Is starting a small private school in Alexandria a good idea?

[Anonymous]

I live in Old Town. Everyone knows the school situation here. I could either move out to the land of mcmansions and send my kids to a good public school, but I don't want to live there. I could send my kids to private school (most likely SSSAS), but we would be financially strained and constantly worrying about money. The other areas where I would like to live besides Old Town are in DC and I would still have to send my kid to private school. (I'm not interested in Arlington, no offense to you arlington peeps). I have been talking with a few local people about starting a private school. The tuition would be somewhere between 7-10K per student. We could rent an office space for the school. We could hire an excellent teacher(s). Parents would have to be very involved and share in the workload of running the school. Emphasis would be on strict academics and discipline. If you can't make the grade or can't behave then you're out.

Thoughts, ideas, feedback? Eventually this is going to happen right? There is a need for more school options in this area at a lower tuition cost.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they tried it last year and the school failed before the school year was half over.

It's a good idea in theory but would take years to come to fruition. Also, the high cost of rent and the amount of space and amentities needed (access to bathrooms, outside space, etc) would make tuition higher than you envision.

What would be ideal is if the City allowed Charter schools or if they could be convinced to do away with all the public housing in the City. That alone would improve the schools without much else needing to be done.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Who tried it last year? I thought they tried to start a public charter school. I would honestly not even want to work with the city and public schools.

Rent in an office building ( not the nicest, coolest spot) is not that bad. Recess would be walking to a playground. Not ideal, but elementary aged kids don't care.

The hope is that each year we would gain more money and grow the school and get better amenities etc.. The first few years would certainly be no frills, but the education would be good.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Also, the start date would be the fall of 2014 so we have two years to get the school running

[Anonymous]

You are dramatically, grossly, severely underestimating the cost per student. Massively underestimating.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to look into what legal requirements apply for private school space, if any. I know that for public schools, there are a lot of requirements regarding a play yard etc. Not sure if they would apply to a private as well - hopefully not, but best to be sure.

[Anonymous]

Depending on student headcount, you need an on-site or closely-available school nurse. You must have a separate office, and parents can't volunteer to work with some classes of student info (there's always a debate as to whether the Buckley Amendment/FERPA applies to a completely privately-funded school, but privacy statutes and HIPAA certainly do apply). If you're going to be a tax-exempt non-profit, you'll have to adopt non-discrimination policies. You'll need to obtain private accreditation from AISGW or VAIS, which will entail on-site visits etc. An office-rental arrangement might or might not work. Any landlord is going to want advance security beyond a month or two worth of rent -- these are risky ventures, and most fail. And the insurance and permitting requirements are substantial.

[Anonymous]

OP again. We would hire a private school consulting firm to help with all the rules, regulations and certifications. I was looking into this place

http://www.halladayeducationgroup.com/

We would certainly not rent the space month by month. It would be a year rental. Most of the participants are going to invest some money up front ( over the 7-10K per year).

5 of the parents interested (so far) are lawyers, one a former teacher, one in commercial real estate etc... We have a collective expertise. However we know that this will be very challenging and yet we still want to try. How else do these things start?

[Anonymous]

Those that succeed (which are exceedingly few) typically are backed by entities that already have real estate and office space, like churches. Alexandria Academy folded within its first year. Permitting is a real issue, and an ed consultant can't really help with that. At the end of the day, you may have to hire someone full-time, in addition to a consultant. I think your $ estimate per student is way, way, way low. Way low.

[Anonymous]

OP again. I don't agree that price per student is way low ( although maybe it is somewhat low). Alexandria city spends more money per student than most school districts in this entire country yet it also has some of the worst results. See article below. We are not paying for nice amenities... it is more of a good ole fashioned education. All of the parents involved are educated and want to be super involved. It would be much like a co-op. A few of the moms are SAHMs and they are willing to contribute a significant amount of time.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/05/schools-taxes-education-biz-beltway_cz_cs_0705schools.html

[Anonymous]

OP again. We are looking for a private investor(s), but we do not have one at present. That doesn't mean it can't happen. Obviously we are in the beginning stages and still exploring the idea.

This feedback is great though because we are trying to determine how high this mountain is that we've got to climb and if we are up for it and if it is worth it.

[Anonymous]

Just curious, when you say strict academics and discipline, what do you mean? Is there another school that you view this proscpective school as comparable to? What do you plan to do about phys ed vs. recess (which you have already explained would be at a playground)?
I think you need to get parents in the math/science fields involved if the school is going to be a coop.

[Anonymous]

So you think you would be financially strained if you sent your kids to private school, but are willing to sink massive amounts of money into starting a private school, in hopes of having a similar school experience for your kid? And also waste lots of your time putting this school together? I think you should save your time and money and send them to SSSAS. Much more cost-effective.

[Anonymous]

Look OP, why are you here asking questions if you have all the answers?

You have done very little research as evidenced by your posts. There are no public charter schools in Alexandria City. Alexandria Academy was in fact a private school and it was not an elementary school as I recall.

You can not just go to an office building in Old Town, rent an office, and set up a school. It doesn't work like that nor should it.

I agree that you are grossly underestimating the costs. And where are they "playgrounds" you are walking too anyway? There are very few in Alexandria City that are in fact walkable and not tied to a public school.

I don't think your idea is without merit but I do think you need to do a lot more very basic research on the City before you even bother with consultants.

Also "strict academics and discipline" in Alex City??? That appeals nicely to the low income parents who in fact can't afford the $7-$10K but for the liberal parents who are already using private schools they aren't looking for that kind of environment. Check out the Alex privates and many are based on more cooperative, nuturing, earthy, learning environment ideals. (in theory at least)

[Anonymous]

I think you might want to look at what the homeschooling networks are doing? I can't recall the article bit they are renting space, hiring teachers and offering courses to members and thy were doing it in an affordable way. Other than that I would think a charter would work best because you are funded via the school system. I found a school that operated in a similar manner in MA but they closed. They had been operating since the 30s.

Co-ops for day care help keep the to ~1/2 of other day cares. It might work search online in different areas of the country. Montessori programs are often cheaper.