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10 GOLDEN RULES OF STARTING A SCHOOL

re 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.

Doug Halladay, of Halladay Education Group Inc.,
can help YOU start your own school and make it
happen! In his free resource, 13 Steps to
Starting Your Own School, Doug provides TIPS and
ADVICE on how you can set the foundation to start
your own school. To claim your free copy of this
incredible resource or order our 15-part mini
eCourse on How To Start a School, visit his site
right now: http://www.HalladayEducationGroup.com
or email us at info@halladayeducationgroup.com
About the AuthorDoug Halladay, of Halladay Education Group Inc.,
can help YOU start your own school and make it
happen! In his free resource, 13 Steps to
Starting Your Own School, Doug provides TIPS and
ADVICE on how you can set the foundation to start
your own school. To claim your free copy of this
incredible resource or order our 15-part mini
eCourse on How To Start a School, visit his site
right now: http://www.HalladayEducationGroup.com
or em