NBOA President and CEO
In today’s competitive educational landscape, many business leaders debate how their independent school can afford to build state-of-the-art educational spaces. As tuition rates continue to rise, addressing the value proposition for parents becomes ever more critical.
For many families, the quality and care of your school’s facilities serve as a proxy for the quality and care you provide students. To justify these costs, schools should consider facilities investments beyond just new facilities — specifically, how the school's learning environments enhance student learning.
Investing in cutting-edge facilities that enhance educational experiences and meet mission requires substantial resources, leaving school leaders questioning if such projects are feasible. Will the school benefit in the form of new student enrollment, higher retention, or improved student outcomes? For business officers, the challenge lies in funding transformative spaces without overburdening families with tuition increases or compromising the school’s financial health with the additional burden of unsustainable debt levels.
Achieving this balance demands a strategic approach that considers costs, returns on investment, community needs, and, most importantly, the school’s educational goals and mission.
Building for the Future
At NBOA’s recent Annual Meeting, I had the opportunity to engage in insightful discussions about the progress schools are making in educational spaces. These innovations extend beyond adaptable learning areas to include sustainability initiatives, technology integration, and health and wellness support.
One of the experts in this field is Danish Kurani, principal architect and founder of the global architecture firm Kurani. Along with Dan Coleman, CEO of Big Sky Blue Design, Kurani presented ideas on “building better”— designing spaces that enhance educational impact and provide students with the experiences they need to meet the challenges of the future.
The pitch to parents should not be that we have modern facilities, but that we have well-designed learning environments that will improve your child’s experience.
Meeting those goals doesn’t mean building the flashiest new building on your independent school block. “Just because you build a new space or building doesn’t mean it’s good,” Kurani explained. “The space should be well-designed, or else the investment is wasted. It’s really about what the space does for the child.” The distinction here is vital and extends to the way school leaders tout their value proposition. “The pitch to parents should not be that we have modern facilities, but that we have well-designed learning environments that will improve your child’s experience,” Kurani told me.
Building the Right Team
Just as no two independent schools are alike, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for designing the classrooms or campuses of the future. Educational spaces should reflect a school’s unique learning model and pedagogy — whether that’s experiential, project-based learning, tech-focused approaches or something else. Modern classroom designs emphasize flexibility, allowing seamless transitions between lectures, group work, independent study, and collaborative projects. Sustainable designs featuring local and eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient systems, and technology-enhanced spaces — like virtual reality labs or STEM facilities —are also key elements.
Regardless of your school’s mission, it’s important to find a design partner that understands educational spaces. I hope that those of you who attended the 2025 NBOA Annual Meeting in New York City a couple months ago had the chance to meet the architects and building firms in our Business Solutions Showcase. And at any time, all NBOA members have access to our Business Partner Directory that lists firms with independent school experience. Find someone “who knows what modern education looks like and understands what is unique and special about your school so they can bring that to life,” said Kurani.
In terms of your school’s team, it pays to consider not only the head of school and other administrators, but also key players on the academic side. Your teachers are the ones with intimate knowledge of your school’s educational program and how to deliver what your mission promises to students and families.
Business officers play a crucial role in this process, overseeing financing, budgeting and strategic planning and often oversight. They are responsible for ensuring that funding from capital campaigns, endowment spending, and potential loans align with the school’s broader financial trajectory. Their task is not only to secure funding but also to guarantee that investments in infrastructure make sense in the long-term financial interests of the school.
Funding the Future
How can schools finance these exciting new spaces? Modern classrooms, upgraded technology, and student-centered designs may be a significant marketing advantage. A recent study by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) found that “private schools that invest in high-tech facilities see a measurable increase in student applications, as parents and students prioritize institutions that provide 21st-century learning tools.”
Other schools have found opportunities converting existing spaces on their own campuses or by acquiring and renovating commercial facilities like warehouses or office buildings.
And change doesn’t always mean high cost. In a previous Projections column, I discussed the end of the “facilities arms race,” with schools focusing more on enhancing existing spaces than on costly new construction. Kurani, for instance, converted a classroom in a 70-year-old Denver public school building into an “Imaginarium Lab” by replacing traditional desks with collaboration and interactive spaces. Other schools have found opportunities converting existing spaces on their own campuses or by acquiring and renovating commercial facilities like warehouses or office buildings.
Designing today also means taking tomorrow into account. As Kurani explained, “Design in a way that’s adaptable because the landscape of education changes as does technology and culture. You want to make sure that this investment you’re making that it’s not going to be obsolete in five years.”
Realizing Returns
Whatever your school undertakes, whether it’s a new STEM facility or an upgraded collaboration space in an existing building, the returns on investing in state-of-the-art facilities can be multifaceted:
- Enrollment Strength: Enhanced facilities may boost enrollment and tuition revenue. As educational consultant Grant Lichtman has noted, “If kids are excited about it and vocal about it when they get in the van to go home, mom and dad are excited about it too and want to write that tuition check.”
- Value Proposition: Schools with superior facilities can demonstrate value and justify their tuition fees, enhancing financial stability. Those same facilities are attractive to potential hires and can aid employee retention. We know from NBOA’s “Demographics of the Independent School Business Office Report” that faculty retention is top-of-mind within our industry.
- Operational Savings: Energy-efficient buildings can lead to significant savings in utilities and maintenance over time, in addition to enhancing environmental sustainability.
Staying Ahead
Investing in modern educational spaces is a strategic decision that directly impacts a school’s reputation, financial sustainability and educational outcomes. Schools must be conscious of their mission and purpose in designing those spaces. They also need to be clear about motivations: Are you undertaking state-of-the-art projects to stay competitive or are you making changes focused on the needs of students and their education, or both? Whatever your answer, investing in facilities designed with clear purpose can differentiate a school and signal commitment to delivering exceptional educational experiences, today and tomorrow.
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