On a quiet, leafy residential street on the outskirts of North Vancouver stands a testament to a group of parents who wanted to ensure their children received the best education they could possibly give them.
Brockton Preparatory School, which offers the International Baccalaureate program to 94 students in kindergarten to Grade 10, is a new private school that grew out of the need to replace a nearby private school that closed in 2003.
Some parents of students in that school became concerned that their children's education choices would be limited as a result, so a group of 17 parents decided to pull out all the stops and start their own school. And they did it in less than a year, from concept to reality.
One of Brockton's founding parents, Dee Turner, calls their experience a "master class" for other parents wanting to build their own schools, and notes that private schools often take up to two years to be established.
Once the Brockton parents decided to take on the task themselves, they were passionate to get it off the ground, and quickly, Ms. Turner says. They joined forces, using their individual talents in areas such as human resources and marketing and as small business owners to add an entrepreneurial flair to the Brockton project. "We went in our own directions based on our skills set and did what needed doing and then came back together to our committees to decide how we wanted to go forward. There was so much to be done," Ms. Turner recalls.
She remembers an emotional summer before the school opened, when students and their families "came together as a family," working side-by-side to get everything ready.
The parents also provided thousands of dollars of capital (in the form of long-term, interest-free loans) to rent the building — actually, they took over the building of the school that had closed — hire staff and buy materials.
Ms. Turner says everyone considered it an investment, and when Brockton opened its doors in 2004, the sense of pride was palpable, she says.
"I'm actually welling up thinking about it," Ms. Turner recalls.
"Here were our kids in a newly designed uniform, walking into a new facility, where we had spent time on our hands and knees scrubbing, painting, and setting up desks," Ms. Turner says.
"My three kids were there on their summer holidays helping the teachers set up their classrooms.
"They knew the school intimately — every closet, every hanger. It was just awesome."
The result was a co-ed, independent, non-denominational school that offers all-day kindergarten, early French, small class sizes (fewer than 15 pupils) and an emphasis on creative inquiring and investigation, as outlined in the International Baccalaureate program.
Brockton Prep's fees range from about $10,000 to $13,000, depending on grade. Students are given a handbook of ethics and aims that explains the school's identity and is a statement of expectations — both for them, and of them.
The school's motto — "Believe. Strive. Excel" — captures its emphasis on challenging academic, athletic and extracurricular programs.
The key element that gave the parents the confidence to proceed with their plans, Ms. Turner says, was the man who now heads the school, Robin Hinnell.
He describes himself as a specialist in school startups, with 25 years' experience in private school administration in Canada and his native Britain. Mr. Hinnell has experience as the founding head at three independent schools, which gave him the expertise to delve into the mechanics of setting up the educational side of the school, such as hiring teachers and presenting the idea of following the International Baccalaureate to the board of governors.
When Mr. Hinnell came on board for Brockton, he was joined by several teachers from the school that had closed, who already knew the founding parents and their children.
