When Lyle and Jennifer Board first heard about School of Rock, it was music to their ears.
Lyle learned of the California-based music education franchise while trying to identify new, more fulfilling career options after nearly 20 years working in health care operations, Business Report details in its latest entrepreneur feature.
His love of music and proven track record in business development, combined with his wife’s education background as the principle of Duplessis Primary School in Gonzales, made the music school a perfect fit for the Boards’ next gig.
Founded in 1998 and with more than 200 locations nationwide, School of Rock promotes itself as taking a real-world approach to teaching music.
What separates their business from other music schools, says Lyle, is the company’s history and programs.
So far, the husband-and-wife duo is amazed at the progress their students, ages 6 to 18, are making after just a few lessons. And, as Jennifer points out, parents get the added benefit of their children learning the problem solving and interpersonal communication skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.
The Boards opened Louisiana’s first School of Rock in May. Since then, they’ve focused on increasing enrollment in summer camps and individual music lessons. As new business owners, they learned tough lessons from unexpected challenges like underestimating the cost of renovating in Baton Rouge’s post-flood construction market.
Nonetheless, the Boards say the experience has been nothing but rewarding. As the daughter of the late swamp-pop musician Joe Landry, Jennifer says it’s reassuring to know School of Rock provides young people with a safe, healthy environment to learn music.
As Lyle puts it: “It’s all the fun and the attitude of rock ‘n’ roll, but without the trappings and the negative lifestyle that is sometimes associated with rock ‘n’ roll.”
Read the full story here.
School of Rock teaches children music, problem solving
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