Business Plan Project. St. Michael’s School Business Plan

St. Michael’s School Business Plan for FY 2020-FY 2022
[First Name, Last Name]
[Institutional Affiliation]
[Date]
St. Michael’s School Business Plan
* Executive Summary
St. Michael is an Anglican primary school committed to providing quality education to residents of St. Johns, Antigua. St. Michael’s school is 66 years old and sits on a 10 acres’ land in Barbuda on the outskirts of the St. Johns City. Although the student population has been made since its launch in 1952, the school plans to expand enrollment to girls from all Christian denominations. The school has the vision of becoming the leading primary educational center in Antigua and the whole of Eastern Caribbean in a holistic transformation of the students through quality academic and spiritual nurturing by equally competent and qualified staff. St. Michael’s primary target market is households earning between $80,000 and $100,000. St. Michael’s faces stiff competition on several fronts. Primary schools sponsored by the Seventh Adventists are well-known for providing quality programs for girl education. Public and private schools are also renowned as the preferred institutions for early childhood education. This three-year business plan will guide St. Michael through its operations, management, and evaluation to ensure that the institution achieves its goals and mission.
Organizational Summary
Vision Statement
Become the leading primary educational center in Antigua and the whole of Eastern Caribbean in a holistic transformation of the students through quality academic and spiritual nurturing by equally competent and qualified staff (Thomas, 2014).
Mission Statement
St. Michael’s school is an Anglican primary school committed to providing a quality education through spiritual awareness. In line with the school’s motto, On the Lord’s side, St. Michael’s mission is to:
* Enhance the students’ development through quality education by insisting on academic excellence and encouraging creative thinking.
* Instill Christian morals and values, promote adherence to the spiritual teachings of Christ, and compliance with the doctrines of the Anglican church.
* Develop an inclusive approach that emphasizes the application of the teachers, students, and parents in advocating for corporate servitude to God and humanity by embracing the love of Christ for all (Thomas, 2014).
Value Proposition Statement
St. Michael is a proactive, progressive, and holistic college-preparatory school that nurtures and empowers children to excel in any endeavor through focused student development. Our Christian-based disciplined structure guides students in learning and making positive life choices.
Company Description & Business Model
St. Michael’s school is the leading primary school in the city of St. John, Antigua. It is currently serving a total of 150 male students and has enough teachers to meet the needs of every learner. Although initially placed at the center of St. John City, this education center is currently located on the outskirts of the city to meet its expansion needs and provide an environment that is conducive for learning. Also, St. Michael’s is sponsored by the Anglican Church, although the Catholic nuns started the school in 1952 (Thomas, 2014).
* Industry Analysis and Trends
PESTEL
Political Factors

Economic Factors

Social Factors

* Curriculum changes in short lead time
* More privatization of schools
* The requirement to be self-managing and self-financing (Americas, 2017)

* Rising inflation rates in the country
* High costs of living affect fee payment
* The high cost of providing resources, including staff, technology.
* Risk of valued staff moving to competitors or other schools (Americas, 2017)

* Changing lifestyle among students
* Parental preferences: the power to choose a school
* Integrating students with special needs
* Attracting staff to a church-sponsored school
* Poverty affects learning (Americas, 2017)

Technological Factors

Environmental Factors

Legal Factors

* Changes to required equipment or standards
* Cyber insecurity- disturbing images and videos online
* The shift from paper to e-books
* The need to often update hardware and software
* Time and resources to manage IT systems (Americas, 2017)

* Location of St. Michael outside the city offers a quiet learning environment
* Various neighboring church-sponsored schools offer healthy competition
* Amenities in the City of St. John nearby are a valuable resource (Americas, 2017)

* Education and administrative inconsistencies caused by frequent changes in government policy.
* Risk of non-compliance with new laws may cause fresh administrative burdens
* The entrenchment of child rights has increased attendance in schools (Americas, 2017)

Strategic Mapping
Benchmarking
There are various online benchmarking tools in the country to deliver improvements for how education is provided and how pupils learn, specifically in their earlier phases. These tools range from those for primary schools to those at the tertiary level, and they identify areas of success as well as guide schools on how they can make improvements. The Education Department regularly works on updating these benchmarking tools (Akareem & Hossain, 2016).
Driving Forces
The changing economic world is a leading driving force of education in Antigua. It has brought various challenges in the sector including families struggling to afford quality education for their children. Advancements in ICT are also improvements in how teachers deliver education and how students learn. Learners now have 24/7 access to information resources and school facilities (Lehrer & Son, 2017). Technology also better equips pupils for the challenges in today's contemporary world. An increasingly aging population in St. John Antigua is also a threat to the schooling sector.Thus, there is also need for the industry to meet the educational needs of baby boomers (Akareem & Hossain, 2016).
* Business Goals/Objectives
SMART Goals
1 By August 30, 2020, develop, implement, and evaluate an action plan that creates an inclusive enrolment approach that accommodates children from other Christian doctrines and ensures a 90% retention rate of the existing and new students.
* By August 30, 2021, increase overall enrollment of students by 10% and expand enrollment to girls to include 50% of the total student population (Americas, 2017).
2 By January 31, 2020, develop and implement an early education program to accommodate the growing demand and unavailability of preschools in the region.
3 By August 30, 2022, increase revenue base of St. Michael’s by 5% by expanding and growing enrollment of students (McKeever, 2016).
Balanced Score Card Approaches
* The Competition
St. Michael’s faces stiff competition on several fronts. Primary schools sponsored by the Seventh Adventists are well-known for providing quality programs for girl education, specifically with single-sex education separating girls in grades one to five from boys at the same levels. Parents in St. John’s buy-in to these programs under the premise that they instill moral values to children while they are young (Thomas, 2014). Public schools are also renowned as the preferred institutions for early childhood education. However, St. Michael sets the bar in providing quality education in the region and is thus more likely to increase its enrollment and revenue base (McKeever, 2016).
* Marketing Plans and Strategies
St. Michael’s marketing plan and strategy have the goal of introducing new programs or services, increasing the school’s market share in the city, bring in new and more students, retain the current client base and increase revenue. St. Michael will use various marketing strategies to achieve these goals (McKeever, 2016). First, through target marketing, the school will directly appeal and answer to its target audience. Outbound marketing will be essential in potential clients, including parents with preschool students or young daughters. Third, social media tools such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will be useful when reaching the various demographics of our target market (Thomas, 2014).
* Target Market
St. Michael’s primary target market is households earning between $80,000 and $100,000 (middle-income families). Most of the residents are diversifying from plantation farming of sugarcane and thus increasing their revenue base, which enables them to finance quality education for their children. Based on this target market, the school will increase enrolment and popularize St. Michael’s as a co-ed school through the earlier highlighted marketing strategies. By targeting the middle-class parents, St. Michaels is aiming to market its quality of education to capture the attention of a significant percentage of these parents (Clifton et al., 2019).
* Strategic Position and Risk Assessment
SWOT Analysis
Strengths

Weaknesses

* Well-established (65 years of existence), good reputation thus more enrollees.
* Focus on quality education- disciplined students, high grades, spacious and clean environment
* Accepts students from all Christian denominations (Thomas, 2014)

* Majority of high-valued staff retires
* The technological gap with the teaching staff- they lack adequate skills (Thomas, 2014)

Opportunities

Threats

* Pres-school introduction
* Adequate space for more construction to accommodate new students
* Shifting St. Michael’s to co-ed thus increasing student population and the school’s influence (Thomas, 2014)

* Competition from other public and private schools
* Economic downturn
* Limitations of new government policies, rules, and regulations (Thomas, 2014).

Risk Description and Reduction
Risk Description

Impact

Strategies for Risk Reduction

Economic decline in Antigua

Retaining students may become challenging thus affecting school revenue and staffing (Page et al., 2019)

Develop and implement a contingency plan for students withdrawing from school (Page et al., 2019)

Theft and security issues

Inadequate resources to achieve business goals

Ensure school access and security by setting designated entrances and exits, authorization and authentication protocols (Aven, 2016)

Insufficient budget allocation

Failure to meet the goals of the business plan

Thorough preliminary planning

Increased staff and governance responsibilities

Lower quality of teaching and learning

Detailed preliminary planning

The excitement of staff about job security and changing management arrangements (Aven, 2016)

* Staff may have a poor attitude
* Possible resistance to change (Aven, 2016)

* Consultation meetings with staff.
* Ongoing support from management and HR.
* Clear staff plans agreed with teachers (Page et al., 2019)

* Keys to Success
There are five critical elements that St. Michael needs to succeed. They include;
* Qualified and trained staff: St. Michael’s hiring and selection process adheres to the bylaws of the Anglican Church, Christian teachings, and organizational values. The school also implemented a training and education program that keeps the staff abreast of current trends in education and technology (Burns Dewhurst, 2016).
* Effective school leadership: Ability of school leaders to motivate other staff members, demonstrate drive, responsibility, and dedication to the mission. The school selects all potential leaders through a rigorous selection process, which includes both a written application and a face-to-face interview with a panel (Hepburn, 2014).
* Service quality: Certified and qualified teachers focus on the delivery of quality education and educational programs. State-of-the-art technology and tools are used to provide an advanced environment. The school’s location offers serene and learning-friendly environment for children (McKeever, 2016).
* Reputation: St. Michael strives to maintain a highly regarded reputation for providing excellent education and instilling Christian values and discipline in students. The school’s commitment towards social responsibility and community involvement makes St. Michael’s a school and employer of choice in our target market for primary education (Hepburn, 2014).
* Marketing: Differentiating St. Michael’s educational programs and services from conventional learning and activity programs.
* Operations Plan
Description of Operations
St. Michael is located on a 10 acres’ land in Barbuda on the outskirts of the St. Johns, Antigua, which offers a quiet learning environment. Due to its suburb location, the two school buses pick up students from designated areas and routes and drops them off when the day ends (McKeever, 2016). St. Michael’s operation hours begin at 8 AM and end at 4 PM. The school operation activities include maintenance of school infrastructure, including laboratories, digital technologies, the library, and other facilities. It also entails maintenance of supply inventory and other assets, as well as managing the security of staff, students, and the school (Thomas, 2014).
Insurance
To minimize liability risk and comply with licensing requirements, St. Mich...