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Jennifer Jester leads the show at School of Rock Springfield.
Jennifer Jester leads the show at School of Rock Springfield.

Business Spotlight: Rock for All Ages

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To keep its students engaged, School of Rock ventures to keep music fun.

Largely focused on teaching children, the 17-year-old company has built a franchise system of nearly 180 globally – and media recognition as a top-performing franchisor.

The brand’s results were enough for an associate professor of music to leave Millersville University of Pennsylvania a year before her tenure set in to return home and buy a School of Rock franchise.

Two years later, Kickapoo High School graduate Jennifer Jester hasn’t looked back.

“I needed to decide, ‘Do I stay there, get tenure and live there forever or come back and be an entrepreneur?’” says Jester, who also directed Millersville’s music business and technology program, as well as its Center for Entrepreneurial Education. “I needed to do it myself so that I could say I’d done it, instead of just talk about it.”

Rather than break out on her own, Jester spent $150,000 in startup costs, including a $50,000 franchise fee, to gain the support structure of a proven business.

“The brand just has a lot more power than ‘Jennifer’s School of Music’ or something,” she says of the deal that gave her rights to operate one store in Greene County.

Organized as Rock Sweet Rock LLC, Jester works with a corporate coach, who helps address issues as they arise and identifies goals for her franchise.

Jester and crew have built the school  to 125 students, the largest enrollment in her two years in business and above the franchise system’s average of around 112. She says the school, which charges $82-$259 monthly for its music instruction, would hit capacity at around 250 students. Declining to disclose revenues, Jester says her franchise is on track to double sales this year.

Rock ’n’ roll
Jester says there’s a secret to keeping the learning experience fun: It’s called rock ‘n’ roll.

School of Rock picks mostly rock songs for both solo and group training sessions. As a result, rock-band staples guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards and drums are emphasized. There’s the occasional banjo or ukulele lesson, she says.

Growing up learning piano with traditional training from her mother – memorization rather than understanding – Jester says School of Rock focuses on music theory and a group atmosphere.

“We actually teach more theory than you’d get in any classical, traditional lesson, and I know because I have three degrees in music performance. I’ve had my theory,” says Jester, who also has certifications in the music business program at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood and as a ProTools operator from Dallas-based ProMedia Inc. “Piano was just so isolating, and I’m a people person. That’s what I liked about this format.”

At her 3,300-square-foot leased space from Stephen Eiffert of Eiffert Properties LLC at 1658 E. Sunshine St., the daughter of late developer Bill Jester employs 20 part-time instructors who teach children starting at age 2.

In addition to studio rooms for one-on-one sessions, the franchise has large rooms for group classes, as well as a new addition that kicks it up a notch with a full band stage.

Springfield jazz and rhythm and blues musician Jin J X has been substituting teaching at the school for five months, giving guitar and bass instruction to supplement his music career.

X, who’s become known around town playing nonprofit and business event gigs, says the school’s teaching method helps kids build confidence.

“For a lot of the students, I actually encourage them to sing,” he says. “If you get more comfortable singing now when you’re 12, it’ll be a breeze when you’re 30.”

Showtime
Once practiced, School of Rock students hit the road to play live at events.

Students may audition for the House Band, which recently played a Horace Mann Elementary School festival and has past performances at Rock’n Ribs, Artsfest and Cider Days. The band is booked for a father-daughter dance in February at McBride Elementary School.

“They’re sort of your Top 40 band,” Jester says, noting she typically charges $300 a gig unless donating the performance for a nonprofit or school fundraising event. “A lot of times, kids would love to go see live music. They’re underage, so they’re not going to be able to get into those shows for a while.

“Kids need to see other kids playing for it to make sense.”

The school’s seven or eight adult class members also play in a performance band.

Mark Burgess, managing partner of OzAir Charter Service, joined School of Rock about a year ago to improve his 15-year hobby of playing bass guitar. While the training studio is known for its rock teachings, Burgess says Jester and crew are adaptable.

“I started out learning jazz,” he says. “I don’t read music, so they’re teaching me some of what I need. I play more by ear.”

Through gigs set up by Jester, Burgess has lent his talent to the business community.

One such performance was a ribbon-cutting for Dings ’N Things Specialty Body Works Inc., which relocated in September to 1906 S. Stewart Ave.

Jester says the children’s House band this semester is working on a 1980s and southern rock show.

“We’re not the cheapest game in town, but we have the most committed students in town,” she says. “They come here to work, they know that we’re high quality and we have proven results. You can see it in our shows and videos. It’s them; it’s not me.”

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