By Dr. Matthew Colpitts, Head of School & President, Ventures Academy
Although there are many resources with advice on starting projects, business, etc., when I started working on Ventures Academy, I found pieces of what I needed but little that was related to what we were working on. There are some straight-forward resources on starting a school, the ones I found that ended up being valuable are:
NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools)
https://www.nais.org/ - General website for the association.
https://www.nais.org/statistics/pages/nais-independent-school-facts-at-a-glance/ - These “Facts at a Glance” contain data helpful for thinking about many distinct aspects of independent schools, including salaries, enrollments, etc.
Starting and Independent School: Founder's Handbook - https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Independent-School-Founders-Handbook/dp/B001C24XNK
The Head's Handbook: A Guide for Aspiring, New, and Experienced Heads of School - https://www.amazon.com/Heads-Handbook-Aspiring-Experienced-School/dp/1893021890
Web Resources
https://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Private-School - A little silly, but has a good overview of the process and recommended steps for starting a school.
https://www.thoughtco.com/starting-a-school-2774038 - I like this one. It has a thorough list of steps as well as some other tips. I especially like their advice about being conservative regarding enrollment and budget projections. You would rather have more students and tuition than you planned on versus the other way around.
TED Talks
Seth Godin - STOP STEALING DREAMS at TEDxYouth@BFS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpbONjV1Jc
Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms - https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms
You can also learn from other people including Heads of School, Nonprofit Founders, Business and Startup Founders, etc. Learn from what has been done before. Find schools of all types (charter, private, etc.) and related organizations. Do not be afraid to reach out! Include organizations and schools that are unlike yours. For example, I have learned lessons from K-6 schools and even a bakery franchise!
Read the classics in your area! Read the essentials. Also, read the critics (but not too much). Especially read the leading and serious ones. Alife Cohn is always good for some alternative views to education. But at some point, stop when they get loony.
Don’t forget to do the work!
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