90 Private Schools Closed Permanently: Who’s Next?

It was a little daunting to come across this list.  People may quickly rationalize why it will never happen to their particular school.  If you have a quarter billion dollars in endowment, you’re probably right.  If you live in a large metropolitan area with lots of people who can afford your tuition AND can’t find a good public school option, I would agree in most cases.  How about everyone else?  What if you have been established for a century? Well that doesn’t secure your position quite as well.  The Roseland Christian School, after 130 years of teaching children, closed its doors.

How do you ensure that your school is going to be around for another 100 years?  We all know the answer to that question – LEADERSHIP.    I don’t believe that all of those schools needed to close, they were just missing Leadership.  When our tuition doubles in approximately 12 years, we won’t have to close, but we will need to have the right leadership.

For now, take a look at the list.  It’s not a complete list.  Unfortunately, it’s probably only a fraction of the closures over the last 4 or 5 years.    If you want to see the published announcement about the closing of each school, click here.  It’s sad.

Creating your Five Pillars paradigm or its equivalent will be essential in keeping enrollment strong.  Don’t wait until the enrollment becomes  problematic.  With the Five Pillars and the right leadership, schools will be able to continue to achieve their missions.