Administrative

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. I offer this information solely to give you an idea of the kind of questions and issues you need to be discussing with professionals such as your attorney and your accountant. Finally, there are about 11,000 private schools that are not members of any private school association. You won't have to reinvent the wheel when you belong to a private school association. Hopefully, my suggestions in this article will encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience in these associations. ~Rob Kennedy

Chapter 1: Choosing Your School's Legal Structure

Been there. Done that. Yes, I was actually involved in starting a private school. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Academy in Nassau, The Bahamas, was the brainchild of Senator Elliston Rahming. He hired me to be his assistant principal or deputy director as the position was styled. He charged me with organizing the admissions and academic side of the operation in four months so that we could open the school in the fall of 1994.

Starting a school requires one of your earliest decisions to be its legal structure. While you excel at education, this business decision needs professional legal guidance to protect your dream. Think of legal fees as an investment in your school's future. A qualified education law attorney will help you navigate complex regulations and prevent costly mistakes that could threaten your school's survival.

Now, let's look at the two forms of incorporation

Every school can become a great school. All it takes is great communication, solid academics, inspiring teachers, enthusiastic parents, and a supportive board. Some schools have solid academics and inspiring teachers but don't get the word out about their teachers and what's being taught. In other words, they lack great communication. Some schools have visionary leaders but lack the support of their board of trustees. You need all five attributes present to be a great school. Let's look at them in detail.

Great Communication

Thirty years ago, most schools published an expensive printed catalog that looked like one of those expensive coffee table books. Indeed, that was how it was intended to be used. When parents had their friends over, and your school's beautiful, eye-catching catalog was spotted, the conversation invariably turned to St. Swithin's, how great that school was, and how much their children enjoyed going there. Many schools still produce those lavish catalogs and they can and do serve a purpose. Truthfully, they have mostly gone the way of the buggy whip.

The other old-fashioned way of communicating was by writing a letter or sending a thank you note. Catalogs and letters have been replaced by email, texting and messaging via apps like WhatsApp and Viber, as well as social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Nowadays, we all expect communications to be instantaneous. We have to get our news and information at warp speed. Of course, letters still have their place for

The wave of anti-semitism crashing over the United States in the fourth quarter of 2023 seems to me to have been inevitable. I will leave it to far more qualified writers than I to explore the causes and effects of such a vast disturbance. However, I recommend that you take time to read source materials and understand the issues involved.

However, I want to remind the heads of private day and boarding schools that they can and should learn three critical lessons from what we all are experiencing. The chief officer of any institution must be a listener, a learner, and a leader.

Listen

Overwhelming expressions of opinion don't come out of nowhere. It's like you and I putting a pot of water on the stove and turning the dial to high. You know the pot could and will boil, but you can continue your business until then. Right? Wrong! Before you know it, the pot is boiling uncontrollably all over the place. Don't ignore issues you hear about on your campus. It doesn't matter whether it's the cleaning crew, your physics teacher, or a member of the board of trustees. Every voice is important, and you must listen carefully to each and every one.

Read articles such as Dr. Susan Whitbourne's 10 Qualities of Great Listeners. Understand her very clear advice:

• Listening is a basic social skill, but it takes practice to do well.
• Listening and perceived partner responsiveness form a positive

Planning for the future growth of your school in these uncertain times is a challenging exercise. The object of this essay is to give you some guidelines to help you and your trusted advisors plan for the next five years. I am writing this for small schools to help you understand the process that large schools with ample resources to hire consultants and strategic planners use to plan their future growth.

Include the following components in your Plan For Future Growth should have

1. Develop an overview of what you want to achieve.
2. Investigate the competition.
3. Examine your organization.
4. Develop an implementation plan.
5. Develop a marketing strategy.
6. Outline the risks your school faces.
7. Hold information sessions with members of your school community.
8. Track your progress towards your objectives.

Overview

Keep your overview brief yet comprehensive. It should explain the goals of your Plan for Future Growth. For example, if your area is experiencing rapid growth, refer to that as the underlying reason for building your Plan for Future Growth. Then write something like, "Anytown has had an influx of new families at a rate exceeding national averages. As a result, we aim to prepare for the demand for private school seats by adding one class to each grade over the next five years."

Include the important points of your Plan. The overview is a summary, not a detailed list of the things you wish to accomplish.

Investigate your competition.

First of all, know who your competition is. Use Private School Review to search for

Signs that your school might be failing don't suddenly appear all at once like a flashing neon sign. Instead, they appear gradually over weeks, months, and years. I am targeting small private schools with these remarks and suggestions with the hope that you will see telltale signs of concern long before they become major troubles.

As you and your board of trustees review the list which I have set out below, I would suggest scoring each item on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the low end, and 10 the top. So, for example, as you look at your enrolment data for the past 5 years, if the trend shows a deterioration in enrolment, you would score that item 5 or less. And so on. Then tackle the items on the list which need the most attention.

The following video discusses signs that a business is in trouble. Many of these will apply to a private school which is, after all, a business.

Low enrollment

Let's start with enrollment. Filling your school's seats is essential for balancing your budget. If you are having trouble doing that, then you need to find out why you are not able to fill all your seats. If you are a seasoned enrolment professional or have one on your board, then seek his advice and follow it. Enrollment professionals will look at a host of things that