The Trusted Authority for Starting, Improving, & Selling Private Schools

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Field of Dreams

Hi Inner Circle Member:

For those of you who are hockey fans, you will know that my hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks did not make the NHL playoffs this year. They lost 6 of their last 7 playoff games and finished 1 point from qualifying for the playoffs…sigh!! For the most part, Canadians are passionate about their hockey, and Vancouver is no different. However, I have quickly responded and I am now cleaning off my golf clubs and keeping an eye on the Masters Golf tournament that starts this Thursday.

As you know, my firm specializes in helping founders start schools – in Canada, USA, and internationally. I will make an announcement shortly about the team of associate consultants who are joining my firm who have started a combined +25 schools in 10 different countries, using Canadian, US, and IB curriculum, and 8 different accrediting agencies. Keep an eye on your email for this exciting announcement.

Today in my eNewsletter I am going to talk you about avoiding the Field of Dreams response in starting your school. I will talk to about doing your homework and implementing a Feasibility Study to gauge market demand for your educational programs.

Enjoy the eNewsletter,

Doug Halladay
President and Founder
Halladay Education Group Inc.

www.HalladayEducationGroup.com

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In This Issue

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1. In The News

2. Services Your School Needs

3. Field of Dreams

4. Products To Invest In To Start And Lead Your School

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1. In The News

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Sacramento County explores boarding school for foster youths

Sacramento Bee - CA, USA

Gordon is studying whether the Sacramento County Office of Education can open a boarding school for foster youth modeled after the San Pasqual Academy in...

Waldorf School nearing max capacity

Aspen Times - Aspen,CO,USA

“There are now more than 1000 independent Waldorf schools and 1400 independent Waldorf kindergartens located in approximately sixty countries throughout the ...

New school taking in many from Nease High

Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville,FL,USA

Jim Dalton, father of an eighth-grader at Palmer Catholic Academy, said he had looked into private schools such as Bishop Kenny High and St. Joseph's...

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2. Services Your School Needs

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>>> (A) STARTING YOUR OWN SCHOOL

Starting a school can be very challenging and you never have a 2nd chance to make a first impression. This is why you need a firm that has experience starting schools in USA and Canada. Our services include:

1. One-Day Comprehensive Overview Session and Report

2. Formal Feasibility Study

3. Detailed Business Plan Development

4. Full Turn-Key School Formation Services From Start To Finish

6. Ongoing Consulting Services and Retainer

7. Ongoing Management and Operations Services

If you would like more information about my services and range of fees related to help start your school, please call me at 1-604-868-0002, email me at info@halladayeducationgroup.com, or click on the following link to download my brochure outlining services and fees:

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/Overview_School_Formation_Fees_Services.pdf

>>> (B) Strategic Planning

Do you want a plan to improve your school? Then you need a Strategic Plan. I can develop a comprehensive Plan that will build consensus, motivate donors, and define critical priorities and strategies for your Board and Administration to improve your school.

Click on the following link to download my brochure on our Strategic Planning process, or call me at 1-604-868-0002, or email me at info@halladayeducationgroup.com Click on the following link to download my firm’s brochure outlining Strategic Planning services:

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/heg_strategic_planning_services-1.pdf

>>> (C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

Do you want your school or non-profit to have better leadership? If so, my full-day governance workshop and online survey helps your trustees to fine-tune their performance and refocus their mandate. Please email me at info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call us at 604-868-0002 to find out more about how we can help you. Click on the following link to download my brochure

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/Board%20Governance%20Workshop%20%26%20Fax%20Back%20Form.pdf

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3. Field of Dreams

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Joanne Fritz, with About.com, has a great web site and information on how to start a non-profit. On here site she remarks that the number of U.S. non-profits has grown at twice the rate of for-profit organizations. There are an estimated 1.4 million charities and it is quite likely that someone already has your idea.

For anyone who wants to start a non-profit private school, my advice is form your non-profit status as soon as possible and apply for your 501(c)(3) status. However, before rushing in, you should spend time developing your:

Mission and Vision Statements;
Guiding Core Values;
Educational philosophy and programs;
Your Steering Committee and sense of your leadership model and how many directors you want and their terms;
And most importantly, a Feasibility Study to determine if there really is a demand for your school.

My advice is to avoid the Field of Dreams approach. If you recall the Kevin Costner’s movie, he built a baseball diamond in his corn field and expected players to show up. In his case it did work (or it would have been a short movie), but I recommend that you implement a formal/statistical survey to gauge demand; grade-by-grade, gender, with or without financial aid. You want to avoid Kevin’s approach -- it does not work for schools. Many rush in and buy land, start fundraising, or form their society before knowing what the demand is for their school. You should avoid this at all costs.

My firm can help you with your feasibility study, by either a mail in, online, and/or phone surveys. We develop and implement the survey tool, and review the results and to make very detailed recommendations about:

Enrollment, Stages of Development, Timelines, Marketing and Admissions, Operations/Management services, formation and operation costs (e.g., financial - ---Proformas, services, costs, staffing, resources);
Appropriate Educational Program/Curriculum, class size, extra-curricular programs;
Stages of Formation and grade level configuration;
Accrediting agency;
School Organizational Structure and Leadership/Governance Model;
Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff needed for each level, salary, standards;
Facility and land needed (Instruction, Administration, Co-curricular)
Construction Cost Estimate for school building(s) and F.F.E;
Provide recommendation regarding viability of education in the region.
Market Demand and Support for School (grade-by-grade, gender, region);
Financial Projections, including expected:

Enrollment fees in comparison to any private school in the region;
Salary structure of academic / administrative/ professional support staff;
Annual operation and maintenance cost during the 1st five years of operation;
Annual revenue during the 1st five years of operation;
Annual expenditure for start-up and during the 1st five years of operation;
Cash flow surplus/shortfall during the 1st five years of operation;
School formation and operational budget;

If you still want to rush in and apply for your 501(c) (3) Status, you must file the IRS Form 1023 which is the Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. You can get a copy of this form plus instructions for filling it out, and other helpful IRS publications, by calling 800-TX-FORM, visiting your local IRS office. However, you need to be aware that the IRS estimates it takes an average person more than four hours to learn about the form, and another eight hours to fill it in and return it to the IRS. You may want to hire a lawyer well versed in non-profit work to help you at this point.

A 501(c) (3) non-profit is exempt from federal income tax if it has these purposes:

Charitable
Religious
Educational
Scientific
Literary
Testing for public safety
Fosters amateur sports competition
Prevents cruelty to children or animals.

501(c) (3) organizations may receive grants from foundations; and donations to them are tax-deductible for the donors. Get the hourly rate the lawyer will charge set in advance. If you are a do-it-your-selfer, or your organization has few resources, avoid lawyers who have high fees and need to support lavish offices.

We can help you with your Feasibility Study. For more information please or email us at info@halladayeducationgroup.com

If you would like to comment on this eNewsletter story please click on the following link and add your comments on my blog.

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4. Products To Invest In To Start And Lead Your School

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Do you want effective tools to help start and manage your school? These 2 products will make a difference.

>> (A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn How To Develop Your Own Strategic Plan Like An Expert With This Easy To Follow, Step-By-Step, All-In-One Strategic Planning Toolkit and Manual. Get all the details here:

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

>> (B). WEBINAR SERIES – DISCOVER FROM EXPERTS HOW TO START A SCHOOL (#2 BEST SELLER)

Are you still struggling with starting your School, College, University, or Institute? You are not alone. I share with you how to start a school from the words of those who have been in the trenches and understand how to put a school together efficiently and cost effectively. These include:

1. Independent School Formation: The Critical First Steps

2. 9 Secrets To Starting A US Charter School

3. 8 Golden Rules of Starting a Junior School

4. Starting a Successful Private Senior School from the Ground Up

5. 10 Steps To A Winning Strategic Plan

6. 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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To your success,

Douglas Halladay
President and Founder
Halladay Education Group Inc.

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P.S. Do not forget to check out our secure Online Store for ways to invest in improving or starting your own school or non-profit. Here is the link:

--> http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/products/products.php

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Sunday, March 30, 2008

A Legacy That Makes A Difference

Hi Inner Circle Member:

I just got back from my trip to San Francisco and Napa (without my luggage!). The weather was fantastic with blue skies and temperatures of up to 75 F. Back home in Vancouver they had a brief snowfall!! I lucked out at the car rental agency and was upgraded to a Mustang convertible, which allowed me to get a tan driving to my meetings. ;-)

While down in the Bay area I had the opportunity to meet with two unique education groups, The New Technology Foundation (NTF) and Wingspan Partnerships. Their websites are:

>> www.newtechfoundation.org

>> http://www.wingspanpartnerships.org

NTF is a foundation whose mission specializes in helping public schools and non-profits put together technology-based schools that focus on skills for the 21st century and project-based learning.

Wingspan Partnership’s mission is to narrow the education gap by developing and supporting partnerships between public and private schools. Jacqueline Smethurst and David Drinkwater are committed to enhancing the lives and learning of students and offer guidance and financial support for schools, with a special emphasis on bringing resources to underserved communities through school-to-school partnerships.

I met with Jacqueline in beautiful and historic downtown Napa and chatted with her about her new organization. Jacqueline is an experienced and thoughtful former Head of School and recently applied her vision of school partnerships at Sage Hills School in Newport Beach. In our conversations it got me thinking about the new schools I help start and their mission, as well as schools I develop strategic plans for. Most schools focus on the learner as their primary focus and touch on service as part of their educational philosophy. But what if schools expanded their mission and vision to develop learners that had a lasting impact on their community?

Last week I talked about what goes into a great mission statement. Today in my eNewsletter I am going to talk about how your school, new or established, should develop a mission that creates a lasting legacy that impacts your community for generations.

Enjoy the eNewsletter,

Doug Halladay

President and Founder
Halladay Education Group Inc.

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In This Issue

================================

1. In The News

2. Services That Your School Needs

3. A Legacy That Makes A Difference

4. Products To Invest In To Start And Lead Your School

==================================

1. In The News

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Frustrated Neighbors Say School Big Enough

For two decades, some north Capitol Hill neighbours have grudgingly accepted the presence of a nearby private elementary school, putting up with playground noise that disrupts their...

Consultants Help Modernize Arab Schools

Education Week News - Bethesda, MD, USA

The UAE has also begun a pilot project to start charter schools in its capital city, Abu Dhabi. “It is absolutely wise to appoint well-known experts from ...

Harvard Rearcher: Education Key to Longevity

Voice of America – USA

She says one important factor in people's health is the amount of education they have. In her most recent paper, Meara looked at data from the United States...

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2. Services That Your School Needs

==================================

>>> (A) STARTING YOUR OWN SCHOOL

1. One-Day Comprehensive Overview Session and Report

2. Formal Feasibility Study

3. Detailed Business Plan Development

4. Full Turn-Key School Formation Services From Start To Finish

6. Ongoing Consulting Services and Retainer

7. Ongoing Management and Operations Services

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/Overview_School_Formation_Fees_Services.pdf

>>> (B) Strategic Planning

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/heg_strategic_planning_services-1.pdf

>>> (C) BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/Board%20Governance%20Workshop%20%26%20Fax%20Back%20Form.pdf

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3. A Legacy That Makes A Difference

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Last week I talked about your school’s vision and mission statements. Your vision statement answers the question where will your school be in five year and your mission statement explains the purpose of your school. The mission should evolve from your guiding core values. By seeking the why as it emerges from core values a school can define its points of distinction and better communicate the experience it offers.

An effective mission statement should answer the following questions:

1. What function does the organization perform (need)?

2. Who does the organization primarily perform for?

3. How does the organization plan to go about its business?

The first question is critical – what function does your school perform? Yes, it is about providing a quality education, but it can be much more. It should inspire your students, parents, and staff to establish a lasting legacy in their local and global community. For example, Sage Hills School partnered with local public school students and staff to support student learning in low income areas. They wanted Sage Hill students and staff to feel empowered in making a continual difference in the lives of their community. Note, this is NOT just a once a year feel good experience, it is a long-term project with a scope and sequence.

Many of the nation’s most respected private schools were founded with a philosophy of contributing to the public good. Many schools involve students in community service. However, Wingspan Partnerships believes that educators have a role to play in education for all. “We believe that public purpose should be a central value in all schools, public as well as private, and that we all have a particular responsibility for the education of the underserved.”

What impact is your school making in your community? Have you embedded this into your mission statement and core values?

We can help re-define your mission statement or develop your entire strategic plan. For more information please or email us at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs or download our brochure at the following link:

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/File/heg_strategic_planning_services-1.pdf

If you would like to comment on this eNewsletter story please insert at the bottom of this article.

================================

4. Products To Invest In To Start And Lead Your School

================================

Do you want effective tools to help start and manage your school? These 2 products will make a difference.

>> (A). STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT (#1 BEST SELLER)

Learn How To Develop Your Own Strategic Plan Like An Expert With This Easy To Follow, Step-By-Step, All-In-One Strategic Planning Toolkit and Manual. Get all the details here:

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

>> (B). WEBINAR SERIES – DISCOVER FROM EXPERTS HOW TO START A SCHOOL (#2 BEST SELLER)