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How to Write a Learning Center Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a learning center company? If YES, here is a detailed sample learning center business plan template & FREE feasibility report. A learning center is a self-contained section of the classroom in which students engage in independent and self-directed learning activities. Learning centers provide students with exciting and interesting experiences to practice, enrich, reteach, and enhance their learning. These types of centers are filled with art materials, books, and other instructional tools.

Why Start a Learning Center?

It is important to state that there are different types of learning centers; learning centers can vary a great deal when it comes to their design and the results they want to achieve. But for the purpose of this business plan, we will concentrate on early childhood learning center.

Lastly, there are no barriers as regards those who can start a learning center in the united states; educationist, philanthropists, parents, community leaders, social entrepreneurs, religious organizations, businesses, teachers, school districts, and towns can start their own learning centers.

Having said that, if you interested in starting your learning center, then here is a comprehensive learning center business plan template that will give you the needed guide.

A Sample Learning Center Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The Early Childhood Learning Centers industry comprises establishments that provide basic skill and education courses for children between the ages of two and five.

Basically, establishments in this industry, both public and private, provide basic preparatory education courses for children aged two years to those reaching the compulsory school-entry age. This industry excludes establishments that primarily service adults and provide child-teaching services.

Operators offer different programs, which vary by age. For younger children, typically those between the ages of two and three, programs focus on developing early math, reading and interpersonal skills. Children between three and five years old participate in a variety of activities and subjects to prepare them for grade school.

Recent reports released by IBISWORLD shows that over the five years to 2018, revenue fell early in the period as a result of low per capita disposable income levels and the decline in the labor force participation rate of women. However, the unemployment rate has declined each year since 2013.

Statistics has it that The Early Childhood Learning Centers industry in the United States of America, is worth $11 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 2.1 percent annually between 2013 and 2018. There are about 19,482 registered and licensed (accredited) early childhood learning centers scattered all around the United States of America and they are responsible for employing about 247,365 people.

Aside from Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. which has the largest enrollments, no other early childhood learning center can boast of dominating the market; every player can comfortably compete in the industry.

It is important to state that the barriers to entry into the Early Childhood Learning Centers industry are high. As a matter of fact, new entrants find it difficult to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the early childhood learning center is of utmost importance, as the center that has a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

Reputation indeed is imperative to parents’ decisions when shopping for early childhood learning centers. This is because the quality of education cannot be assessed until after it is complete.

Even though this might seem like a highly competitive industry, the industry is still pretty much open for people to come in and compete. As a matter of fact, if you conduct your research and feasibility studies very well before starting your own center, you are likely going to struggle less to make headway in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is an early childhood learning center that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Little Rock – Arkansas, United States of America. We are a standard early childhood learning center that will offer different programs, which will vary by age.

For younger children, typically those between the ages of two and three, the programs will focus on developing early math, reading and interpersonal skills. Children between three and five years old will participate in a variety of activities and subjects to prepare them for grade school.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is a result driven early childhood learning center that provides broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients.

We will offer professional teaching services in a highly secured and conducive learning environment. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our students’ educational goals whenever they enroll in our center.

At Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc., our students’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional teachers in various subjects who are passionate at imparting knowledge to students.

We have plans in the future to also offer learning platforms to people with both learning disability and physical disability (especially the blind, the dumb and the deaf). Our overall business goal is to position our early childhood learning center to become the leading brand in the industry in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas, and also to be amongst the top 10 learning centers in United States of America within the first 20 years of operation.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is founded by Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Steve – Carson and her immediate family members. She is an educationist par excellence and she has won many awards in the educational sector in the United States.

Dr. (Mrs.) Becky Steve – Carson has both the academic qualifications and experience to run an early childhood learning center that can favorably compete with other leading early childhood learning centers not only in Little Rock – Arkansas, but also throughout the United States America.

3. Our Products and Services

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is going to offer varieties of early childhood learning services in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our early childhood learning center is to soundly educate kids in various subjects and of course to make profits from the industry.

Our service offerings are listed below;

• Planning and implementing a diverse curriculum for children
• Developing activities to introduce math and literacy concepts
• Providing child and infant daycare to an extent
• Operating Head Start programs

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to build a highly competitive early childhood learning center that will become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas.

Our mission is to provide professional and conducive learning environment to students at different levels of learning. Our overall business goal is to position Little Rock® Community Learning Center to become the leading early childhood learning center in the industry in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas, and also to be amongst the top 10 early childhood learning centers in the United States of America within the first 20 years of operation.

Our Business Structure

It is a known fact that the success of any business is to a large extent is dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy roles in the organization. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our early childhood learning center.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands (teaching and non – teaching staff members) to help us build the early childhood learning center of our dream. The fact that we want to become one of the leading early childhood learning centers in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

• Head of The Early Childhood Learning Center (School Proprietress)

School Administrator

Early Childhood Learning Specialist

• Accountant/Bursar
• Client Service Executive/Front Desk Officer

Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Early Childhood Learning Center/School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the center
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the early childhood learning center
• Coordinates all arms of the center
• Evaluates the success of the center
• Reports to the board
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the early childhood learning center
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for tutors (teachers)
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of the early childhood learning center.
• Effectively teach subjects as assigned by the school administrator
• Accesses the progress of students under their care
• Ensures that students abide by the rules and regulations of the center
• Contributes his/her quota towards growing the early childhood learning center
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

Marketing Executive

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new students, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the school

School Bursar (Accountant)

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides management with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
• Serves as internal auditor for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes/receive parents and students by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents and students (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents and students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build parent’s interest in the schools’ services
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to parents and students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the School Administrator.
• Responsible for cleaning the school facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleanses both the interior and exterior of the school facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator
• Ensures that the school facility is secured at all time
• Controls traffic and organize parking
• Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours’ basis
• Submits security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

6. SWOT Analysis

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring with bias in the educational sector to assist us in building a well – structured early childhood learning center that can favorably compete in the United States.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

As an early childhood learning center, our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the educational sector especially when it comes to working with toddlers. We are well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of students from the first day we open our doors and welcome students for enrollment.

As a new early childhood learning center in Little Rock – Arkansas, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance via reputation in the already saturated education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

Demand for day-care services is positively correlated with the number of children aged nine and younger. Increase in the number of children younger than nine, particularly those younger than five, boost demand and profitability for private centers. The number of children under the age of nine is expected to increase slightly in 2018, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

The labor force participation rate of women, especially mothers, has a major effect on demand for child-care services. The participation rate is influenced by many factors, including social values, expectations relating to child care, the growth rate of employment, after-tax wages and child-care costs.

When the female workforce participation rate rises, it tends to increase demand for child-care services. The labor force participation rate of women is expected to increase slightly in 2018, posing a threat to the industry.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the early childhood learning center business is that the keys to attracting students is the educational performance of their students. Any early childhood learning center that has good records will always thrive.

The demand for early childhood learning centers is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every student in a given geographical location. In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for early childhood learning centers.

Early childhood learning centers are overwhelmingly located in urban areas. Over one-half of all early childhood learning center students reside in urban environments, compared with less than one-third of students at traditional public schools.

Growth in the percentage of the overall population living in urban areas increases demand for early childhood learning centers. The US urban population is expected to increase in 2018, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of education. The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, your advertisements, and on insurance policy cover.

Lastly, it is trendier to find early childhood learning centers engaging in extra – curricular activities and as a matter of fact, an early childhood learning center that thrives in sports can leverage on that to attract students who are sports inclined.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard early childhood learning center, Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is going to offer varieties of educational services. Our intention of starting our early childhood learning center is to prepare toddlers to enroll in schools and of course to make profits from the education industry.

Our target market as an early childhood learning center cuts across people (students) of different classes and cultural background whether African, White, Caucasian, Latinos, Indians, and Asians. We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the students at different learning stages in Little Rock – Arkansas.

Our Competitive Advantage

Indeed, the Early Childhood Learning Centers industry is highly competitive and the entry barriers are high. As a matter of fact, the industry is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the early childhood learning center is of utmost importance, as early childhood learning centers that have a good history of getting students into prestigious schools often have the best reputations.

As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite schools. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. might be a new entrant into the education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry in the United States of America, but the management staff of the center are considered gurus.

They are highly qualified educationists/teachers at various levels of learning in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the education cum Early Childhood Learning Centers industry and we are going to ensure that we do all it takes to attract students on a regular basis. Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will generate income by offering the following tutorial services;

• Providing child and infant day care to an extent

10. Sales Forecast

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Little Rock – Arkansas and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six months of operation and grow the early childhood learning center and our student base.

We have been able to examine the early childhood learning centers cum education market in the United States of America, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

Below is the sales projection for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc., it is based on the location of our tutorial center and of course the wide range of educational cum learning services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year (FY1):  $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year (FY2):  $450,000
• Third Fiscal Year (FY3):  $750,000

N.B : This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiff competitions amongst early childhood learning centers in the United States of America, hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing concerns.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the early childhood learning center.

Our goal is to grow our early childhood learning center to become one of the top 10 early childhood learning centers in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Little Rock – Arkansas but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our early childhood learning center by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to schools, parents/household and key stake holders in Little Rock – Arkansas.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in schools, libraries and even student organizations.
• Creating a website, allows parents to be able to look you up, and also allows you to post general study tips, giving you an added advantage.
• Use friends and family to spread word about our early childhood learning center
• Introduce Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. to learning specialists, school coaches, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors especially as they are with students everyday
• Post information about Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
• Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
• Using tutorial referral networks such as agencies that will help match students with Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.
• Joining relevant association or body that will enable us network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google AdWords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our early childhood learning center in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are aware of the potency of a good publicity strategy hence we have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Little Rock – Arkansas which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our early childhood learning center.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and educational magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events/programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Little Rock – Arkansas.
• Engage in roadshow from time to time in targeted neighborhoods in and around Little Rock – Arkansas
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around Little Rock – Arkansas
• Passing general information via our school’s social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our teaching and non – teaching staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Early childhood learning centers in the United States of America and of course in all the parts of the world charge students per term/per session and students have the options of either paying their tuitions before resumption or during the school session. Early childhood learning centers charge students based on loads of factors including location, service offerings and extra – curricular activities.

At Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. we will keep our fees below the average market rate by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment via Point of Sales Machines (POS Machines)
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our clients make payment for tuition fees without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for services rendered.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up an early childhood learning center business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by acquiring a large facility, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are taken care of, and that your early childhood learning center’s environment is conducive enough for the students to learn.

The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked. As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a early childhood learning center business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money.

However, this is what it would cost us to start Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a large facility that will accommodate the number of block of classes, playing field, staff offices and parking lots et al (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $350,000.
• Equipping the classes and office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $50,000
• Launching an official website will cost – $500
• The budget for the payment of salaries for the first three months of operations: $120,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Running cost, Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $45,000

Going by the market survey and feasibility studies conducted, we came to the conclusion that we will need an average of six hundred and fifty thousand dollar ($650,000) to start a small but standard early childhood learning center in the United States of America.

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is a family business that will be owned and managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Beck Steve – Carson and her immediate family members. They are the major financiers of the early childhood learning center which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the early childhood learning center to just three major sources.

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the startup capital from government, friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of securing $100,000 education grant from the Government an also obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is a known fact that the future of any business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and of course the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers (students and parents alike) over is to ensure that we offer nothing less than the best, to offer quality education to all our students so much so that they can favorably compete with students all over the United States.

Little Rock® Community Learning Center, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Securing a standard facility large enough to accommodate our design: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the startup capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Schools’ Logo: Completed
• Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the school : In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the early childhood learning center in Little Rock – Arkansas: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in the education industry : In Progress

More on Education

How to Start Your Own Educational Learning Center

• Small Business
• Setting Up a New Business
• Starting Your Own Company
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According to Global Industry Analysts, the private learning and tutoring market is experiencing rapid growth; it's on pace to become a $227.2 billion industry by 2022. Starting your own educational learning center allows you to get involved with a business trend that is headed in the right direction. Starting an educational learning center also gives you the chance to make a difference in the lives of children every day. Before opening an educational learning center, several steps must be completed.

Write a Detailed Business Plan

Include information about whether you plan on buying into a franchise or starting your own independent business. Evaluate the competition and create some financial projections for your business as well.

Get Startup Funding

For this process, pursue funding from investors or by getting a loan from a commercial lender. When working with a lender, the money must be paid back at some point. If you bring on investors, your future profits must be shared. Both investors and lenders require a copy of your business plan before they will think about giving you the money you need.

Find a Location

Find a place that is convenient for parents to drop off their children. For example, locate your center relatively close to a school or a residential area. Get a building that has rooms for several classes, a computer area and possibly a play area.

Hire Teachers or Tutors

Hire individuals who have been certified by the National Tutoring Association. This helps lend your institution some credibility with parents.

Buy the Equipment

This includes books, computers, desks, chairs, chalkboards, educational toys and videos. If you get involved with a franchise, a list of necessary materials is provided. If not, buy the materials that you need according to your business plan.

Promote Your Business

Offer an introductory price or promotion so that more customers sign up initially. Consult with local schools to see if they will allow you to pass out fliers or be mentioned in the school bulletin. Advertising in the newspaper, on the radio and on television in your area helps get the word out about your business also.

Utilize Digital Marketing Techniques

Although local advertising is a great way to get the word out about your new learning center, digital marketing allows you to reach new customers much more quickly. Social media specifically gives satisfied clients a place to post testimonials, while also allowing the company to post about current discounts or the addition of new tutoring courses.

• Purchase property and general liability insurance for your business. Setting up a corporation or a limited liability company helps you avoid being held personally responsible for any business occurrences.
• National Tutoring Association: Homepage
• Huntington Franchise: Homepage
• Career Trend: How to Start a Learning Center
• Profitable Venture: Starting a Learning Center Business – A Complete Guide

Luke Arthur has been writing professionally since 2004 on a number of different subjects. In addition to writing informative articles, he published a book, "Modern Day Parables," in 2008. Arthur holds a Bachelor of Science in business from Missouri State University.

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How to Start a Learning Center Business

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Education Industry

Do you want to start a learning center? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a learning center business with NO money and no experience plus a  sample learning center business plan template.

Education is and will always be an on-going affair. In fact no one is above learning. This is one of the major reasons why the quest for knowledge would continue to be on the increase. The Learning centre business is a viable business and experts would continue to preach its potency.

Learning centres are most times built to provide easy access to an institution or group of institutions and to assist learners who may experience difficulty in completing assignments and courses because they lack access to educational resources, ICT, tutoring and guidance.

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A lot of books have discussed the importance of learning centres, and the presence of learning centres in a community may also financially benefit students as they will not need to travel to urban areas and thus avoid the loss of income they would incur if they had to frequently travel to a major centre.

Also from a political perspective, all citizens need access to educational opportunities, not just those in selected urban areas. This simply explains the importance of learning centres to the common man.

When planning to start this business, note that a learning centre should be designed to meet the needs of learners and to support their efforts as they strive for educational success.

Furthermore, space must be provided for asynchronous and synchronous learning activities, social interaction, and administration. If you really are determined to start a leaning centre, then you may want to hold on to the information below;

Steps to Starting a Learning Center Business

1. understand the industry.

Industry reports have shown that majority of revenue in this industry comes from tuition or program fees. Gross profits tend to range from 60-90% depending on geographical location and subject matter, and net profit averages between 2-10%.

Also as businesses within the industry have grown, they have realized some benefits to scale, but with that growth have often come a difficulty finding qualified instructors.

Experts believe that online training resources, programs and even mobile apps have traditionally been a challenge to the industry, but in recent years, successful educational service providers have found ways to make use of this technology to their great advantage.

Not only are these tools helping students learn in new and exciting ways, but they are helping providers manage students, administrative functions and source material distribution more efficiently.

The growth in this industry is in part attributed to the growing global competitive landscape for higher education, and also greater recognition of the value of trade schools. Many folks are realizing that the cost of a college education can saddle a person for life – and are opting to skip college, learn a trade and start making money faster and with less debt.

The general educational services market is large and growing with multiple types of opportunities available for any focused entrepreneur.

Reports have it that there are over 100,000 establishments in the private Education Service industry; almost 200,000 when including local, state and federal government institutions; combined, this industry employs over 3.5 million people.

Also on the private side, the industry is largely fragmented – the fifty largest companies represent just 30% of the total revenue in the industry. Reports also stated that just last year alone, there were 55 million students attending school in grades K-12, all of whom are potential clients for learning services.

Note that business opportunities in the learning centres industry are not limited to tutoring school age kids in subjects like math and science – opportunities abound in childcare and early education, career education, art, dance, adult language, test preparation and even driving.

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies

• Demographics and Psychographics

Starting a learning centre gives you the opportunity to offer educational lessons to students of all ages regarding any special skill sets that you have.

Note that a good successful learning is flexible because your students will have very different needs: some are struggling with classes in school, some are studying for college entrance exams, and others may be adult learners who need to master certain skills to benefit their employment.

We strongly believe that this business is ideal for current and former teachers, which is why many teachers begin their learning business as a part-time job. For you to be able to do this business, you must be a people person as most of the business is aimed at direct interaction with others. It helps to be good with children of all ages as they comprise the vast majority of your customers.

It is also important to state that the best customers for a learning centre are regular ones. This is because you are charging an hourly fee (and should not really be charging any other kinds of fees on top of that), some of your best customers will be those whose parents are trying to help them succeed with a subject in school.

Note that if they reach out to you early enough, your learning centre might be taking them for a semester or two—anywhere between 16 and 32 weeks. But apart from that, some of your best customers will be college students and adult learners as these are the groups that realize those sessions with you are an investment.

3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On

You should know that learning centres work with people of all ages, helping them acquire educational skills they lack. Estimates have shown that the private learning and tutoring market is experiencing rapid growth; it is on pace to become a $100 billion industry in 2017.

Have it in mind that starting an educational learning centre gives you the opportunity to get involved with a business trend that is headed in the right direction.

This business also gives you the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children every day. But before opening an educational learning centre, several steps must be completed. One of these steps is to choose a specific niche. Niches available on this industry may include;

• Science learning centre
• Art learning centre
• Communication centre
• Drama centre
• Math centre
• Middle school students centre
• High school students centre
• College students centre
• Professional education centres
• Learning centre for the disable
• Online learning centre

The Level of Competition in the Industry

We believe that the revenue for the Learning Centre industry has contracted steadily in the past five years. States have struggled to fund industry centres since the recession, a lot of which rely heavily on public funding. Also declining workforce participation reduced demand for learning centre services over the period, leading to the closure of a lot of businesses in the industry.

Even though a lot of parents will return to the workforce in the next five years, state budgetary issues will persist, and the industry is expected to continue its decline through 2022. But note that a lot of private businesses in the industry will grow due to higher levels.

It is also very important to state that the industry shows low market share concentration, with only one single operator claiming more than 5.0% of industry revenue. Businesses in the industry tend to service local markets and as such, do not experience significant expansion.

We believe this is especially true for learning centres that rely on government funding. Just in New York state alone, as much as 279 programs are listed as accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Low market share concentration is expected to continue going forward in the industry.

4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry

• Sylvan Learning Centres
• Eye level learning centre
• American learning centre
• Centre for teaching excellence
• STEM Centre USA
• Creative kids learning centre
• Little learning schools
• Oxford learning
• Huntington Learning Centre
• Challenger learning centre

Economic Analysis

Have it in mind that the Business model for a Learning Centre business is very straightforward: you typically charge clients a fixed hourly fee. This fee should accurately represent both your education and experience in the chosen field while taking into account the average price of your competition in the area.

Also to an extent, the size of a Learning Centre business is limited by its nature. It is very much possible for a successful tutor to eventually start this business with multiple tutors as employees, but it needs large amounts of additional time, funds, and licenses, and a lot of learning centre owners enjoy their business because it has a low overhead and they maintain schedule flexibility and business autonomy.

It is also important that you understand the success of your learning centre business is entirely dependent on your hourly rate and the number of students you have at any given time. For example, if you stay relatively busy, tutoring for 30 hours a week and charging a minimum of $30 per hour, your annual wages would be $46,800 gross income.

This literally jumps to $62,400 gross income, though, if you charge $40 per hour. Obviously, that amount can go higher with more hours and/or a higher hourly charge, but we advise that you should be mindful of the season: summer typically has much fewer students than other seasons because your primary clients—students-are mostly out of school.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

Indeed you must have noted that starting your own company is a daunting task, especially if you are looking at the final goal instead of the step in front of you. One of the first decisions you will have to make is whether to start your own business from scratch or invest in an existing franchise. So here are four reasons to consider before buying a learning centre franchise.

• Working with a proven business model
• Building for the Future with Fulfilling Work
• Brand recognition and marketing support
• Support for Yourself While You Support Others

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

Learning centres are always in demand. They are needed to help students keep up with material presented in class as well as stimulate the minds of gifted students. Also a lot of individuals need learning centres to help them pass important examinations or prepare for advanced education.

You need adequate planning to be able to survive in this business, but you can typically start out on a budget and gradually expand your business over time. Here are a few challenges of starting a learning centre;

• Developing your curriculum
• Registering your learning centre as a company
• Renting space
• writing a business plan
• Choosing a suitable marketing strategy

7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)

Starting a learning centre that will cater for students is a serious business so the legal entity you choose will go a long way to determine how big you want the business to grow.

No doubt choosing a legal entity for your business can be a bit challenging, but since you will be working with individual students and probably huge educational institutions, we advise that you incorporate your business as a legal body because it may be difficult for you to get their attention if they know you are running the business as a private individual, not a corporate firm. Advantages incorporating your business include…

• Protecting your personal assets
• Have Easier Access to Capital
• Enhancing Your Business’ Credibility
• Perpetual Existence
• Gain anonymity

8. Choose a Catchy Business Name

• Success Approach
• Red Apple Teaching
• Lively learning Centre
• Brilliant Minds
• Click Studies
• Club Z! Centre
• Intelligent Learning Centre
• Educational Endeavours
• Revolving Tutoring
• Science centre
• Maths Legends
• Main stone Learning Centre
• Ivy League centre
• Learning crib
• Special Kids
• Clean Step Academy
• NYC Private centre
• Over Achievers Academy
• Future legends
• Precision Academy
• Chicago Test Prep
• Tertiary Education
• Simple minds
• Lecture Point
• Friday Educational Group
• Detroit Learning
• Premium centre
• The Study Shack
• Learning Company
• Academic Doctor
• Education And More

9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You

When starting this business, you need to cover yourself as a business owner from potential lawsuits by purchasing business insurance. But right before you purchase insurance, you must first have a solid business plan that states your risks as a business owner and how you plan to cover those risks.

Have it in mind that not all of your risks as a business owner can be covered simply by purchasing a basic insurance policy. You must first know what your risks are.

This is why to identify the risks of your business you can simply consult with an attorney or even an insurance professional. Note that the risks for a learning centre business can be very huge because of the many different exposures involved with your business activities.

But before paying costly fees for an attorney’s advice, we can at least help you to identify some of the potential claims that could arise and which insurance coverage would protect you in the event of a claim. There are a number of risk management controls you can put in place:

• Privacy Statement
• Information Security Policy (you can find some great templates for Information Security policies on SANS website)
• Customer Contract Revision Provisions
• Standard Customer Contracts
• Standard Agreements for Vendors
• Recall Plan
• Vendor Certification Process
• Quality Control Program
• Obtaining Customer signatures on each phase of the project

Insurance Policy You Will Need May Include;

• General Liability Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Workers Compensation Insurance
• Commercial Auto Liability Insurance

10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents

When organising or planning your learning centre business, you should also consider going for intellectual property protection to be able to protect your intellectual property.

Filing for intellectual property protection for your Educational Consultancy Firm goes beyond protecting your company’s logo and other documents, but also protecting your investments, patents and of course the name of your company.

If you want to file for intellectual property protection and also register your trademark in the United States, then you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO. The final approval of your trademark is subjected to the review of attorneys as required by the USPTO.

11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification

Learning centres are independent academic units within colleges and universities that exist to give support services, and to aid teaching faculties to improve their teaching and professional development. Note that they may also provide learning support services for students depending on the individual institution.

For you to be able to remain relevant in the industry, you need to keep staying current with industry trends and certifications, some of which are;

• Learning Centre Leadership Certification
• Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP)
• Institute of teaching and development certification
• LCE Certification
• ATD Certification
• Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP)

12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate

When starting this business, you need to register your business with the IRS. All businesses should apply for an EIN (employee identification number) on the IRS website. The process is free, and you can submit the application online. Your EIN is required for filing for a business license.

The exact process and requirements for applying for business license differ from state to state, so you should contact your local business authority for details on how to register your learning centre business in your state.

Note that some states may need you to have special certifications or permits, but other states like South Carolina, do not. These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own learning centre business in the United States of America;

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Business License and Certification
• Business Plan
• Non – disclosure Agreement
• Employment Agreement (offer letters)
• Operating Agreement for LLCs
• Insurance Policy
• Consulting contract documents
• Online Terms of Use
• Online Privacy Policy Document
• Apostille (for those who intend operating beyond the United States of America)

13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital

When looking to secure funds for your learning centre, we strongly advise that you pursue funding from investors or by getting a loan from a commercial lender. When working with a lender, the money must be paid back at some point. If you bring on investors, your future profits must be shared.

Note that both investors and lenders need a copy of your business plan before they will think about giving you the money you need. Ways to finance your learning centre may include…

• Debt Financing
• Personal savings
• Raising money from investors and business partners
• Applying for Loan from your Bank
• Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors

14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

In this business, the size, layout, location and appearance should all boost your centre operations while respecting zoning and environmental regulations. We all know that facilities come in a wide variety of shapes and prices, which is why you need to know what your needs are and how much you can afford to pay.

If you have worked on a business plan, you probably know the amount you can spend on rent or a mortgage, utilities and taxes.

We strongly believe that a cash-flow analysis will aid you know whether you can afford to purchase a commercial property or if renting is your only viable option. Things to consider when choosing a suitable location for your learning centre include;

• If it’s the right location
• Does it require modification?
• Tax and infrastructure
• Allowing for future growth
• Separate your needs from your wants

15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

Staffing a learner centre with appropriately qualified individuals can be a significant challenge, but you should know that quality staff is key to the centre’s success.

Note that in order to help learners succeed and take responsibility for their learning, learning centre staff must be able to encourage students, provide a safe environment in which students are treated with respect, and offer reasonable and ethical support that is mindful of students’ privacy.

Have it in mind that your learning centre staff must be intrinsically motivated to help others. Indeed it can be difficult to find individuals with the necessary people and technical skills to staff learning centres. Yet preference should be given to selecting staff who display above-average people skills.

Since the successful operation of today’s learning centres involves ICTs, it is essential that learning centre staff know how to use them.

Individuals who are organized, technologically inclined or savvy, and have basic accounting skills may help make sure that the centre runs successfully. Then funds would be handled by a central organization or via mobile phone money-transfer software so that learning centre staff will not be tempted by corruption or get susceptible to robberies.

Note that immediately learning centre staff are hired, they must be informed about the institution’s programs, its admission and registration procedures as well as the services that are offered or could be offered at the centre. We believe that the key role for staff would be obtaining feedback from students and forwarding it to institutional personnel as well as tracking whether or not students’ concerns have been addressed.

The two-way capability of today’s technology has allowed the world to come to the learner and the learner to reach out beyond his or her environment. Note that technology has become an essential component of today’s educational system.

We believe that it can facilitate effective and efficient communication and help students to obtain the information they need to succeed.

We also believe that the mere presence of ICTs will not make sure that people learn; people must be shown how to use ICTs so as to obtain the information they seek and to analyse what they find. Without much word, the information and the procedures involved in seeking information must be in a language that people can understand.

Currently, 57% of the Internet is in the English language while only 16% of the world’s 7 billion people speak any English at all.

Wikipedia, for example, offers its content in 286 different languages. Note that the success of any educational program involving technology is highly dependent on the capabilities, confidence and enthusiasm of the staff at the learning centre.

This simply means there is a need to ensure that learning centre staffs are able to use the technology and to re-orient learners who may be accustomed to traditional classroom instructional methods.

The Service Delivery Process of the Business

We all know that University professors, part-time instructors, or teaching assistants approach teaching as experts in their field, but it doesn’t in any way guarantee success in teaching, as teaching expertise is entirely a different matter. We believe that a lot of instructors have not been trained in teaching methods, and may have difficulties passing contents and concepts to students, who are relative laymen in the field.

We also believe that novice students approach the information and contents in a course in a much different way than expert teachers, and teachers may not know the conceptual divide between them and their students.

Meaning that most time novice students may perceive the contents of lectures and textbooks as large amounts of information, rather than as meaningful concepts, in contrast to experts, who can naturally see the materials as coherent and meaningful due to years of expertise.

Also individuals who depend on traditional teacher-centred methods such as pure lecture may inadvertently subject students to an information dump, or fail to flow with students at a conceptual level, leaving students unable to learn or retain information in a meaningful way and approach.

16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies

Indeed the presence of a learning centre in a particular location does not mean that it will be used. That is because learning centres, institutions, and programs must be marketed and the benefits of the centre proactively sold.

We all know that marketing strategies could emphasize the need for life-long learning or the potential impact the centre could have on members of the public once they become aware of new ideas and developments beyond their location.

Even though individuals may understand the gain of an educational program, they may not be able to pay for the program in the traditional manner.

Instead of making one large payment upfront for each semester or academic year, learning centres might consider implementing pay-as-you go models, where students only pay for one course at a time or pay hourly. Things to have in mind when developing a marketing plan for your learning centre may include;

• Determine conditions for success
• Ascertain the amount people are willing to pay
• Establish partnerships
• Find managers
• Differentiate service

17. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

Have it in mind that the primary path to a more profitable Learning centre is more students, and the primary path to more students is more advertising. In addition to the previously-mentioned advertising via print, television, social media, and networking with local schools and community centres, you might consider offering free workshops or seminars at local schools and colleges.

We believe this will help you both advertise your services and demonstrate your value to potential customers. You should also consider guest publishing on educational blogs or blogs related to your field—this will indeed help you become more of an established name when someone is looking for more specialized instruction. Other things to bear in mind may include;

• Motivate your students
• Employ two-stage implementation process
• Develop entrepreneurial skills
• Use open educational resources

Business Plan Template for Education

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Starting or expanding an educational venture can be an exciting yet challenging endeavor. To ensure that your goals are clearly defined and your strategies are solid, you need a comprehensive business plan. That's where ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Education comes in!

This template is perfect for education institutions, entrepreneurs, or investors who want to outline their goals, strategies, and financial projections. With ClickUp's business plan template, you can create a roadmap for success and attract potential stakeholders to support your educational venture.

This template includes everything you need to:

• Define your educational goals and mission
• Develop strategies for growth and sustainability
• Create financial projections and budgets
• Outline marketing and outreach plans
• Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies

Don't miss out on the opportunity to bring your educational vision to life. Get started with ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Education today!

Business Plan Template for Education Benefits

A business plan template for education offers a multitude of benefits to education institutions, entrepreneurs, or investors looking to start or expand their educational ventures. Some of the key benefits include:

• Providing a clear roadmap for success by outlining goals, strategies, and financial projections
• Attracting potential stakeholders, such as investors or partners, by showcasing a well-thought-out plan
• Ensuring alignment and focus by defining the mission, vision, and values of the educational enterprise
• Analyzing market trends and competition to identify unique selling points and opportunities for growth
• Guiding resource allocation and budgeting decisions to optimize financial sustainability
• Facilitating communication and collaboration among team members and stakeholders
• Supporting decision-making processes by evaluating risks and creating contingency plans
• Enhancing credibility and professionalism for grant applications or funding proposals
• Monitoring progress and tracking key performance indicators to measure success and make adjustments as needed.

Main Elements of Education Business Plan Template

ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Education provides all the essential elements to help you create a comprehensive and strategic roadmap for your educational venture:

• Custom Statuses: Track the progress of your business plan with statuses such as Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add important information and categorize different sections of your business plan.
• Custom Views: Access different views to organize and analyze your business plan, including Topics view to focus on specific topics, Status view to track the progress of each section, Timeline view to visualize milestones and deadlines, Business Plan view for a holistic overview, and the Getting Started Guide view to help you navigate through the template.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Education, you can streamline your planning process, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure a clear path to success for your educational venture.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Education

If you're in the education industry and need to create a business plan, our Business Plan Template for Education can help guide you through the process. Follow these four steps to effectively use the template and create a comprehensive and actionable plan for your educational institution:

1. Define your vision and mission

Start by clearly articulating your vision and mission for your educational institution. What is the long-term goal you want to achieve? What values and principles will guide your organization? By clearly defining your vision and mission, you'll have a solid foundation for your business plan.

Use a Doc in ClickUp to brainstorm and outline your vision and mission statements.

2. Conduct market research

To create a successful business plan, you need to have a deep understanding of the market and the competitive landscape. Research trends in the education industry, analyze your target audience, and identify your unique selling points. This information will help you position your institution effectively and develop strategies to attract and retain students.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to organize and analyze your market research data.

3. Develop your curriculum and programs

The curriculum and programs you offer are crucial to the success of your educational institution. Define the courses and programs you will offer, outline the learning objectives, and design a comprehensive curriculum that aligns with industry standards and meets the needs of your target audience.

Create tasks in ClickUp to outline each course and program, assign responsible team members, and set deadlines.

4. Create a financial plan

A solid financial plan is essential for the sustainability and growth of your educational institution. Determine your startup costs, projected revenue, and operating expenses. Additionally, consider funding options, such as grants or investments, and create a budget that aligns with your financial goals.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to track your financial projections, expenses, and funding options in one centralized location.

By following these four steps and utilizing our Business Plan Template for Education in ClickUp, you'll be well on your way to creating a comprehensive and actionable business plan for your educational institution.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Education

Education institutions, entrepreneurs, or investors who are looking to start or expand educational ventures can use the ClickUp Business Plan Template for Education to create a comprehensive and organized business plan.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a successful business plan:

• Use the Topics View to outline and organize the different sections of your business plan
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
• Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and milestones for each section, ensuring timely completion
• The Business Plan View provides a comprehensive overview of your entire plan, allowing you to review and make adjustments as needed
• Create a Getting Started Guide View to provide step-by-step instructions for team members or stakeholders involved in the implementation of the plan
• Customize the template by adding custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to provide additional information and categorization for each section
• Update statuses and custom fields as you progress through the plan to keep everyone informed and ensure accountability.
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The Project 2025 education plan looks a lot like Arizona's

You’ve probably heard a lot lately about Project 2025 , the controversial policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation that lays out what the next Republican presidency should look like.

It involves a dramatic rethinking of how the federal government operates — including a major concentration of power in the White House.

Former President Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, but he has ties to many of the authors and Democrats are continuing to tie him to it.

When it comes to public education, Maria Polletta found Project 2025 uses Arizona as a model . Polletta covers education for the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting and joined The Show to talk about it.

Interview highlights

When it comes to education, you write that Project 2025 would dismantle the Department of Education.

MARIA POLLETTA: That's at least what Project 2025 is proposing. It says very plainly actually in the first sentence of its education chapter that the federal Department of Education should be eliminated. It describes the agency as a cabal of special interests and a bloated bureaucrac. And really says that families and students would be better off without it.

It's important to note that the president as, at least, at least as things stand now, can't unilaterally get rid of the Department of Education. That would require an Act of Congress, which project 2025 acknowledges, and that doesn't seem particularly likely.

But although the plan says the agency should be eliminated, what it really wants to do is ... pick it apart piecemeal, get rid of some programs, shift other programs to other departments and send a lot of funding and related responsibilities back to the states. And a fair number of those policy goals could be accomplished through presidential actions.

So let's talk about the Arizona ties here that you dug into. Arizona is really always known as the pioneer of school choice. — whether it's charter schools or school vouchers to pay for private schools, things like that. Is that at the root of this?

POLLETTA: It's pretty striking how frequently Arizona features in Project 2025's education section, both directly and indirectly. I mean, not even three paragraphs in it's mentioned as a school choice pioneer to be emulated. Just as you said, we as a state have a national reputation for this. Going back to the 1990s, we were the first state to establish school tuition organizations or STOs. Those nonprofits that funnel would be tax revenue to private school scholarships. We've been a leader in the charter school expansion. And, of course, we were the first state to offer universal eligibility to our school voucher program, empowerment scholarship accounts or ESAs. And Project 2025 advocates pretty explicitly taking Arizona's ESA program national in a few different ways, as well as a funding model that's very similar to Arizona's STO tax credits.

There's also proposed changes here for students with disabilities in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), right?

POLLETTA: Correct. So for anybody unfamiliar, IDEA is a federal law that governs taxpayer spending on K-12 students with disabilities to ensure they have access to special education services. And Project 2025 first argues IDEA should be largely converted into a "no strings" block grant to individual states. It's not totally clear which strings they're referring to.

But the plan does call for rescinding Equity and IDEA, which is a policy that requires districts to evaluate if schools are disproportionately enrolling minority students in special education. And if they're being disproportionately disciplined. They want to get rid of that. Project 2025 also says IDEA funding should be partially paid out directly to families of children with disabilities. And here is another place that it directly quotes Arizona's ESA program. That's how they want that portion of IDEA funding to work. So give it directly to the families. They can choose how and where a child learns and use potentially some of that money on tutoring, therapies, other educational materials.

Let me ask you about student equity. This is a big piece of this. When you talked to education experts and advocates, what did they say about that and how this might affect student equity?

POLLETTA: Right. This is a primary concern. Project 2025 paints this really rosy picture of an educational marketplace where parents have the ultimate power to choose a learning setting that best fits their child's needs — which sounds great. But it kind of ... ignores the fact that only public schools are required to be open to everyone, and private schools can generally pick which students to accept or reject. Also, even with vouchers, lower-income families may not be able to fully afford private school tuition. Not to mention some other costs like transportation to get there or technology requirements. Given all those dynamics, among others, education policy and legal experts both told me they worry that Project 2025's proposals are purposely setting up public schools to fail by stripping their funding while concentrating basically higher need, harder to educate kids there.

And they said that doing that while, concentrating high performing, well resourced students at private schools, basically will exacerbate segregation and have some pretty disastrous implications for student equity. Should note here, also, that Project 2025 recommends phasing out Title I funding, which is designed to close achievement gaps at poorer schools. So that would only add to the divide.

And you know, one constitutional law expert I spoke to made the point that that kind of system, that kind of fractured system, would really be at odds with the American tradition of, of using public schools to bring together kids of all backgrounds and produce an informed generation.

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Britain’s Violent Riots: What We Know

Officials had braced for more unrest on Wednesday, but the night’s anti-immigration protests were smaller, with counterprotesters dominating the streets instead.

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By Lynsey Chutel

After days of violent rioting set off by disinformation around a deadly stabbing rampage, the authorities in Britain had been bracing for more unrest on Wednesday. But by nightfall, large-scale anti-immigration demonstrations had not materialized, and only a few arrests had been made nationwide.

Instead, streets in cities across the country were filled with thousands of antiracism protesters, including in Liverpool, where by late evening, the counterdemonstration had taken on an almost celebratory tone.

Over the weekend, the anti-immigration protests, organized by far-right groups, had devolved into violence in more than a dozen towns and cities. And with messages on social media calling for wider protests and counterprotests on Wednesday, the British authorities were on high alert.

With tensions running high, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet held emergency meetings to discuss what has become the first crisis of his recently elected government. Some 6,000 specialist public-order police officers were mobilized nationwide to respond to any disorder, and the authorities in several cities and towns stepped up patrols.

Wednesday was not trouble-free, however.

In Bristol, the police said there was one arrest after a brick was thrown at a police vehicle and a bottle was thrown. In the southern city of Portsmouth, police officers dispersed a small group of anti-immigration protesters who had blocked a roadway. And in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where there have been at least four nights of unrest, disorder continued, and the police service said it would bring in additional officers.

But overall, many expressed relief that the fears of wide-scale violence had not been realized.

Here’s what we know about the turmoil in Britain.

Where arrests have been reported

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Millions of student-loan borrowers are getting new details on qualifying for Biden's broader debt cancellation plan coming this fall

• The Education Department is moving forward with its broader student-loan forgiveness plan.
• It released new details on qualifying for the relief, set to be implemented this fall.
• It also sent emails to borrowers last week informing them of the August 30 deadline to opt out.

The Education Department is getting closer to delivering student-loan forgiveness to millions of borrowers.

Last week, the department announced it would be sending emails to all student-loan borrowers with at least one outstanding federal loan to update them on President Joe Biden's plan to cancel student debt using the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Expected to benefit more than 30 million borrowers, the plan would cancel some or all student debt for:

• Borrowers who owed more than they did when they first entered repayment
• Borrowers who entered repayment at least 20 years ago
• Borrowers who would be eligible for forgiveness through programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment but haven't yet applied
• And borrowers who attended schools that left them with too much debt compared to post-graduation earnings.

The emails sent last week also specified an August 30 deadline for borrowers to opt out of the relief by contacting their servicers. They may choose to opt out for a number of reasons, including avoiding potential state tax liabilities.

Along with the emails, the department recently updated its guidance on Federal Student Aid with more information on qualifying for this relief. Specifically, the department says that only borrowers who have "entered repayment on at least one of their loans when the debt relief is applied" would be "eligible for forgiveness on the loan(s) in repayment."

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This means that borrowers with federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans are considered to have entered into repayment once their grace period ends, typically six months after they finish school. Borrowers with PLUS loans are considered to have entered repayment when their loans are fully disbursed.

Once the department finalizes its rules, it's set to begin implementing the relief in the fall, and unless a borrower wishes to opt out, they don't need to take any action to qualify.

For borrowers enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan at the time of the relief, if they earn less than $120,000 a year individually or $240,000 as a married couple filing jointly, the amount of their current balance that is greater than their original balance would be forgiven under the proposed rule.

Borrowers not enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan would qualify for $20,000 in relief or the amount of their current balance that's greater than what they originally borrowed, whichever is smaller.

While the department is continuing to move forward with the finalization, the relief will probably run into legal challenges that could halt or block the plan.

Are you hoping to benefit from Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan? Will it influence your vote in the election? Share your story with this reporter at [email protected] om .

Watch: Why student loans aren't canceled, and what Biden's going to do about it

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