Ideas please: Opening a new Private in upper MoCo

[Anonymous]

Non- traditional post.

Group of parents are looking into starting a new independent school in “upper MoCo” (Rockville and Northwest). School would concept would be similar to the Nora School in Silver Spring, Linder or New School in VA.

Essentially a small school for “quirky” kids who are college bound. Think relaxed, no uniforms, small classes, and bucolic setting in Darnestown.

Does anyone know a consultant who specializes in starting private schools? Or, recommendations on how to get started?

It’s a lot to ask but there is a market for it.

[Anonymous]

Nancy Mellon started River School. I have often thought that what she has done for hard of hearing children should be available for other kids with differences such as autism etc. She has limits on how many hard of hearing kids in each classroom. Her program benefits hard of hearing and neurotypical children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Non- traditional post.

Group of parents are looking into starting a new independent school in “upper MoCo” (Rockville and Northwest). School would concept would be similar to the Nora School in Silver Spring, Linder or New School in VA.

Essentially a small school for “quirky” kids who are college bound. Think relaxed, no uniforms, small classes, and bucolic setting in Darnestown.

Does anyone know a consultant who specializes in starting private schools? Or, recommendations on how to get started?

It’s a lot to ask but there is a market for it.

Contact Dr. Karyn Ewart at the Sycamore School in Rosslyn. She did EXACTLY that starting eight years ago, though the "campus" has been an office building floor first in Ballston and now in Rosslyn. Sycamore started as her idea of how education should be and just graduated its fifth set of seniors.

The school is a great fit for the NT and ND kids who fit in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Non- traditional post.

Group of parents are looking into starting a new independent school in “upper MoCo” (Rockville and Northwest). School would concept would be similar to the Nora School in Silver Spring, Linder or New School in VA.

Essentially a small school for “quirky” kids who are college bound. Think relaxed, no uniforms, small classes, and bucolic setting in Darnestown.

Does anyone know a consultant who specializes in starting private schools? Or, recommendations on how to get started?

It’s a lot to ask but there is a market for it.

Are you looking to start an grades 9-12 school? I live in the Darnestown area, and there are several small private schools K-5 or K-8 (Seneca, Barnesville, Butler) that will take quirky kids. It's a really small private school market in that part of MoCo, so I would be concerned about finding enough students. The schools I mentioned seemed to be getting by, but I don't know that they are financially "thriving". I don't mean to squash ideas/dreams, but just something to consider.

[Anonymous]

Sounds a lot like the intermediate and high school programs at Butler (which happens to be in Darnestown).

[Anonymous]

Yes, this program is just like Butler's "Fairhaven" high school program. The lead teacher is great and the kids are quirky but all college bound. The tuition is not terribly high, either. I attended Butler and sent my kid there, but she transitioned to public HS because the program is pretty new. Butler is also engaged in a building for the new high school

[Anonymous]

Kai Pod starts micro schools. Check them out for help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, this program is just like Butler's "Fairhaven" high school program. The lead teacher is great and the kids are quirky but all college bound. The tuition is not terribly high, either. I attended Butler and sent my kid there, but she transitioned to public HS because the program is pretty new. Butler is also engaged in a building for the new high school

How big is the Fairhaven program?

[Anonymous]

Not sure how many kids are in the Fairhaven program. I recommend taking a tour and asking. If you're looking for a bucolic campus, you won't find a better place than Butler!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Non- traditional post.

Group of parents are looking into starting a new independent school in “upper MoCo” (Rockville and Northwest). School would concept would be similar to the Nora School in Silver Spring, Linder or New School in VA.

Essentially a small school for “quirky” kids who are college bound. Think relaxed, no uniforms, small classes, and bucolic setting in Darnestown.

Does anyone know a consultant who specializes in starting private schools? Or, recommendations on how to get started?

It’s a lot to ask but there is a market for it.

Are you looking to start an grades 9-12 school? I live in the Darnestown area, and there are several small private schools K-5 or K-8 (Seneca, Barnesville, Butler) that will take quirky kids. It's a really small private school market in that part of MoCo, so I would be concerned about finding enough students. The schools I mentioned seemed to be getting by, but I don't know that they are financially "thriving". I don't mean to squash ideas/dreams, but just something to consider.

Barnesville is a terrible model.

It will take any kid zero oversight.

It has struggled with enrollment. I am very surprised it has survived.

[Anonymous]

See if you can talk to the founders of Diener and Newton. There is a lot involved in starting and running a school. There are also a lot of startup costs.

[Anonymous]

Now when the economy is tanking is a terrible time to consider this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now when the economy is tanking is a terrible time to consider this.

Go elsewhere to stomp on someone’s ideas. Black cloud. Mature, smart people putting out feelers and you know everything. It’s just research. Go be a D1 hater elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now when the economy is tanking is a terrible time to consider this.

Go elsewhere to stomp on someone’s ideas. Black cloud. Mature, smart people putting out feelers and you know everything. It’s just research. Go be a D1 hater elsewhere.

I don't think it's unreasonable to point out that now is a rough time to start any business, let alone one with a high base price. I work in this field and people, understandably, overestimate market demand. You may know a lot of people who would like to have XYZ, but when it comes down to it, they can't (or won't) actually pay for it. There are also a ton of administrative tasks that go into having a school run on just a basic level, especially if you have seniors applying to college. (Who is doing the transcript? Creating the college profile? Scheduling APs?) The labor costs add up so, so fast.

[Anonymous]

Just because you see a need to be filled doesn’t meant there is anything close to a business model to sustain it. Strongly recommend you hire someone who understands the complex financials required not just to start a school but to navigate rough economic times. have seen this movie many times. Parents think they understand how schools work but have completely distorted lens on what’s required. Remember as parents you are really just customers.