JC’s mission statement claims that “we educate the whole person,” not “we create the largest profit margin possible.” There shouldn’t be anything more important to a school than the safety, well-being, and the quality of education of the students, therefore JC should avoid viewing itself as a business.
Like all private schools, JC is in a predicament. They must make a choice between running the school as a business or as a place of education. Because the school is a private institution, they do not receive any government grants that public schools enjoy.
JC must raise every penny of their expenses to survive and continue to run as a school.
To educate the whole person, the school must not only encourage students to thrive in their academics, but to get involved as leaders in their sports and clubs. When sports and student groups get involved in the community, they work as ambassadors for the school. When these groups lose funding, the school’s image is affected.
JC needs to focus on being a center for education first and foremost. Ultimately, it’s the students who would lose if JC was run like a business.
If the administration chooses to focus on the business side of JC, that attitude will rub off and negatively affect everything from the way teachers teach to the attitudes of students, alumni, and parents. This will lead to a tired and hostile view of JC.
In a recent assembly, Principal Madelyn Ball told the students that how the community views the school matters because JC is a local business. By increasing the quality of the graduates, JC’s reputation will only get better.
Eventually, this will become what really helps the school financially. Enrollment in private schools may not be at its highest, but the prestige of the school can be heightened.
If JC spends more money on becoming an amazing educational facility with a low price, then the school’s reputation, and ultimately enrollment and the percentage of alumni that give back to the school, will improve.
Alumni donations are a major part of the school’s budget. If, in the next few years, recent alumni view their experience at JC as one that gave them a great education at a great price instead of a poor one that sucked their family dry, they will be more willing to give back to the school to ensure that the tradition continues.
The only business model that would work for JC is the one that focuses on doing whatever it takes to make the JC education far better than anyone else’s. We need the best teachers doing their best work and focusing solely on that.
If JC follows this plan and keeps clear of turning JC into a profit-hungry business, the school will prosper long into the future.