Chapter 5 Group Activity
Designing a Private School
Overview: Congratulations! You have been put in charge of designing the next private school in your district. Describe the private school that
you would design.
1. Identify Your Niche
Before opening: Determine what kind of school the local market needs. (K-8, 9-12, day, boarding, religious, Montessori, etc.) For this activity,
your local market may be of your choosing. Is your local market in an impoverished area, a suburban middle-class neighborhood, in the inner
city, etc. What backgrounds will the students attending your private school come from? Race? Ethnicity? Culture? (Remember, these three
labels are very different-see chapter 3 for an overview of this.) Will your private school service children with learning disabilities? Oftentimes,
many private schools opt to add special education programs later, though some open their doors initially to special education classrooms (it
depends on the school’s focus).
Once you determine what kind of school you will be opening, then decide how many grades will actually open the school. Your long range
plans may call for a K-12 school, but it makes more sense to start small and grow solidly. Establish what you want as the primary division,
then add the upper or lower grades over time as your resources permit. Explain why you chose the primary division that you did. Is there a
reason that it services your community best?
2. Form a Committee
Form a small committee of talented supporters (your group!) to begin the preliminary work. Your group can become the core of your first
board of directors. Discuss what important backgrounds and services your committee (your group) can provide to beginning your private
school. Financial, building, education, architecture, legal are just a few examples of professionals that you will need. (Though you may not
consider yourselves experts in these fields-yet, think about your current talents. How can they lend themselves to creating a private school?)
Of course, you will have to co-opt additional paid talent to guide you through many various challenges, indeed, road blocks, which will
inevitably confront you. What paid talent will you need to hire (remember your group cannot be professionals in everything!)
3.
Develop a Budget
Consider the expenses a private school encounters regularly. You are given 5 million dollars to start up your private school. What types
of things will you need to purchase/pay for in order to begin your school? Think about everything from supplies to electricity to salaries
for professionals. Will you be buying, renting or building a school building? Consider the cost. Remember, you may opt to wait on
purchasing some things until after the school has been established for a few years (extra computers, professional development
workshops, new school buses, etc.) You may estimate costs (I will not be coming around with a calculator and ledger book to check
your budgets).
4.
Choose Key Staff Members
Identify what you will need in your Head of School (principal). You will need to conduct your search as widely as possible in order to find
the right person for the job. Write a job description for this position.
5.
Identify Your Faculty Requirements
It is critical to attract skilled faculty. Do so by agreeing on a competitive compensation. Oftentimes, private schools pay less than public
schools. If that is your decision, you will need to be able to sell your teachers on the vision of your new school. The chance to shape
something is always appealing to many teachers. Write a job description for a faculty position. (You will obviously need a wide
assortment of faculty positions; just choose one to write a description about!)