Market Analysis

The traditional education system is facing growing criticism for being outdated and not adequately preparing students for the demands of the modern world. The current education system focuses on rote learning and memorization, which is not ideal for students with diverse learning styles and interests. This has led to a growing demand for alternative education options, particularly for high school students. Unfortunately, the cost of change is exponentially high for most schools. In addition, the cost of a re-adaptive learning curriculum is even higher as it will need to be updated yearly, and professional development for teachers will need to be accounted for.

Out of the approximately 2,000 private schools in Lebanon, of which about a dozen are considered top-tier schools, no school is working on an alternative curriculum. Schools such as IC are too big of an institution to instigate rapid change. Hierarchical challenges and red tape don’t allow for swift conversion to an already aging curriculum.

Schools such as Eastwood International School and the American Community School are close contenders for alternative education. Their challenge is hauling an entire education system that has been closely guarded as they consistently rank among the top schools in the country in terms of university acceptances and national ranking. For them to be able to change will require a drastic mind shift that will need to be implemented from the top down. The simple term ‘ if it’s not broken, then why fix it? ‘ is another challenge that works to our advantage in implementing a new type of alternative school.

Cost is another factor that needs to be considered. While schools have spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars across the last 30 to 40 years of their history, changing a curriculum will need major investment, especially in resources and teacher training, and professional development. Shifting a mindset to teach an alternate type of curriculum doesn’t come without challenges. For math teachers to teach, financial literacy is a major mindset shift or English literature to teach public speaking and communication and debate could also be seen as a drastic mindset shift.