A helpful metaphor for visualizing the complexity of CAIS schools is to imagine a series of interlocking gears. The academic program is located at the center of this ‘machine’ with direct connections to school purpose, leadership, enrolment management, human resources, and facilities. Our schools are first and foremost learning institutions, and all leaders within CAIS benefit from understanding the challenges and opportunities within academic programming.

Module Overview

This module provides an overview of essential topics facing academic leaders in CAIS schools and how wider school structures connect with and impact the education program. While academic mandates and curricula differ by province, this module will identify the effective foundational traits in educational programming.

Learning Intentions

Participants will:

• Discuss the role of educational programs in school equity, diversity, and inclusion work
• Understand different models of division heads, department heads, and instructional leaders
• Learn how research can best inform professional learning for faculty
• Look at how educational leaders initiate, support, evaluate and sustain change in schools
• Discuss effective practices to support academic integrity
• Review the elements of proactive and effective faculty growth and development programs
• Understand the business pressures, hard constraints, and soft constraints in timetabling
• Appreciate the challenges of teacher training and retention within the independent school landscape in Canada
• Share ideas on the academic structures that support student mental health and wellness
• Consider how the science of the developing brain informs educational programming

CAIS 2021 National Standard Alignment

Close alignment will be made with the following CAIS 2021 National Standards:

• Standard 4 - Education Program Foundation
• Standard 5 - Learning and Teaching

Direct connections will also be made to CAIS 2021 National Standards:

• Standard 1 - School Purpose (e.g. academic mission and vision)
• Standard 2 - School Leadership (e.g. academic leadership structures)
• Standard 6 - Student Well-Being and Support (e.g. faculty involvement in academic and student support)
• Standard 10 - Human Resources (e.g. professional development for teachers)

Facilitator Biography: Myke Healy

Myke Healy is Assistant Head – Teaching & Learning at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario, where he leads academic strategy, faculty development, and curricular innovation. He holds a Professional Master of Education in assessment and evaluation from Queen's University and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary, researching generative AI and academic integrity in K-12 education through interviews with Canadian Accredited Independent School (CAIS) leaders across Canada. Myke presents nationally and internationally on AI in education, serves on the Ontario College of Teachers' accreditation roster and the board of eLearning Consortium Canada, and instructs leadership and assessment courses at Queen's University. In July 2026, he becomes Head of School at St. John's-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg.