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How to start an international school?

  • Implementation Roadmap
Posted by: Mansour Baker

​Each stage sets new milestones for an International School from pre-operations to full operation of a school.

​Stage 1 - Pre-operations

  • Complete building construction
  • Hire school leadership and staff
  • Start marketing and admission
  • Prepare curriculum and content

​Stage 2 - Full Operation

  • Ramp up classes overtime
  • Open up school
  • Implement "gap" semester in grade 9
  • Extend the breadth and depth of the curriculum
  • Develop partnerships with international schools and industry professional

​Each stage sets new milestones

International School Startup Implementation Roadmap

​Five work streams for pre-operations (stage 1)

​1. Setup school and project governance
  • Appoint Startup Committee
  • Setup School Board of Directors
  • Select members for Executive Committee and Audit Committee
2. Develop infrastructure
  • Select architect and develop design
  • Tender construction
  • Commission and handover School
  • Develop information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure
3. Appoint leadership and staff
  • Appoint School leadership
  • Appoint teaching staff
  • Appoint non-teaching staff
4. Develop curriculum
  • Design the curriculum
  • Develop the curriculum content
  • Obtain the required approvals from the International Baccalaureate (IB) or relevant international curriculum
5. Start marketing & admission process
  • Start marketing the school
  • Start admission process and financial aid

​School Startup Committee Charter and Composition

Purpose
  • To oversee the complete implementation of the school including infrastructure development, leadership and staff recruitment, curriculum development, and marketing and admission.
Key Responsibilities 
  • Identify, interview, and appoint school director and other school leaders
  • Ensure design and construction of the school infrastructure is progressing in line with the blueprint
  • Review progress of the implementation (infrastructure, recruitment, curriculum, marketing, and admissions)
  • Decide upon direction and critical issues (within the boundaries of the blueprint) 
  • Approve large purchases and capital transactions, e.g., facilities, furniture, IT infrastructure, etc.
Composition
  • 1 architectural/design expert
  • 1 finance expert
  • 1 marketing expert
  • 2 education experts, e.g. top school principals
Meeting Frequency
  • The Startup Committee shall meet twice a month, to drive and monitor implementation progress
Duration
  • Startup Committee dissolves upon completion of a fully-functioning school

​School start-up committee to oversee pre-operations phase

School start-up committee to oversee pre-operations phase

​International School Delegation of Authority Template

Stop guessing what works, try our template based on industry standards​

​Setup School and Project Governance

​Appoint Startup Committee
  • Appoint 2 school board member
  • Appoint 1 architect/infrastructure expert
  • Appoint 2 education expert, e.g. school principal
Setup School Board of Directors
  • Appoint 2 top international private school principals
    • Identify 10 principals from top international schools
    • Shortlist 4 potential interested candidates
    • Select and reach out to 2 of them and offer seat
  • Appoint 1 education expert
  • Appoint 2 industry leaders
  • Appoint 1 finance expert

​Develop Infrastructure

  • Select architect
  • Develop school design
  • Tender construction
  • Construction of school
  • Develop ICT infrastructure
  • Commission and handover

​Appoint Leadership and Staff

  • Appoint of school director
  • Appoint school leadership
  • Appoint teaching staff
  • Appoint non-teaching staff

​Develop Curriculum

Design Curriculum
  • Identify 1-2 model schools that implements the IB or relevant curriculum
  • Send 1-2 teaching staff to the model schools to emulate the practices 
  • Identify the subjects and standards for the IB in Grade 1-7
  • Create timetable for each grade in 1-7
  • Identify textbook and additional resources to design the courses
  • Construct teaching plan detailing the material, teaching activities and assessment methods
Implementation
  • Engage model schools of final design for expert opinion
  • Obtain approval from IB Program teaching consultant
  • Obtain approval for the curriculum from the relevant education authorities 
  • Communicate program and train new faculty

​Start Marketing & Admission Process

  • Start marketing of school
  • Start admission and financial aid process

​​Necessary Actions to Mitigate Four Risk Areas

​​1. School director not hired on time or appointed director not suited for role

Direct Consequences
  • Entire school implementation delayed
  • Negative impact on quality school leadership & implementation
Mitigation Actions
  • Identify necessary recruitment channels and activate search immediately
  • Create comprehensive job profile requirements
  • Have backup candidate in mind in case replacement is needed

​2. School leadership not appointed on time

Direct Consequences
  • School cannot launch
Mitigation Actions
  • Identify and prioritize hiring of critical staff
  • Sign employment contracts one year in advance of school inception

​3. Admission process not implemented correctly

Direct Consequences
  • School will not have required number of students
Mitigation Actions
  • Begin admission process 18 months before launch of school

​4. School architecture blueprint or construction delay

Direct Consequences
  • School cannot launch
Mitigation Actions
  • Startup committee to define frequent milestones and monitored their status to ensure progress
  • Hold responsible committee members accountable for delays

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