Apply for funding. Search for grants that support the formation of a nonprofit high school for adults, such as the Adult Education and Literacy grant offered by the U.S. Department of Education. Seek out private donations from individuals and community organizations in your area that support adult education. Learn if you qualify for funding from your state education department to cover some of the operating costs associated with your school.
Register your school. Submit the curriculum taught in your school as well as the policies that govern it to the state Board of Education for approval. Its approval allows students to have official high school diplomas or GEDs that allow them to take college classes and further their education. Become a nonprofit organization with tax exempt status by registering with the Internal Revenue Service as well as the Department of Revenue at the state level.
Find a facility. Search for a location in your community suitable for housing your nonprofit school. Obtain a building with multiple rooms that can serve as different classrooms to accommodate adults at different levels. Partner with a high school or area college to use their facility if you plan to offer your high school classes in the evening or on the weekend. This is a great way to save money as well as develop community partnerships that help support your nonprofit high school for adults. Alternatively, you can share facilities and equipment with traditional schools in your area as a way to reduce expenses and start the nonprofit with limited funding.
Hire teachers and staff. Place advertisements in local newspapers as well as online job sites specific to education such as HigherEdJobs and Education America to recruit teachers for your nonprofit high school. Seek out teachers with teaching licenses for secondary education with experience or education in teaching adults. Employ staff to answer phones, process enrollments in the high school and assist teachers with preparing for class by ordering supplies, copying paperwork, and similar tasks.
Prepare to open the school. Set the hours and days the nonprofit high school will be available as well as what specific courses or programs will be offered. Order equipment and supplies needed to operate the school including computers, school and office supplies, desks, and chairs. Provide teachers with enough time in advance to prepare lesson plans and organize their classrooms for the first day of school.
Promote the high school. Network with administrators and counselors at traditional K-12 schools as well as community colleges and technical schools in your area. Inform them of the services provided to adults by your nonprofit high school. Encourage them to make referrals of adults that want to obtain their high school diploma or GED. Use radio, television and newspaper ads to promote the classes and programs offered by your school in August and January when traditional classes are starting and people consider returning to school.