We’re getting very close to opening the Winter Olympics here in Vancouver, but the weather is hardly wintry. We’re in the middle of unseasonably warm (and wet) weather and some of the events on the local mountains will need to have snow transported in; one ski hill has even been closed to preserve what snow is left for the events. However, this was part of their contingency plan, so all is well (though a little muddy for the spectators). Does your school have a contingency plan in place for a crisis?But do these schools have to close? What’s led up to their unsustainable demise? And how do you avoid some of the elements that’s led to their downfall?
As a former Head of School I was once hired to come in and save a long-established private school. It had operated for years at just a break-even pace with no reserves or long-term plan for the future. I was their third head in three years and they’d just dropped 29 students and key leadership positions had been gutted. The school was on the precipice of an unsustainable financial and operational model. What to do?
Today I want to share proactive strategies for your school’s leadership based on my observations of private schools that have collapsed and my own experience resurrecting a school. This is good reading for public or private schools; new or established schools. Please read on to find out more.
To your success,
Doug Halladay
President
Halladay Education Group
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. In The News
2. Solutions For Your School
3. Why Do Schools Close And What Can You Do To Prevent It?
4. Products At Our Online Store
1. IN THE NEWS
INSIGHT INTO THE CURRENT STATE OF BOARDING AND PRIVATE SCHOOL FINANCES
AdmissionsQuest - It's interesting to see how different kinds of schools, wealthy vs. tuition driven, small vs. large, boarding schools vs. day schools, are working to...
EXPERTS URGE EARLIER START TO TEACHING SCIENCE
EDWeek Updates - Children tend to show relatively little growth in their understanding of science in preschool, but interest in changing that is growing...
2. SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR SCHOOL
(A) STARTING A SCHOOL
Starting a school can be challenging and you never have a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. That’s why you need a team who has experience starting schools in the USA, Canada, and Internationally to help you step-by-step.
(B) STRATEGIC PLANNING
We can lead the development of your school’s Strategic Plan efficiently and effectively. We take the stress out of the process and deliver a plan for your school’s future, which builds consensus, motivates donors, and defines critical priorities for your Board and. No school should be without one.
(C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS
Do you want your school to have the best board possible? Great schools have great boards (can you afford not to have one?). Our full-day governance workshop, in combination with our unique online self-assessment survey, fine-tunes your board’s performance and annual priorities immediately.
(D) SCHOOL EVALUATION
As a Trustee are you sure your school is doing the best it can? A school review is critical to knowing if you’re heading in the right direction. Get the whole picture today with our “In-Depth School Performance Review and Action Plan.”
(E) BUYING AND SELLING SCHOOLS
HEG and our certified Brokerage Associates assist buyers/sellers with the purchase and/or sale of for-profit Private K-12 Schools, Post Secondary Institutions, and Career Colleges in Canada, US, and Internationally. HEG and our Licensed Brokers are experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and advising established schools.
3. WHY DO SCHOOLS CLOSE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT IT?
Watching a school close is distressing. Parents and students are upset; teachers find themselves unemployed in the middle of the school year; and local businesses are left with a void. In some cases it’s a slow death and other times it’s appears to be a sudden decision with little warning.
But what leads to this point of unsustainable operation? What elements of management and leadership are not working, and what can be done at your school to avoid this (and to maximize your performance)?
SUSTAINABLE MODEL
This sounds sacrilegious for non-profits but you need to ensure that your school is in a market that wants your programs. In other words, you need to provide an educational program and ancillary services that your parents and students want; and you need to do it well!
Many schools are either established in communities where a feasibility study is not performed and hope that parents and students will come. Sometimes this works sometimes it doesn’t, and then it’s a desperate slow death of declining enrollment.
Other times established schools either let the quality of their programs decline or they lose sight of what their market wants; which again results in declining enrollment and revenue.
How do you deal with this? If you’re thinking of starting a new school, spend the time and money now to find out what market demand is for the school you envision and whether it’s sustainable (and what you need to invest to do it). We’re completing this right now for three different projects in three different continents.
If you’re an establish school, you need to set up a serious of program benchmarks and measure your stakeholder’s viewpoint on the value and quality of the programs and services you provide. On top of this you need to use this data to develop a strategic plan to maximize your school’s strengths, foresee your threats, reduce your weaknesses, and take advantage of future opportunities and trends. We can do this through a strategic plan.
CAPABLE BOARD LEADERSHIP
In many cases, unsustainable schools have ineffective board leadership. Their hearts are in the right place, but they don’t follow an effective governance model. Many boards spend their time reacting to unexpected changes instead of anticipating and preparing for them. This is called crisis management. Trustees caught off guard and spend a great deal of time and energy "playing catch up" and reacting. They use up precious energy and resources coping with immediate problems with little energy left to anticipate and prepare for the future. This unproductive cycle locks schools into a reactive posture, and the unavoidable.
As the Chair, Trustee, or Senior Administrator of a Private School, does your board experience any of the following:
- Trustee behavior that is unproductive and not aligned with your mission;
- Board agenda that is controlled by crisis rather than a clear vision;
- Board committees that exist only because they have always been there, not because they’re needed;
- No link between budget, tuition setting, or a long-term plan;
- Blurring of boundaries and channels between the roles of the Board and Administration;
- Board commitment greater than you would like it to be and has become too taxing and stressful; - Inability to attract and keep good trustees.
A VISION AND PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Many schools are led by the calendar. What do I mean by this? Boards and Administration make their decisions based on what needs to be dealt with now as part of the typical operation of a school during a school year. If it’s February it must be Open House time. If it’s August it must be time to prepare for the staff and students to return.
Schools that face the anguishing decision to close do not think outside their calendar. They deal with whatever crisis they are facing now, with no time or resources left to look outside their box to rectify their challenges, and focus on long-term improvement.
Now more than ever you need to step back, complete a SWOT analysis of what is and is not working at your school, and develop a short- and long-term plan to rise above your daily crisis and set a course for long-term stability.
It can be done and I’ve done it. Raising academic performance; having a contingency fund and cash reserves in place; increasing enrollment and a waiting list; high staff retention; and board members who want to serve at the school.
But you need to have a vision of where you want the school to be and a mission of “who” you serve, “how” you do it, “what” you provide to your community to do it. And yes, you need a strategic plan to keep you on course and use as a compass and roadmap to guide your board. Without a plan it’s “ready, shoot, aim.” Again, we can support you with developing a plan or a school evaluation to provide you with solutions now to use today.
To find out more about how we can help provide you solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs in more detail.
4. ONLINE STORE
Here are two popular resources to help you either start your own school or develop your own strategic plan more effectively, step-by-step.
(1). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLERS)
Learn how to develop your own Strategic Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in our detailed Workbook and Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD’s. It’s all here to help you develop your own plan.
(2). START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT (#2 BEST SELLER)
Are you still struggling with starting your school? Four experienced school leaders share how they started their own school from the ground up. You’ll also receive our bonus CD on developing your strategic plan. Click here for more details: http://bit.ly/2hjUAn
To your success,
Douglas Halladay
President
