CAIS in Point

A couple of years ago, a study by Professor David Johnson out of Wilfrid Laurier University sought to identify what makes certain schools outstanding. The report, Signposts of Success: Improving Ontario’s Elementary Test Scores, not surprisingly, identified such factors as: a professionally collaborative culture; effective leadership; strong community links; and a willingness to seek out and embrace best practice. What was interesting, although again not surprising, was the unwillingness of many schools to participate in the study. The basic attitude from these schools and their parent boards was that they really didn’t want to know. Many of these institutions preferred to believe in their own marketing hype rather that take a hard and productive look at what was working and what wasn’t. In the past, we sometimes found the same attitude among independent schools in Canada. Unlike NAIS in the United States which had always demanded that all schools be accredited before they could apply for membership, we had taken a more casual approach to the issue of accreditation. In some provinces, independent schools depended upon government sanction as their assurance of quality to parents. In essence, they had been content to proclaim that they are at least as competent as the lowest achieving public school. Thirty or forty years ago when independent and private schools were trying to convince people that there was no risk in enrolling their children, this might have been a good strategy. However, in a shrinking market, and facing escalating costs, today’s schools must go much further in demonstrating their commitment to high quality education for their students. Sustainability over the next decade will have more to do with aggressive quality assurance than with strategic financial planning. In its 2005 Strategic Plan, CAIS recognized this reality and struck a task force to examine the whole issue of school accreditation. The result was a wide ranging report which recommended that all member schools become accredited by the end of the decade. At the 2006 Annual General Meeting this recommendation was overwhelmingly approved without dissent. Clearly, this is both a leadership issue, and a governance issue. For Boards to effectively exercise their oversight function and to perform their fiduciary duty with respect to school performance they must have access to independent information and assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of their organization. For Heads to ensure the long term health of their schools they must actively critique and reassess what they are doing. In both cases, an on-going, independent external review process is essential. This isn’t just a question of good practice, it is a question of survival. Boards of CAIS schools understand this challenge. Increasingly so do many of the other leading independent schools in both Canada and abroad. It is no coincidence that the number of accredited Canadian independent schools has increased by over 40% in the last five years and the number of applications to begin the process has tripled over the same period. Demographic trends clearly indicate a general decline in the school-aged population. Add to that the propensity of many of our schools to incrementally price themselves into a smaller and smaller niche market and you have a recipe for widespread school collapse. Already we are seeing a rapid increase in the closing of small, special purpose schools and a noticeable shrinking of waiting lists for many mainstream institutions. Parents are becoming increasingly discriminating about where and how they spend their tuition dollars and a new generation of consumers cares less about legacy and reputation and more about current performance and accountability. Why haven’t all schools followed the CAIS lead to move to ensure this accountability? As Professor Johnson states: “I was very naïve. I thought that boards would want…to know what was going on in their schools…I was spectacularly wrong.” Jim Dr. James Christopher Executive Director, CAIS

CAIS Writing Competition

Back by popular demand! We surveyed the CAIS English Heads and determined that the majority of schools would like to see the CAIS Annual Writing Competition back in action. Although not all schools will necessarily participate, we found that most would appreciate the chance to present the opportunity to their students.

The last Writing Competition was held in 2004, but the two lost years will not diminish the spirit behind the award. The purpose of the competition is to recognize outstanding written works by students who exemplify the character of CAIS. To this end, entries must be accompanied by a letter from the school demonstrating that the student has achieved excellence in one or more areas of school and community life.  Students will be able to choose to submit a creative work, or a formal piece that is research based. First and second place prizes will be awarded in the Creative and Formal category. In the New Year we will distribute the format of the 2007 competition, and the entrance details will be clearly outlined.

Laptop Programs – Wired for the Web

In 2002/2003 the state of Maine implemented a statewide laptop program for seventh and eighth grade students. Looking ahead at their anticipated economic growth, the government leaders reviewed the huge global influence of technology on their state-side economy. Like most successful leaders, they aspired to utilize their visionary abilities to plan for the future. For them this involved assessing the learning practices of their young potential leaders of tomorrow. Were students being properly prepared at school to embrace the powerful technological resources at their fingertips? Did they have the resources readily available?

With the help of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) team, 17,000 laptops were distributed to approximately 240 schools in the first year of the study. Teachers were properly trained in basic laptop skills and the ability to coach the students electronically.

The results of this initiative were exceedingly positive, with increased motivation and interest in learning expressed by students. The ease of finding information and the “one stop shopping” of the web made getting lost on the way to the library, or waylaid en route to the over crowded computer room a thing of the past. As we are well aware, all children learn differently and laptop learning does not suit every child, or every teacher, but the general response to the interactive learning was stimulation for both pupil and instructor.

Many educators were not aware of the variety of teaching tools that were on the web, and the chance to explore new options opened their mind to a variety of engaging possibilities that they would not have previously explored. Since the initial pilot study, the scope of the initiative has broadened with the Bill Gates Foundation taking an active interest.

To learn more about the Maine study visit http://www.usm.maine.edu/cepare/mlti.htm. Or for a more recent overview of this topic and some findings from British Columbia please see http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=4882
 

The Final Five Questions Parents Ask

As Independent Schools we have a big Santa sack full of offerings for potential students. All our schools are unique but what we share is a common goal to offer our students a stimulating curriculum and environment desirable to them, as well as their parents. While it is important to set your school apart from the others for its specialties, parents usually cover the basics before delving into the attributes of a fantastic athletic program, or celebrated mathematics department. Touting your unique strengths is critical, but equally key is presenting a well-rounded approach to education.

The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) recently posted a well circulated article listing the top five questions to ask when evaluating an Independent School. http://www.nais.org/files/PDFs/FINALFiveQuestions%20101304.pdf

Does Your School Safety Plan Measure Up?

As educators we are given a lot of responsibility. Parents trust us to teach their children scholastically. Parents trust us to lead by example morally. Parents trust us to keep their children safe. Parents put a lot of trust in their schools; we are accountable for earning that faith.

With all the media attention given to acts of natural disasters and irrational acts of violence, parents are more aware than ever of school health and safety plans, and are asking tough questions. There is a plentitude of information available on the internet detailing what parents need to know when evaluating their child’s situation. To stay one step ahead we need to understand parental expectations, as well as standard guidelines.  Gerri Willis, CNN, outlines what parents should know about the emergency plans for their child’s school. http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/28/pf/saving/toptips/index.htm?postversion=2006092812

If you think your school could benefit from some health and safety advice take a quick visit to the Education Safety Association of Ontario website: http://www.esao.on.ca/index.htm Based in Ontario, this association is relevant to all our schools with its Canadian statistics, standards, and downloadable presentations.

We need to “parlez francais” but what about Mandarin?

Earlier this year we collected statistics on the languages being offered in our schools. Sixty-four of our then seventy-nine schools participated. From those schools we gathered the following information:

100% offer French
82% offer Spanish
25% offer Mandarin
18% offer German
15% offer Japanese
15% offer Latin
3% offer Italian

Maybe these numbers aren’t particularly surprising, but they might prove interesting when reviewed in context with the top ten languages of the world: http://www.lilithgallery.com/articles/2005/languagesoftheworld.html

Chinese is the first language for almost 14% of the population. Asia may feel far away for many of us, but the reality is the demand for people who are fluent in Mandarin and Japanese is on the rise. As quoted in the article above “At York University, the professors have resorted to using large 300 student auditoriums to teach Japanese in, with tutorial classes taught by teaching assistants. The demand is so high that enrolling in the class is a difficult process by itself, with students fighting for seats”.

Looking back at our 2006 Heads / Chairs conference, do you think John Ralston Saul really knew what he was talking about …?

Holiday Greetings

By now we are fully entrenched in the holiday season and all the festivities and chaos that come with this joyous and very busy time. The CAIS office is located in the middle of a North Toronto junior school and the excitement amongst the students is palpable and contagious.

We are privy to little voices chattering in the halls about holidays, gifts, family visits and various school activities. The stories become more animated each day. Yesterday we overheard one young student speaking about her family’s idea of Christmas spirit. She was recounting how she was excited to assist her mother in organizing a bountiful Christmas for a family of six through the Salvation Army. She plans to help with the grocery shopping and is on a mission to find “one really humungous turkey, because they probably like leftovers as much as I do”. She sounded genuinely disappointed that “we can’t give them our homemade cranberry sauce because everything has to be in cans for safety”.

At CAIS, we have the yearly tradition of sending a holiday e-mail to our School Heads and Chairs, and the money saved on greeting cards and postage is donated to a charity of our choice. This year we sent our cheque to The Hospital for Sick Children.

The CAIS Office wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season and all the best for 2007!