Recently a group of parents in California won a court case to keep the school their kids go to open -- likely reconsitituted as a Charter but being closed because the school administration had effectively failed the students (Wasthington Post).
First, kudos to the parents. They have stood up in defense of their kids and won. But have they really won? How much do they really understand about the business side, not to mention the academic side of running a school? Many public schools can testify that it's tough enough to keep the Parent-Teacher Associations active (likely for a number of reasons), but, responsible for a whole school?
And then there's one of the classic business planning questions: what makes these parents think that their school will actually be more successful than the school that was publicly run? This is a business question you ask? Yes! This is the question that comes a hundred times when for instance you see a restaurant go out of business and someone else thinks its the perfect spot and they fail and then another and another and the truth be told -- it's just not a good market or location.
Can this be applied to a school? And what about the sustainability questions etc. etc. Again, kudos to the parents. Now the real work of building a business, somewhat from the ground up begins and all the questions, from market demand to market strategy to financing must be answered.
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