The Street University of the Healing Center’s Business Plan

Our expectation is to work at the outset with adults (i.e., 18 and over). As the program becomes established, we will extend the facilities and the program to younger members of the community. Space Allocation We will use four rooms measuring 165sf, (max of 8 students), 500sf (max of 15 students), 820sf (max of 20 students), and 1180sf (max of 30 students) seating can be in a traditional classroom configuration, in a circle, or around a conference table. There will be an office (135sf) and a storage room (215sf). None of the rooms will be contiguous. We also have a 900sf classroom space in reserve. Conception It is our intention to provide educational courses of every sort (see, however, the minor restrictions below). Anyone in the New Orleans community with a practical skill or craft to share or intellectual interests or life experiences to communicate will be welcome to set up a class. It goes without saying that the Healing Center believes comradeship and learning are fundamental to self-awareness, self-integration and self-healing. These courses will include everything from structured courses imparting New Orleans and other local cultural elements and traditional lecture-discussion classes on any subject to free-wheeling, informal group sessions on highly personal issues. While our conception, paradigm, and fee structures are unique, we have had extensive discussions and advice from The Colorado Free University with its 25 years of experience. Education Board and Instructors The Governing Board of the Healing Center will establish an Education Board. This Board will consist of three members: the senior member will have tenure for three years and the others serve for a year. The senior member will be appointed by and serve at the discretion of the Governing Board to which Board the senior will report every week. The two members will be selected by the senior member from a pool of interested persons associated with the Healing Center or participating instructors. The Education Board will convene once a week. The two members of the board will be paid $200.00 per month and the senior member, having daily responsibilities, will draw a salary of $1000.00 a month or a percentage of the monthly rental fees. The Education Board will receive suggestions for courses from instructors or group leaders and will be responsible (with immense flexibility) for deciding by majority rule on the appropriateness of those courses. The senior member will be responsible for scheduling. The senior member will be responsible for collecting the fees associated with the courses (see below). Prospective instructors will be responsible for preparing a “syllabus” and a schedule of class meetings to present to the Education Board. New instructors will be interviewed by the senior Board member. It will also be the instructor’s responsibility to demonstrate the viability of their proposed course. The Board will also accept suggestions for courses and seek to find instructors for those courses. The Board will be responsible for on-line and print circulars to help advertise the course offerings. We have had, to date, over 40 potential instructors who have indicated an interest in participating in the program, many providing detailed proposals. The Board will also seek out significant individuals from the community and elsewhere and invite them to make presentations in the classrooms or other facilities within the Healing Center’s precincts. The presenters will be encouraged to contribute their services as fund raisers for the Healing Center, or they will be offered a percentage of the money raised as a result of ticket sales. Scheduling The classes (1.5 hrs) will be scheduled during the evening hours during the week (6-9/ m-f) and all day Saturday and Sunday (10-9). The classes, always in the same block of time, can meet on successive days, successive hours, alternate days, or weekly or any other appropriate and convenient schedule worked out with the Education Board. Single day courses will also be acceptable and classes meeting for longer than an hour and a half will also be considered. Saturday and Sunday will be set aside for those wishing to teach courses over the weekend—Friday, scheduling permitting, can also be added to a weekend course. Day time hours (9-5)—during the week and weekends—can be marketed for “immersion courses”: for example, Spanish, ESL, computer training, company employee seminars. Instructors can create a daytime class as well. Financing The Healing Center will, in effect, lease the class space to the instructors who are considered to be independent contractors. The instructor or group session leader will, in turn, charge his students $7.00 per session—i.e., a course meeting three times will require a $21 tuition. The Healing Center will charge the instructor (depending on which room they utilize) $10, $16, $20, $25 per class session (defined as one and a half hours). If the instructor, as an example, expects to teach a course which will meet three times during a week, the instructor will pay, in advance, for the use of the room. The fee he collects from his students, less the rental, represents his honorarium/salary. Other arrangements can be made; however, to avoid too many eccentric situations, the rules above should be considered the norm. It will be the responsibility of the senior member of the Education Board to collect the lease fees which will be accounted for to the Healing Center’s Governing Board on a weekly basis. Student Grants If a professional wishes to use the space to acquire clients (real estate investment, for example), he will pay the appropriate rental fee for the room, but the fees from his students will be donated to the Healing Center’s scholarship fund. The three members Education Board will exercise the discretion to award, upon student petition, the payment for all or part of a student’s fees owed his instructor. There will also be work-study programs in which students can perform services for the Healing Center and accumulate credits toward courses they wish to participate in. Income Outlook Under ideal circumstances, running at full capacity, four classrooms, there are 160 1.5 sessions available during the week and 164 1.5 sessions available during the weekend—a total of 324 sessions per month. The average rental over the four classrooms is $16.00—possible monthly income is $5,184--$62,208/yr. I have not included the possible rental from day sessions: 11:00—5:00—would provide an additional 100 weekday 1.5 hour sessions. Nor have I considered the adjoining “performance space” which will provide large lecture and debate facilities relating to the Street University Equipment 75 chairs 4 tables appropriate to the rooms Web Design SuJen Webs