# How to start a private school **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-start-a-private-school/261682 "2004-08-26T22:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-start-a-private-school/261682/1 "2004-08-26T22:09:36Z")
I live in Houston, TX, which has one of the worst public school systems extant. I can’t do much, if anything, about HISD - I think it is broken beyond repair. I would like to offer an alternative and open a private, non-religious high school. We would stress excellence in academics, with a goal of all graduating seniors scoring 650+ on the SATs for example. We would also stress leadership and life skills as well. Every teacher would have a degree in the subject taught; no one with a degee in education will be hired, because I want teachers, not “educators”. I realize that big bucks need to be raised to buy land and build a physical plant, etc. I’ve thought about approaching major corporations for grants and/or ongoing support, as well as applying for government grants. We would need a non-profit corp. set up, etc., so that people could make tax-deductible donations to us. We would have to jump through whatever hoops are required by the state and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to get accreditated properly. At the moment, all I have is a dream. I’d like to make it a reality. The problem is that I haven’t really got a clue as to how to go about it. Anyone have any experience and/or suggestions as to how I can make it happen? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-start-a-private-school/261682)._