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What is CAIS?

CAIS is a membership association for independent schools in Canada and schools abroad that offer a Canadian curriculum. These schools are elementary and secondary schools.

When was it established?

In November 1979 the Canadian Association of Principals of Independent Schools for Girls (formed in 1932) and the Canadian Headmasters’ Association (formed in 1936) joined forces under the name Canadian Association of Independent Schools.

Who are its members?

The members, which currently number 79 schools serving approximately 39,000 students, are schools that are not operated for gain. Each school has a Board of Governors that oversees the school and deals at arm’s length with the administration of the school. The schools must offer a curriculum that prepares students for higher education. Before becoming a member, a school must have been operating in a stable and viable manner for approximately five years and must practice ethically in the areas of employment, admissions, recruitment and fund raising.

What kind of support does CAIS offer its member institutions? What are the benefits?

CAIS serves as a liaison between member schools. The Association has begun an ambitious programme to help our schools reward excellence, enhance leadership and promote tolerance and respect. We have a CAIS Scholar Competition; we sponsor a host of athletic tournaments across Canada in various sports such as basketball, soccer, and rugby; we run a Student Leadership Conference on an annual basis; we offer a Community Service Award and we provide an opportunity for student exchanges amongst our member schools. CAIS holds several professional development conferences each year for administrators and has established a National Leadership Institute for teachers and administrators. CAIS provides a biannual directory which provides basic information on each school with contact information. These directories are distributed to all member schools, government agencies, businesses, associations and libraries, and are sent out regularly to all inquiries to our office.  CAIS has worked to facilitate joint advertising and also acts as a spokesperson for independent school issues with the media.

Consortium Purchases/License Agreements and the Group Purchasing Program have been initiated and arranged through CAIS in order to provide lower, more attractive pricing to member schools.

What are some future initiatives?

CAIS is currently working to provide benchmarking services to all member schools. This will provide member schools with valuable Canadian statistics and benchmarks for their schools to use. CAIS is now overseeing the Group Purchasing Program. CAIS will continue to enhance this program to benefit all member schools. CAIS will also be exploring opportunities to increase non dues revenue which can then be redirected to professional development, marketing and other advocacy initiatives.

Where can I find out more?

Executive Director: Anne-Marie Kee

Address:

CAIS/CESI
P.O. Box 3013,
2 Ridley Road
St. Catharines, ON
L2R 7C3

Tel: 905.684.5658
Fax: 905.684.5057

e-mail: execassist@cesi.edu