroupInnerCircle.blogspot.com
================================
In This Issue
================================
1. Why Do You Need A Strategic Plan?
2. Starting a School – Organizing a Well-Functioning First Board
==================================
1. Why Do You Need a Strategic Plan?
==================================
Many School and Non-Profit leaders ask me if their organization really needs a strategic plan. It can be a lot of work and expense to an organization, and can pull resources away from every-day operations. My simple response is, “would you build a house without a blueprint?” NO! Continuing on, here are a number of other compelling reasons why your organization needs a strategic plan and can be easily justified.
1.
The most compelling reason for undertaking a strategic plan, and the most difficult to deal with, is when the mission of the organization (its purpose) is brought under question. Any time you have thoughts of changing the basic mission of the organization you will have a need to initiate the strategic planning process.
2. ORGANIZATIONAL UNCERTAINTIES:
Schools and non-profit organizations have to deal often with changing circumstances around them and make adjustments less traumatic than changing their mission. Although the organization’s purpose may be clear, the environments in which they do business (internally and externally) change, calling for modifications in how they do things. The strategic planning process allows leaders to hypothesize, peer into the future, and bring to the surface the uncertainties, making more informed decisions on the ways of moving forward.
3. DECISION MAKING:
Boards, Principals, Heads of School and their staff all need an inclusive and understandable basis for day-to-day decision making. Decisions in governance and management are more consistent when made purposely, with full examination of possible future consequences, within the framework of a set of determined priorities, and in harmony with the perspective of all of the organization’s programs and levels of authority. Strategic planning can give decisions that foundation.
4. FUND RAISING:
Most schools and non-profits need to attract donated money. A successful fund raising plan rests on a realistic determination of the funding needed and a persuasive statement of why people should contribute support. These essentials emerge best from strategic planning. Comprehensive planning is one of the key marks of readiness needed when undertaking the commitment that a major capital campaign requires.
5. RESOURCE ALLOCATION:
All organizations must delegate their resources and constantly be watchful in expending their revenues and assigning personnel. Board members of non-profits have a fiduciary role in financial responsibility. The approved budgets are financial plans for the short-term; strategic planning enables boards to enact sensible resource allocation over longer periods of several budget cycles.
6. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:
The criteria used to measure and evaluate how well an organization is doing are established through strategic planning. In deed, there is no way to tell whether an organization is achieving its purpose unless somewhere along the way those purposes are clearly stated. Hence, your strategic plan forces school leaders to deal with the ‘means’ and ‘ends’ of the organization and whether they have been achieved and to what degree.
7. ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS:
Schools function as a team – the board, the Principal, and the staff. The strategic planning process magnifies team effectiveness, revealing the focus needed to be put on leadership. Planning measures board commitment and the fulfillment of its responsibilities and the mission, board support and oversight of the staff, and any micro-management or invasion of the staff’s management and operational duties. It will pinpoint the need for change in board composition, executive leadership, the organization, or the procedures needed to achieve the goals of the plan.
If you would like more information about Strategic Planning call me at 1-604-868-0002 or emailinfo@halladayeducationgroup.com , or go to: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/services.php?sub=strategic#topheader
==================================
2. Starting a School – Organizing a Well-Functioning First Board
==================================
When you are starting your school and shifting from an initial Steering Committee to a structured Board, you need to ensure that your Governance Model is based on sound fundamentals. You need to understand right from the beginning the roles, boundaries, and terms of reference for your board and committees...the critical distinction from governance and the administrator’s role, management. Though the 2 parties must work in mutual synergy and have an open, trusting relationship, the role of the board must be kept clear and distinct from that of the staff. But what is the role of the Trustees:
1). FOLLOW ONE-VOICE PRINCIPLE:
The board members have the authority to speak in their governance capacity only when attending official board meetings. When the board does speak, it speaks with 1 voice, rather than multiple voices of the individual trustees.
2). SIZE AND COMPOSITION:
There is no right answer to the question of how large a board should be. However, there is 1 clear trend toward smaller boards and toward structuring the board according to needs identified by the organization’s strategic plan. Hence, you will need enough members to fill your initial board committees, understanding that non-board members can also serve on these committees. You will need diversity, knowledge, skills to understand and evaluate options, and skills in starting the school (e.g., lawyer, accountant, realtor, educator).
3. BOARD MEETINGS:
Meetings that are carefully structured and efficiently conducted will help trustees feel that their time is well spent and the board adds value to the organization. Focusing agendas on strategic issues rather than on “administrivia” and listening reports.
4). COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES:
Subgroups of the board are critical to the successful implementation of the plan. However, for them to work well, each group needs to have a clear charge, and the board must resist the temptation to repeat committee discussions when their proposals reach the board. Additionally, the goals for the committees should be driven the strategic plan, with performance benchmarks laid out to be reviewed.
If you would like more information about Board Governance call me at 1-604-868-0002 or emailinfo@halladayeducationgroup.com , or go to: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/services.php?sub=online_assessments#topheader
================================
================================
Best newspaper headlines of years past.
1. Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
2. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
3. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
4. Drunks Get Nine Months in Violin Case
5. Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
6.
7. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
8. British Left Waffles on
9. Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
10. Bush Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead
11. Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
12. Miners Refuse to Work After Death
13. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
14. Stolen Painting Found by Tree
15. Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
16. War Dims Hope for Peace
17. If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
18. Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
19. Man Struck by Lightning Faces
20. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
21 Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Smile and enjoy your day.
=======================================================
To your success,
Douglas Halladay
President and Founder
P: 604.868.0002/F: 868.472.8737/Email: info@halladayeducationgroup.com
www.HalladayEducationGroup.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. If you’d like more information about how Halladay Education Group can help you with the following services, please email info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call us at 604-868-0002:
- Head of School Searches and Evaluations
- Coaching for Chairs and Heads
- Markets, Recruiting, and Admissions
- International Development Projects
P.P.S. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE MY ECOURSE ON STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFITS?
So far, more than +100 educators and non-profit leaders have signed up for my complimentary 10-part email mini-eCourse entitle, "Strategic Planning: The 10 Steps to Success." If you're not one of them, do it now. It provides a clear overview of the fundamentals needed to develop your own strategic plan and many secret short-cuts to ensure that you’re on track.
Sign up here by emailing the following address and putting in your subject, “Sign me up for the 10-part Strategic Planning mini-eCourse”:
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