Non-Public Schools: Part I--Overview

• NonPublic Schools: Part I--Overview
• NonPublic Schools--Part II Evaluating Mission, Values, & Goodness of Fit for Your Child
• NonPublic Schools--Part III Faculty and Staff Qualifications
• NonPublic Schools--Part IV: Evaluating Academic Program
• NonPublic Schools:Part V--On Accreditation
• NonPublic Schools:Part VI--More Detail on Financial Issues: IRS Status

note: I have been struggling with this essay for weeks. My experience has been primarily with "conventional" private schools -- you might say, "general education and college preparatory schools" in California.
 
Second, I'm also familiar with a couple of LD-specific schools in California that intend to remediate their students' language-based LDs, and return those students to either public or private schools, equipped to complete, at the minimum, a high-school diploma. The goal for most of the students is to complete a college-prep curriculum, and go on to college.
 
Third, I've been investigating programs for "struggling teens" -- a growth industry that isn't regulated at all. These are also known as "therapeutic schools" or "emotional growth schools". There are some good-to-great programs that combine LD remediation, curricula that help kids self-regulate, and solid academic curricula. But many lack some of the afore-mentioned three elements.
 
My suspicion is that some subset of kids who are consigned to the "stuggling teen" programs are kids with undiagnosed, or un-remediated, LDs and/or attentional issues.
 
I'm coming to believe, the more you know, the less you know. 
 
At any rate, what follows is my own opinion.
 

For whatever reason, you are considering something other than public school for your child.

Let's start with some definitions (or options), dependent upon your child's needs and age.

First let us categorize non-public schools.  There are two general types of non-public school.

1. Schools that provide specialized education programs (examples would be schools that specialize in educating children with autism, or educational programs for blind children, or educational programs for the hearing-impaired, and so on).  Depending upon the program and the state, these types of programs are state-certified, and a child's tuition cost may be paid by the child's home district, as directed by IDEA --Free, Appropriate, Public Education (FAPE)
    
     Here is what California says about state certification:
   

   The California Department of Education, Special Education Division has certified the following Nonpublic, Nonsectarian School and Agencies. Certification implies only that they meet the minimal standards of the laws and regulations. This certification is not an endorsement of the services offered by the following Nonpublic, Nonsectarian School and Agencies.

   

2. Schools that have a general-education progam in some subset of k-12 education.  These schools may or may not have programs for children with learning disabilities.

A further subdivision of both types of schools is how they are organized: not-for-profit schools, and for-profit schools.  There are good schools of both types.  We will discuss the implication for the particular school later.   

What should you know about the school before your child applies, or before you accept an admission offer?

The most important thing is the "goodness of fit" between your child's educational profile, your family's values, and the school's mission, curriculum, and atmosphere.

It is important for parents to realize that a program that is great for one kid -- say your neighbor's child -- may not be a good fit for your own child.  A good example might be that one child thrives in a very predictable, orderly (perhaps even rigid) environment, where another might do better in a more flexible, project-based environment.   

Before we address the areas of mission, curriculum, and atmosphere, though, parents should understand how individual states (and perhaps smaller units such as counties or school districts) regulate or oversee private schools; the explosion of new schools in the last decade; how the individual school is managed and governed; and financial issues relevant to non-public (private or independent schools). 

State Regulation; Age; Management/Governance Issues; Financial Issues

Step One: Understand how your state regulates private schools.  

For example, New York requires that non public high schools must be registered with the Board of Regents in order to issue a valid high school diploma, and requires the curriculum to be "substantially equivalent" to that offered in public schools.

California only requires that the school provide an annual affidavit 

The affidavit must contain the following information: 1) all names under which it has done and is doing business; 2) address of every place of business in California; 3) location of records and custodian of records; 4) names and addresses of directors and principal officers; 5) school enrollment by grades, number of teachers, coeducational or enrollment limited to boys or girls and boarding facilities; 6) that school attendance records, courses of study, and faculty information records maintained by the school are true and accurate; and 7) that criminal record summary information for employees has been obtained.

 

At the high school level in California, the University of California entrance requirements more-or-less drives the curriculum for college preparatory schools.  Private schools' curricula must meet what are called the "A-G" requirements in order for those schools' graduates to be eligible for admission to the UC system.  (More info here: 

http://www.ucop.edu/a-gGuide/ag/welcome.html)

You can find information on state regulation three ways: 

1. Consulting the web site http://www.ed.gov/pubs/RegPrivSchl/index.html
   , which was published in 2000.
   

2. Searching on your state's Department of Education web site, which may have more up-to-date information.
   

3. Do a search engine query, using the string  / "private school" "your state" regulation / (paste everything except the leading and trailing / into the search box, and substituting the name of your state inside quote marks (if your state has two words in its name)
 

   

Step Two: Age--How Long Has The School Been In Business?

For a number of reasons, there has been a big increase in non-public schools in many areas.  A very new school may be excellent, or not; a very old school may be excellent, or not.  However, every school should be transparent as to how long they have been in business. 

Questions parents should ask:

• When was the school founded? 
 
• Has it always been at the same location? (If no, the school should also explain why it moved.)
 
• Has the mission changed/evolved? (Two examples might be: a formerly single-sex school that went co-educational; or two similar schools that merged.)
 

If a school is relatively new -- less than 10 years old -- parents may want to pay particular attention to the qualifications of the faculty and staff.

Step Three: Understanding How The School You Are Interested In Is Governed and Managed, and Expectations for Student Conduct and Family Evolvement

Is the school you are considering recognized as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service?  If yes, you should be able to obtain:

• The names of the persons responsible for the school's governance (variously called the Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors, or some other name);
 
• How persons are named to the Board
  
• Basic financial information from the IRS Form 990.  (Caveat: Form 990 is not a perfect instrument)
 

If the school is not a 501(c)(3) organization, parents should ask:

• Who are the investors in/owners of the school?
 
• What other educational ventures do the investors/owners have?
 

If a school is relatively new -- less than 10 years old -- parents may want to pay particular attention to indications of financial stability.

Another set of questions have to do with student and parent involvement, for both not-for-profit and for-profit schools. 

•   What are the expectations for student conduct?
 
•   What are the steps taken when a student fails to meet the criteria for student conduct?
 
• If a student is asked to withdraw from the school, during the school year,  for failure to meet student behavior expectations, what are the parents' financial obligations for the balance of the school year? (Also see the section on financial policies and practices)
 
•     What are the expectations for parent involvement?
  
  • Some schools require parents volunteer in various capacities for the school.  Are the volunteer expectations well-spelled-out, in terms of hours of required participation or other expectations?
     
  • Some non-profit schools expect parents to donate money in addition to tuition.  Are those expectations clear?
   
  • Some schools require that parents participate in parent education classes and seminars, which may require additional fees, and so on.  Are those expectations and costs made clear in the admissions process?
   
   
•     What are the processes for communication between home and school?
 

   

The answers to the above questions are typically found in something like "Student Handbook" or "Family Guide" or the like.   

Step Four: Understanding Financial Issues: For-profit schools, Not-for-profit schools, and excess of income over expenses.

These can be  bewildering topics.   

Some private schools are for-profit ("proprietary"); even some schools associated with religious organizations are for-profit.  Many private schools are not-for-profit under 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.   

All healthy organizations take in at least as much revenue than they spend ("break even").  It's even better if the take is bigger than the outlay.  The difference between not-for-profit and for-profit organizations is what the excess is called, and what happens to it.

In a not-for-profit organization, the excess is (usually) called a "surplus" and is allocated in various ways, for which the organization should have a series of policies.

In a for-profit organization, the excess is called "profit" and is taxed at the state and national level.  Whatever is left over after taxes can be allocated also in a number of ways, usually decided on an annual basis: (1)  distributed to owners (or shareholders, another form of ownership) and/or retained in the organization for future use.

We are going to return to the topics of financial management in more detail later.  The least you need to know is that you should know whether or not the school is a not-for-profit or for-profit enterprise.

In the next post, I'll address issues having to do with the school's mission and atmosphere.

• NonPublic Schools: Part I--Overview
• NonPublic Schools--Part II Evaluating Mission, Values, & Goodness of Fit for Your Child
• NonPublic Schools--Part III Faculty and Staff Qualifications
• NonPublic Schools--Part IV: Evaluating Academic Program
• NonPublic Schools:Part V--On Accreditation
• NonPublic Schools:Part VI--More Detail on Financial Issues: IRS Status