The Trusted Authority for Starting, Improving, & Selling Private Schools: Thursday, August 9, 2007

Hi Inner Circle Member:

How has your week been?

Last weekend I was down at my cabin lazily lounging around the backyard, with our kids and friends. You know the type: friends around, barbeque, golfing, a few beers, swimming down at the beach, and good laughs.

I love those kinds of week-ends.

And then, we all have to get back into the routine.

This brings me on to my point. Many of you generously sent me your questions about how to start, operate, and lead your school and/or non-profit more effectively. I’m going to answer a few of your questions in today’s eZine.

Enjoy today’s eZine,

Doug Halladay

President and Founder
Halladay Education Group Inc.

www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

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In This Issue

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1. Services You Can Use

2. Products You Will Want To Invest In

3. Questions From Inner Circle Members

4. Inner Circle Thought of the Week

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1. Services You Can Use

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Do you want your private-independent school or non- or for-profit to operate more efficiently, do you want your board to govern effectively, to develop your own strategic plan, or start your own school? If so, my services should be able help your organization. Please email us at info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call us at 604-868-0002 to find out more about how I can help you with:

Get all the details here: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/services.php

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2. Products You Will Want To Invest In

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Do you want straight shooting information products that can help you start or lead your school on non-profit more effectively? These two product categories can help.

(A). "Strategic Planning Toolkit: 10 Steps to Success!!" (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn How To Develop Your Own Strategic Plan Like The Pro's With This Easy To Follow, Step-By-Step, All-In-One Strategic Planning Toolkit. Get all the details here:

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/stratgic_planning_toolkit.php

(B). "Inner Circle Webinar Series -- Secrets of Starting A School From The Trenches” (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your own for- or non-profit K-12 School, College, University, or Institute? You're not alone. I share with you how to start a school from the viewpoint of those who have been in the trenches and understand how to put a school together efficiently, and cost effectively. These include:

“Independent School Formation: The Critical First Steps"
“9 Secrets To Starting A US Charter School”
“8 Golden Rules of Starting a Junior School”
“Starting a Successful Private Senior School from the Ground Up”
“10 Steps To A Winning Strategic Plan”
“The Whole Enchilada - All 5 Webinars at 40% Off”

Get all the details here: http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/webinaroverview.php

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3. Questions From Inner Circle Members

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QUESTION #1. My children are gifted learners whose learning styles are not being met by the school they attend. We know other parents who are in the same situation. What do we need to do to start a private school? – DM, Detroit, Michigan

Whew, that is a big question, but one I am asked daily. Parents out there know when their child is happy in school, feel challenged, and are learning to their own personal level of excellence. When it is not happening, everybody in the house knows it. Every private school you see today whose mission serves a specific sector of the learning community (e.g., dyslexia, gifted, prep, arts, single gender, ESL), usually started from very humble beginnings. But they all started with a group of dedicated founders who zealously believed in their vision of a school where their son or daughter could thrive.

Here are my 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.

If you would like more information about STARTING A SCHOOL, call me at 1-604-868-0002 or email me at info@halladayeducationgroup.com

Or get more details here:

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/school_ser_form.php

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4. Inner Circle Thought of the Week

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REASONS FOR NEVER SAYING “NEVER” ==> FORECASTS…

"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -- Dr. Lee DeForest, (Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television)

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us," --
Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible," -- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper," -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." - - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics , Yale University - 1929.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented," -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899