10 Steps to Starting a Private School

The Beginners Guide to Starting a Private School

Starting a private school can be not only time-consuming, but a challenging process. When thinking about starting a private school there are many key steps you will want to adhere to in order to keep the process manageable and seamless.

Private schools have many layered elements that can make the task of creating one from scratch daunting. Some of these include high academic standards, teacher-student ratios, extracurriculars such as art, music, PE, computers, discipline protocol, safety concerns, community partnerships, and accreditation just to name a few. Additionally, a private school is a business so you also have to decide if your school will for-profit or non-profit.

The following steps will help guide you in starting a private school.

#1 Determine Your Niche and Grade Levels

This is a beginning step to start the process of starting a private school. Ask yourself the following questions to see what direction your private school will move.

• What types of students will your school serve? For example, gifted, special ed, montessori, whole child, etc.
• Will your school be religious or secular?
• Will your school be for-profit or non-profit?
• What grade levels will your school serve?
• How many students will you serve in each grade level?
• How many students will your grow to over time? Think 5 years from now.
• What kind of school is needed in your target market/area?

#2 Write School Statements

School statements are a very important part of the process as they help you define your vision to your staff, parents, community and students. It is imperative that you not only focus on a mission statement, but define what all of your school statements are. Remember, these statements are reviewed every school year and can be changed or modified as your school grows.

• What is your mission statement?
• What is your pedagogy?
• What is your vision?
• What is your philosophy?

#3 Select Board of Directors or Committee

Your committee or Board of Directors should be selected from different areas of business and not solely focused on education. Chose experts from different realms of business like accounting, legal, business, and education.

• Who do you know that would be interested in be a committee member?
• Will you have a formal board of directors or an informal advisory committee?
• How often will you meet?

#4 Create a Business Plan

A business plan is an essential key in creating any business, including a school. Remember that a school is still a business and a business plan is key in creating a successful business.

• Will your school be for-profit or non-profit?
• Create a 5 year business plan, including operations such as financials, marketing, curriculum development, assessments.
• Who will you hire out to complete legal paperwork?
• What systems will you use to keep student data, report cards, discipline info, tuition, human resources, payroll, CRM, admissions, etc?

#5 Research your State’s Regulations for Private Schools

Every state has regulations for private schools. Research the educational requirements for your state and make sure to adhere to the regulations of your state.

• Check your state’s Department of Education for regulations for private school establishments.

#6 Determine Budget

Develop a budget that will include your income and expenses (commonly known as a P&L or Profit and Loss). This budget will only be a projection so err on the conservative side as unknown expenses tend to always pop up.

• Develop a 5 year budget (projection).
• If you will be a non-profit you can focus on contribution capital as part of the budget.
• Hire out an accountant to assist.
• Be sure to include the costs for systems like student management systems, payroll/human resource systems, CPA, CRM’s and more.

#7 Find a Location

Finding a location for a school can be a challenging task. Keep in mind that many states require certain permits to run a school at certain locations. These are typically called Conditional Use Permits (CUP). If you find a location make sure you are allowed to run a school at that site. Adding a CUP to a site location can be time consuming and expensive.

• Will you lease a building or space inside an existing space (like a church or school)?
• How large of a space will you need (how many classrooms)?
• Do you have funding to build a school location?
• Can you share space with another school?

#8 Hire Staff

Once you have your business plan, your site location, and budget you can then hire staff for the school year you are planning to open. Typically teachers are hired for a school year and expect a contract so be prepared. Alternatively some private schools hire teachers on an hourly basis, especially the first year, in an effort to keep the budget in tact.

• How many teachers will you need? Full or part-time?
• How many office staff will you need? Full or part-time?
• Will you outsource elective or extra curricular classes?
• Will you outsource things like human resources, payroll, admissions?

#9 Promote your School

This is an important step and can be tricky as timing is crucial. Schools typically run on traditional school year schedules (August-June), therefore your timing is important.

• When will your school open?
• Begin advertising your opening at least 6 months in advance (1 year is ideal).
• Most school begin taking applications in Feb/March for the following school year.
• Make sure your SIS or student system is ready to take applications.
• Make sure you have all of your student onboarding ready to go (parent handbooks, tuition agreements, payment processes, teacher handbooks, etc).

#10 Open Your School

Congratulations! It’s time to open your school! This is an exciting day! As the founder of private schools, this is one my most cherished days. Enjoy this day!

• Plan your opening, usually in the early fall.
• Open your office first so you can give tours.
• Plan a fun groundbreaking opening on the first day of school.
• Create a sense of community with a festive opening first day. Invite community members to join.

The Last Thing You Need to Know about Starting a Private School

Although we have just scratched the surface to start a private school, this initial roadmap is a great place to begin. There are so many other things to consider, but starting with these basics will keep you focused and contain the overwhelm that can develop when starting a private school.

Starting a private school is no small feat. If you need assistance with starting or expanding your private school, our services can guide you through the process. Learn more by visiting our website.

Interested in learning more? Check out our blog about the 5 Essential Elements of a New Private School.

We would love to hear from you? Have you started a private school? Do you have feedback we can share with our readers? Let us know.