Q&A for How to Start a Private School

Speak to your local city hall about acquiring a business license with limited liability (so that parents can't sue you for your own personal assets). After all, private schools ARE a business.

No, even if it didn't infringe on any copyright laws it would still be confusing for your potential students and customers. It would be better to change it, even slightly to make your school stand out.

You might, but it's better to consult with the state education board before you start, as different places have different requirements.

You will need a business license, and you will want to find the accreditation organization for your location.

Advertise it as much as possible, and make orientation for kids and parents to attend.

If you have a good credit score and can prove to the bank that your new school is likely to succeed, yes. Talk to the administrators of other private schools in your area to learn how and if they successfully applied for a loan for the school.

It depends on your country and a number of other factors, but you should expect to invest anywhere between $50,000-300,000.

If you want to become a director of school, then you need at least a Bachelor's degree. If you make the director another person, you do not need a degree and licence is necessary.

You will need a school leadership degree. In order to get one, you will need a teaching degree and possibly a few years of teaching experience.

Possibly, yes. You could reach out to local and state governments and see if they're willing to provide support. Most of the offers may be loans rather than outright gifts of money, though. Or you could try to arrange private international donors and financial sponsors for your school.

It depends on how many children you want in your school and the facilities you want. It's best to start with about 2 to 10 million.

No, you cannot use a state or federal educational grant to start your own school. It must already exist and be not for profit.

If the building is not yours, this is a terrible idea. If the building is yours, however, you could maybe use the apartment like a pod.

Advertise your school to donors and ask for volunteers in churches, and/or approach businesses or agencies that help refugees.

There shouldn't be any problems with copyright procedures, since your school's logo and name will be unique. There may be diploma templates online. Or, ask a staff member who is skilled in graphic design to generate blank certificate and diploma templates by looking at online examples.

Yes. You absolutely must have teaching experience before opening a school. You will need to know how to create a curriculum and present it to students, how to handle disciplinary issues, and a thousand other things you can only learn from direct, hands-on training and experience.

No, not necessarily.

Many schools just use Gmail or any other free email service.

Hire subject experts and hold a meeting to design the curriculum.

It depends on the size of the school and how much excess land you would like.

Generally, you incorporate a rough salary into your budget and then interview your prospective teachers to find out what they think is a fair salary. Remember that they will expect to be paid more than public school teachers.

Anyone over 18 with correct qualifications can run a school. Gender does not matter. However, if you are a "girl" and not an adult woman, you will have to wait until you are of age.

No, it cannot be.

Yes, as a courtesy and a sign of good neighbourliness, this would be a good idea. Remember, you will need their goodwill for the ongoing future, so asking them for their support first will create an atmosphere of tranquillity and acceptance from them.

You can use crowdfunding websites like Crowdfunder or Kickstarter. You will need to have a solid plan for people to invest in you, though. Or, you can talk directly to big companies willing to give you loans or donations. You'd still need to have a business plan to convince them.

Select books that kids can read during their free time, as well as educational books that will be helpful for class projects. You can get a library to sponsor you, or you can do fundraisers to buy books from book stores. You might need to buy more than one copy if it is popular.

Some ideas to help include: Start funding pages, use your own savings, get a job and set aside funds, ask family members to help and contact a philanthropist to help out.

It depends on your goals and budget. A boarding school is much more expensive to start because you need dorms, lots of equipment/furniture, etc., and you need to provide more meals. You will also need to charge more for the students to attend. This can cause you to have less students. A day school with an optional boarding option for an extra price is a possibility. But they can both be really good options, depending on what you need and where you're located in the world.