Starting a New Joy School

How to get started

After you’ve carefully read over all the information available on this website and have determined that you’d like to start a Joy School, here’s what you need to do to complete your application:

Carefully read the “Joy School Quality Guidelines” so that you can check off that you’ve read them and agree to them when completing your application at the end of this page.
Complete the Registration Form for Joy Schools at the bottom of this page.
Upon receiving your application, we let you know within a few days if you’ve been accepted as a Joy School Operator and send you a PayPal invoice for your start-up fees and lesson plan access fee.
You make your start-up payment via PayPal. You pay $200 for your application fee and start-up kit (or $100 if you already have an established preschool and are just adding the Joy School curriculum to your program). You can also pay your $150 lesson plan access fee when paying your start-up fee if you like (you will not have access your lesson plans until you’ve paid this one-time fee).
As soon as we receive your payment, we email you a link that will allow you to set up ongoing access to your Start-Up Kit (to see what’s in the Start-Up Kit, click here). If you’ve chosen to pay your lesson plan fee along with your start-up fee, we’ll also get you all set up for on-line access to the full lesson plans, music and materials.
When you know how many children you’ll be enrolling, you report that number to us and we send you an invoice for the Joy School Family Memberships for each family ($50 each). Then we send you a special link that you will email to all the families in your Joy School so that they can get set up for access to the Introductions to each Joy and all the children’s music (via downloadable mp3s). You must send us this number and pay your dues TWO WEEKS before classes begin.
Contact us at any time during this process if you have any questions or concerns at saren@joyschoolco.com.

Starting a New Joy School

Cost of starting up a Joy School

ONE-TIME START-UP FEES

Start-Up and Application Fee: We charge you a one-time application and start-up fee of only $200 (or $100 if you are a pre-existing preschool). This provides you with the our start-up manual of instructions, registration forms for your students, a parent handbook template, advertising and marketing materials, etc. Click here to see what’s included in the Start-Up Kit.

Lesson Plan Access Fee: You’ll need to pay a one-time fee of $150 for your lifetime online access to the Joy School lesson plans, music and materials.

Starting a New Joy School

Suggested Start-up Timeline

(for a September start-up)

January-April:

Fill out your Joy School Company start-up forms and send them in with your check for your start-up fee so you can receive your Start-Up Kit.
Determine how many children you’ll be enrolling (check any city or state requirements that may limit your numbers).
Research whether you need a day care/preschool license to run your preschool. If your state requires that you get a daycare license even though you’re running a part-time educational program rather than a daycare, start the process of getting that license. It’s usually quite an easy process, but you should be aware of various dates for required meetings and deadlines for different parts of your application.
Start spreading the word to friends and relatives that you’ll be starting your Joy School in the fall. Let them know a little about the curriculum and tell them what a great program it will be. Invite them to pass the word along to anyone who’s looking for a preschool program for their child. Pass out or email the Joy School Information Form (provided in the Start-Up Kit) to anyone who might be interested.
Start saving $20-$30 a month to go towards your Joy School Company fees and the supplies you’ll need to start your preschool.
Think about the space in your home that you’ll use for your preschool and consider how to rearrange things. Think about what pieces of furniture or supplies you might like to have (look at the list of suggested supplies on in the start-up kit for ideas). Keep your eye out for good deals at stores, garage sales, etc. on items you’d like to have.

March-April:

Decide on your tuition prices, determine criteria for accepting students, etc.
Get going on advertising/recruiting using the materials and tips provided.
Keep working on gathering materials, furnishings and supplies.
Find out about getting your business license.
Adjust the registration forms provided in your Start-Up Kit to fit the specifics of your program and make copies so that you’ll have them ready to give interested parents.

May:

Finalize what your tuition prices will be and whether you’ll offer a discount to parents who are willing to be regular aids in your program.
Do some hard-core advertising.
Many preschools offer an open house in May and start registration before families get busy with their summer activities. An open house can include an informal opportunity for parents to come in and meet you and see your facilities and/or it can include a brief meeting for parents at just about any location where you explain your program and answer any questions. Be sure to have lots of copies of the “Joy School Information Sheet” and/or your own advertising materials to hand out at any open house or meeting.
Find out if there are any community newspapers, other publications or Internet sites that list all the preschools for your area. Get your preschool on those lists.
Post more fliers in schools, grocery stores, libraries, etc. and talk with parents before school gets out for the summer about your program. Put a small add in local papers if you like (use sample adds and fliers in start-up kit).
You may choose to have an “early bird” registration deadline in May or early June, offering families a slight discount for registering early for your program. The sooner you have people registered, the more you can relax over the summer!

June-July:

Personalize the Joy School handbook so it’s ready to pass out to parents of registered students before school starts.
Continue to recruit students via word of mouth, fliers posted, ads in newspapers and magazines
Continue to work on gathering materials for your school and planning out the areas you’ll be using
Complete any final requirements involved in any licenses required for you to run your preschool. Get your business license.

August:

Do more recruiting if necessary. Hold an open house and/or parent meeting.
Finalize the set-up of the space you’ll be using for your school and complete your gathering of materials and decorating.
Make the Joy School House, Calendar, Weather Chart, circle mat and other basic materials you’ll be using throughout the year (using the templates and instructions provided in the Intro Unit of the Lesson Plans).
Gather in registration forms, registration fees and first month’s tuition from all students by about two weeks before school starts. Check over forms and get any missing information from parents.
Two weeks before you wish to receive your CDs and gain access to the semester’s lesson plans on line, send us your franchise fee, dues, CD fees and membership fees for your students. If you send us the number of students you’ll be enrolling, we will send you an invoice with your total â then you can send us your check.
About a week before your program starts, hold an introductory meeting for parents of registered students (using the meeting outline and parent handbook provided). You may also want to hold an open house for children so that they can come with their parents and become familiarized with the set-up in your home and get to know you and the other children a little bit in advance of the first day of school.

September (or late August):

Start Joy School!
Most programs start about a week after the public schools start so that parents can get their older children going and not have to start everything at once â but do whatever works for the parents in your group.

Starting a New Joy School

Start-up Kit Contents

Once you have applied and are accepted as a Joy School operator and have paid your start-up fee, you will be set up for immediate access to the comprehensive instructions and forms you’ll need to run your Joy School.

Here’s what’s included in your start-up kit:

Information on Setting up Running a Successful Joy School

Setting appropriate registration fees and tuition prices
Determining group size
Deciding on criteria for students (age requirements, potty training requirements, etc.)
Suggestions on lesson planning
Suggested daily schedule
Suggested yearly schedule (vacations, order and timing of units)
Discipline ideas
Ideas for setting up your home (different areas for different things)
Suggested supplies
Suggested parent orientation meeting agenda
Ideas on involving parents and community members
Ideas on integrating academic skill-building activities

Ideas for Recruiting Students

General recruiting tips and ideas
Holding effective Open Houses
Sample Flier
Sample Newspaper Add
Parent Information Sheet/brochure

Registration Forms

Child info sheet (interests, allergies, special needs, etc.)
Emergency contact information
Liability waiver
Permission forms
Sign up sheets for parent volunteers, snacks, etc.