# Clear Direction Schools: full site text

A family company that builds and runs independent schools in Florida. Growing minds and the schools around them since 1990.
Contact: peyton@cleardirectionschools.com, 407-625-6207. Website: https://cleardirectionschools.com

## Home (https://cleardirectionschools.com/)
Clear Direction Schools | Family-founded school operators in Florida
Known, loved, challenged
Known, loved, challenged
Every student deserves to be known, loved, and challenged, and small classes are the foundation that makes it possible. When teachers know every student by name, they can push them further, hold them to a higher standard, and develop the kind of thinkers who don't just absorb information but do something with it.
Built for what's next
Built for what's next
Our graduates are critical thinkers, confident communicators, and strategic problem-solvers, prepared to contribute meaningfully wherever they go. We develop the skills that define great leaders: self-direction, contextual reasoning, and the ability to navigate complexity with confidence.
Designed to take students somewhere.
Students learn best by doing, so the day is built around it: labs, field research, businesses, buildings, food, films, and the kind of problems that don't come with an answer key.
Kinesthetic learning
Our students don't sit and absorb. They build robots, launch businesses, design buildings, grow food, and produce films. Every program is rooted in a hands-on approach that develops critical thinking through real application, and students learn to identify problems, think through solutions, and execute. This is education designed to solve real-world problems, not rehearse for a test.
Rigorous academics, real results
Hands-on learning doesn't mean we lower the bar. It means our students clear it. With National Honor Society membership and students testing in the top quarter nationally on benchmark assessments, our schools consistently outperform local and state standards, and graduates are admitted to the high schools and colleges of their choice because they've been held to a higher standard from day one.
1280 Average SAT
Top 25% Nationally on benchmark assessments
Specialized programs
Eleven programs, none of them electives in the usual sense: each one is where curiosity meets real-world application.
Biomedical Technology
Robotics
Aeronautics
Coding & Programming
Entrepreneurship
Engineering Essentials
Farm-to-Table Culinary
Graphic Design
Video Production
Agriculture
Personal Finance
1990
Our story
In 1990, Bob and Rowena Flanders converted a warehouse into three classrooms and opened Central Florida Community School with seven students. They believed that every child deserved to be known by name, challenged to think critically, and supported by teachers who genuinely cared. They didn't have deep pockets and they had no investors, just a conviction that education could be done differently.
Today
What started with seven students now spans two schools, 11 acres, nearly 1,000 students, and 125 staff members. Our graduates get into the high schools and universities of their choice, not because they were drilled on test prep, but because they learned how to think, communicate, and lead.
“The point of a school isn’t to fill a child with answers. It’s to make them hungry for questions.” Robert A. Flanders, Founder 1950-2002
Our schools
The Track Record
Years in Education
Qualified Inquiries Per Campus Annually
Combined Enrollment Growth Over 5 Years
Florida Markets
The enrollment engine behind these numbers is owned and operated inside the group. Brand, paid acquisition, and admissions operations for both campuses run through EnrollmentGenius , Clear Direction's private school enrollment marketing firm.
A Growing Network
Crestwell School
Fort Myers, Florida · PreK through 8th Grade
330
Students
12:1
Student-Staff Ratio
189%
Enrollment Growth
Founded in 1994, Crestwell School is a hands-on learning community where students develop critical thinking, confidence, and strategic problem-solving skills. Crestwell joined the Clear Direction Schools family in 2018 after five years of declining enrollment had brought it to 114 students, and it serves 330 students today .
Visit Crestwell School
Central Florida Preparatory School
Orlando, Florida · PreK through 12th Grade
630+
Students
1280
Average SAT
10+
Specialized Programs
The founding school of Clear Direction Schools, Central Florida Prep has grown from seven students in a converted warehouse to over 630 students across PreK through 12th grade. With 10+ specialized programs and graduates attending Stanford, Columbia, and the nation's top universities, CFP is proof that the model works.
Visit Central Florida Prep
Development Projects
Completed Opened August 2026
Bob Flanders Athletic & Performing Arts Center
A 20,000 sq ft expansion at Central Florida Prep that increases student capacity to 712. The center brings a full culinary kitchen, 12 additional classrooms, and a performing arts stage to a campus that started with three classrooms in a warehouse.
In Pre-Construction
Crestwell School Middle School Expansion
A 25,000 sq ft expansion adding 250 student stations, a dedicated STEM lab, art lab, and music studio. Built to give our middle school students more space, more resources, and more room to grow.
How we work with schools.
Three ways in, depending on where a school is and what it needs next.
School Acquisitions
For owners and founders thinking about the future of their school. We take on independent schools and keep them whole. Read more
School Management
For boards that want to keep their school and hand off the operations: admissions, finance, staffing, and accreditation. Read more
Campus Development
For schools with something to build. Site, financing, design, and construction, from the first conversation to opening day. Read more
Partner With Us
If you'd like to talk about working with us, we'd like to hear from you.
For Capital Partners
Enrollment growth engine generating 500+ qualified inquiries per campus annually, built and run in-house through EnrollmentGenius
Repeatable operational model for growing independent schools in alignment with their mission
Thirty-five years inside Florida's independent-school community: its markets, its people, and its accreditation standards
Active pipeline of partnership and development opportunities across Florida
Start a Conversation
Start a Conversation
Tell us about your interest and we'll be in touch.
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## School Acquisitions (https://cleardirectionschools.com/acquisitions/)
Independent School Acquisitions in Florida | Clear Direction Schools
Before Five years of declining enrollment had brought one of our schools to 114 students when it joined Clear Direction in 2018.
114
students enrolled by 2024. Full.
To keep up Five additional classrooms have already been added to support demand.
Next 250 more student stations through a 25,000 square foot campus expansion now in pre-construction.
What changes.
The work that a founder has usually been carrying alone.
Admissions and enrollment
Brand, advertising, and a full admissions operation, run in-house through EnrollmentGenius. Each of our campuses now sees more than 500 qualified inquiries a year.
Finance, staffing, and compliance
Budgeting, payroll, benefits, hiring, accreditation, and the reporting a board needs, handled by a central team so the head of school can lead the school.
The campus itself
When the school is ready to grow, we plan and build. A 20,000 square foot athletic and performing arts center opened on one of our campuses in August 2026.
How a conversation starts.
Quietly, and without obligation. Nothing about a first conversation is shared with staff, families, or anyone else.
First
A phone call
You tell us about the school and what you are hoping for. We tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
Next
A visit
If it makes sense to keep talking, we come to see the campus and meet the people who matter to you.
On your timeline
A plan
Some owners step away cleanly, and some stay on to teach. Either way, we run the school from the day the agreement takes effect.
Questions we hear first.
What happens to a private school when the founder retires?
It depends on what was arranged in advance. Some schools have a successor ready and a board prepared to hire them. Others drift for years while enrollment slips, and a few close. A third path is a transition to an operator who keeps running it as a school, and that’s the one we’re built for.
Who takes over a private school when the owner is ready to step back?
Usually one of four: a family member, a long-tenured head of school, another independent school, or a company that runs schools. Each one comes with different money behind it and a different risk to the program. We’re the fourth, and we’re founders ourselves, so we start with what you want the school to still be in ten years.
Can a nonprofit school transfer to a new operator?
Yes. It’s a change in governance rather than a sale, because a nonprofit doesn’t have owners in that sense. The board is part of the conversation from the beginning, and we walk through what the change looks like with the board and its counsel before anything is decided.
What happens to tuition and staff contracts in a school transition?
Enrollment agreements and staff contracts are reviewed as part of the transition, and families and staff hear about any change from the school rather than from a rumor. We work to keep the teachers and leaders who make the place what it is, and we invest in them.
How long does a school ownership transition take?
It varies with the school’s structure and with who has to approve it, so we don’t quote a timeline. What we can tell you is that a transition is usually timed around the school calendar, so families see continuity instead of a change in the middle of a year.
What does a school operator look for before taking on a school?
Independent schools of every shape: Montessori programs, K-5 and K-8 schools, and PreK through 12. Usually founder-led, in Florida and the Southeast, with a program and a community worth carrying forward. Size matters less than the school’s character.
“The point of a school isn’t to fill a child with answers. It’s to make them hungry for questions.”
Robert A. Flanders, Founder 1950-2002
Start a confidential conversation.
Owners, founders, and board members of independent schools in Florida and the Southeast.
Also: School Management Campus Development
Start a Conversation
Tell us about your interest and we'll be in touch.
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## School Management (https://cleardirectionschools.com/management/)
Private School Management Company | Clear Direction Schools
Ownership and governance stay where they are. The operations move to us.
How it works.
Assessment
We spend time on campus and in the numbers, then tell the board plainly where the school is strong and where it is exposed.
A plan and an agreement
A written operating plan with targets, and a management agreement that spells out what we do, what it costs, and how it ends if either side wants it to.
Quarterly accountability
Enrollment, finances, staffing, and accreditation, reported to the board every quarter against the plan.
Questions we hear first.
What does a school management company do?
It runs the business side of a school on behalf of its board or owner: admissions and enrollment marketing, budgeting and finance, hiring and benefits, accreditation and state reporting, facilities and vendors. The board keeps governance and the mission. The head of school keeps the school. The management company carries the operations and reports on them.
Do we give up ownership or our board?
No. Ownership and governance stay exactly where they are. A management agreement sets out what we do, what it costs, how we report, and how it ends if either side wants it to.
Can you fix our enrollment?
That is usually where we start. Our own enrollment firm, EnrollmentGenius, rebuilds the brand, the website, the advertising, and the admissions operation. Each of our campuses now sees more than 500 qualified inquiries a year.
Can you help with accreditation?
Yes. Self-studies, site visits, standards work, and state reporting. Thirty-five years inside Florida’s independent-school community, including its accreditation standards.
What does it cost?
A management fee set out in the agreement and scaled to the school, structured as a percentage of tuition revenue or a fixed annual fee. We put the number in writing before anyone signs anything.
How does it end?
The agreement has a term and a way out for either side. A school should stay because the arrangement works, not because it is stuck.
“The point of a school isn’t to fill a child with answers. It’s to make them hungry for questions.”
Robert A. Flanders, Founder 1950-2002
Talk with us about managing your school.
Boards, owners, and heads of independent schools.
Also: School Acquisitions Campus Development
Start a Conversation
Tell us about your interest and we'll be in touch.
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## Campus Development (https://cleardirectionschools.com/development/)
School Campus Development and Construction | Clear Direction Schools
What we do.
Every stage of a school building, with people who have done each one before.
Site selection and land
Finding the parcel, reading the zoning, and working through the county before anyone signs anything.
Financing support
Structuring the project so the school can carry it, and supporting the pursuit of financing with the lenders and bond underwriters who know school projects. We aren’t a lender.
Design and permitting
Programs that teachers can actually run in, drawn by architects who have built schools, and carried through approvals.
Construction management
Budget, schedule, and the daily decisions on site, with a school calendar to work around.
Opening operations
Staffing, enrollment, and systems planned ahead of opening.
Plan the program first. Let the building follow.
20,000 sq ft gymnasium expansion
The people we build with.
We work with architects, builders, engineers, and financing partners who know school projects: what a classroom needs, what a county asks for, and what a school can afford. They come with us to your project.
Questions we hear first.
Can a nonprofit school get a loan for construction?
Yes. Lenders and bond underwriters look at enrollment history, cash on hand, and whether the school’s income comfortably covers the payments. A school with steady enrollment and clean financial statements has more options than most boards expect.
How much does a school building cost?
It depends on the program more than the square footage. We plan the program first, what the building has to do for teachers and students, and let that set the size and the budget, not the other way around.
Do you build on our campus or find new land?
Both. We have added to a working campus without closing it, relocated a whole school to a new site, and searched for land for a second campus. Each starts with the same question: what does the school need in ten years?
Do you manage the construction?
Yes. Budget, schedule, and the daily decisions on site, with a school calendar to work around.
How long does it take?
Planning and approvals often take as long as the construction itself, and permitting and construction schedules can move for reasons outside anyone’s control. We build that into the plan rather than promise a date.
“The point of a school isn’t to fill a child with answers. It’s to make them hungry for questions.”
Robert A. Flanders, Founder 1950-2002
Tell us about your project.
Schools with a campus to build, expand, or relocate.
Also: School Acquisitions School Management
Start a Conversation
Tell us about your interest and we'll be in touch.
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## Guide: What happens to a private school when the founder retires (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/what-happens-when-a-school-founder-retires/)
What Happens to a Private School When the Founder Retires | Clear Direction Schools
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## Guide: How an independent school changes hands (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/how-independent-schools-change-hands/)
How an Independent School Changes Hands: For-Profit vs Nonprofit | Clear Direction Schools
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## Guide: What a school management company actually does (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/what-a-school-management-company-does/)
What Does a School Management Company Do? | Clear Direction Schools
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## Guide: How private schools pay for new buildings (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/how-private-schools-pay-for-new-buildings/)
How Private Schools Pay for New Buildings | Clear Direction Schools
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## Guide: Succession planning for Montessori and small independent schools (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/montessori-school-succession-planning/)
Montessori School Succession Planning | Clear Direction Schools
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## Guide: How to grow enrollment at an independent school (https://cleardirectionschools.com/guides/how-to-grow-enrollment-at-an-independent-school/)
How to Grow Enrollment at an Independent School | Clear Direction Schools
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