A private school as a business in DR

J

JACL

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Hello, I am an educator in the US born in the DR. I am considering investing on a property (Sto Dgo, Zona Oriental) with the hopes of establishing a private school. This property is an apartment on the ground floor of a 6-unit building. What are the potential difficulties of using this property for such a business? I have noticed the need in this particular area and the unfortunate deterioration of the public school system.

What are the steps to be taken? Where do I find information online about such an endeavor? WHat are the legal obstacles? What are the legal requirements to own a school in the DR? What government agency and private institution oversee private schools in the DR? Is this a promising business? Ultimately I would do this because it is my life's work and I have dreamed of doing my part to help my native land. Thank you for your time. Si prefiere(n) responder en espanol, asi lo hace por favor.

Gracias,
JACL.
 
C

commie

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ever so slightly off the point but what sort of age group are you looking to start the school for???
 
Robert

Robert

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Give us more details on the type of school you want to open and we will give you more help. I guess if it's an apartment, it can only cater to a few kids.
 
A

arturo

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Mar 14, 2002
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worthy endeavour

JACL said:
Hello, I am an educator in the US born in the DR. I am considering investing on a property (Sto Dgo, Zona Oriental) with the hopes of establishing a private school. This property is an apartment on the ground floor of a 6-unit building. What are the potential difficulties of using this property for such a business? I have noticed the need in this particular area and the unfortunate deterioration of the public school system.

What are the steps to be taken? Where do I find information online about such an endeavor? WHat are the legal obstacles? What are the legal requirements to own a school in the DR? What government agency and private institution oversee private schools in the DR? Is this a promising business? Ultimately I would do this because it is my life's work and I have dreamed of doing my part to help my native land. Thank you for your time. Si prefiere(n) responder en espanol, asi lo hace por favor.

Gracias,
JACL.
Click to expand...

Best of luck with this. Most agree that there are major opportunities to improve education here. Be clear about what you are trying to accomplish because if improving public education is your goal then opening a private school might not be the most efficient method. If you are motivated by profit, you would do well to apply marketing and competitive analysis due diligence.

Also, keep in mind that there is no shortage of private schools here. You will likely want to offer some value added enhancements beyond what is already available in large quantities.

In practical terms, you will need to fulfill the requirements of the Secretariat of Education: materia, pruebas, etc. Among the required subject areas are civica/sociales, math, science, and Spanish language. Most parents look for computer skills instruction and English language as well.

You will find that the government requirements are fairly lax. For example, teachers do not need cretification of the sort familiar to North Americans and Europeans. Many private colegios base their qualifications on certification guidelines of organizations such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
 
J

JACL

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commie said:
ever so slightly off the point but what sort of age group are you looking to start the school for???
Click to expand...


Well, I am trained to teach intermediate and secondary school, but I firmly believe that you need to build on a solid foundation; thus, I will probably begin with Pre-K and add grades as demand warrants.
 
C

carina

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As said above, it would all depend on what age group you are looking to provide education for, and if the motive is financial or to help the country.

If there are financial motives you would need to see how many persons you could provide education for in the apartment.
Depending on the age group, how does the surrounding area look? If it is kids they would need an area for breaks. And kids play, make alots of noise!

For children, as a parent, what I was looking when searching for a school for my son was ( in no specific order )

- Level of teachers, especially the foreign ones. Did not want my son to have a teacher just because the person spoke English.
- Location and facilities
- Additional offers such as art, computer, sports
- Way of teaching ( any specific orientation such as Bifrost, Montessori or
own )
- Lunch facilities
- What schools internationally the school here on the island were coperating with.
- Cost compared to service ( as said above, there is no lack of private schools so it is worth comparing... )

Please tell us a little more of your plans, motives, finiancial views, target group etc and I am sure you can get alots of comments and suggestions here!
 
J

JACL

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Apr 27, 2005
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arturo said:
Best of luck with this. Most agree that there are major opportunities to improve education here. Be clear about what you are trying to accomplish because if improving public education is your goal then opening a private school might not be the most efficient method. If you are motivated by profit, you would do well to apply marketing and competitive analysis due diligence.

Also, keep in mind that there is no shortage of private schools here. You will likely want to offer some value added enhancements beyond what is already available in large quantities.

In practical terms, you will need to fulfill the requirements of the Secretariat of Education: materia, pruebas, etc. Among the required subject areas are civica/sociales, math, science, and Spanish language. Most parents look for computer skills instruction and English language as well.




Well, I am an educator and hopefully in the future a successful entrepreneur. There are many social ills unfortunately in my native land; public education and the need for its immediate improvement are always present in my mind. However, I understand that most dominicans (that can afford to do so and even those that should not be able to) have given up hope on the efficacy of a public school education. This is unfortunate and until the governing bodies make it a priority (not just pay lip service to the value of education), Dominicans will continue needing quality institutions to educate our young.

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
 
J

JACL

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Apr 27, 2005
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Robert said:
Give us more details on the type of school you want to open and we will give you more help. I guess if it's an apartment, it can only cater to a few kids.
Click to expand...

Well, I would begin offering Pre-K and K and proceed to add sucessive grades as they are needed. As to the physical plant, I envision making architectural changes to the layout. A plus is that there is a sizeable yard available as common areas to be shared by the owners of the ground floor and the owners of the second and third floors. This is another big issue----Can I reach an agreement with those owners so they would allow such use/construction on those grounds? Perhaps I can offer a monetary incentive to them so they would relinquish their right of use?

Thanks.
 
J

JACL

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Apr 27, 2005
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carina said:
As said above, it would all depend on what age group you are looking to provide education for, and if the motive is financial or to help the country.

If there are financial motives you would need to see how many persons you could provide education for in the apartment.
Depending on the age group, how does the surrounding area look? If it is kids they would need an area for breaks. And kids play, make alots of noise!

For children, as a parent, what I was looking when searching for a school for my son was ( in no specific order )

- Level of teachers, especially the foreign ones. Did not want my son to have a teacher just because the person spoke English.
- Location and facilities
- Additional offers such as art, computer, sports
- Way of teaching ( any specific orientation such as Bifrost, Montessori or
own )
- Lunch facilities
- What schools internationally the school here on the island were coperating with.
- Cost compared to service ( as said above, there is no lack of private schools so it is worth comparing... )

Please tell us a little more of your plans, motives, finiancial views, target group etc and I am sure you can get alots of comments and suggestions here!
Click to expand...




Thanks for your reply. Please see my replies to other posts with respect to some of your questions (motives, target group, physical plant, etc...). Honestly, My plan is to plan things well and provide a quality education at a competitive rate. I also plan to begin modestly and grow with the business. Thanks.
 
C

carina

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Another good thing, that can also be a start of a complete school, is to go the way an English shool went here in POP. They started by offering English in the afternoon and homework help, combined with study preparations.
Many people, locals and foreigners, have sent their kids to this school, especially since many schools ( even those you pay for ) have 1/2 day only.
From next year I think the plan is to be a complete school.

They also coperate with other organizations, to get the kids into sport, such as the carate club in POP, Fantastico BasketBall Club etc etc.
In those clubs they have a mixture of trainers, both foreigners and locals, and the prices for joining a sport club are so modest here!
( Basket 150 pesos per year! and now the kids go to the capital for 3 days to the cost of 400 pesos! This is really cool for a kid!!! )
For foreign kids this is a great way to integrate in the social life here and combine school with afternoon activities. ;)
 
C

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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You have to bear in mind the demographics and purchasing power of the surrounding area. The Zona Oriental is a lower middle class area so you won't be able to charge Carol Morgan level fees.

Check out the competition too - I would guess there are quite a few private schools nearby.

Try and find some USPs (unique selling points) that give you an edge on the competition.
 
C

carina

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Mar 13, 2005
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Chirimoya said:
You have to bear in mind the demographics and purchasing power of the surrounding area. The Zona Oriental is a lower middle class area so you won't be able to charge Carol Morgan level fees.

Check out the competition too - I would guess there are quite a few private schools nearby.

Try and find some USPs (unique selling points) that give you an edge on the competition.
Click to expand...

Good point! On the North Coast, with the International School of Sosua as an exeption, the avarge cost per month in the "private" schools are 2000 pesos.
This goes for the English such as the English school, Alic and local as San Jose, Santa Rosa etc.
It is not much to play around with, as parents prefer small classes and not to much students in a school over all in general... ;)
 
J

JACL

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Apr 27, 2005
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carina said:
Another good thing, that can also be a start of a complete school, is to go the way an English shool went here in POP. They started by offering English in the afternoon and homework help, combined with study preparations.
Many people, locals and foreigners, have sent their kids to this school, especially since many schools ( even those you pay for ) have 1/2 day only.
From next year I think the plan is to be a complete school.

They also coperate with other organizations, to get the kids into sport, such as the carate club in POP, Fantastico BasketBall Club etc etc.
In those clubs they have a mixture of trainers, both foreigners and locals, and the prices for joining a sport club are so modest here!
( Basket 150 pesos per year! and now the kids go to the capital for 3 days to the cost of 400 pesos! This is really cool for a kid!!! )
For foreign kids this is a great way to integrate in the social life here and combine school with afternoon activities. ;)
Click to expand...

Great info. Please forgive my ignorance what does POP stand for? I'd like to hear more about it.
 
C

carina

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Mar 13, 2005
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Sorry about that, I am so used to just write POP instead of the whole name, Puerto Plata!
;)
 
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