The overarching goals are to: 

• Establish a foundation of leadership knowledge and skills across three areas of school leadership (Education Program, School Operations and Strategies and Structures) that takes into account the participants’ personal interests and professional experience.
• Cultivate and integrate a pluralistic lens or mindset within the educational setting and beyond.
• Develop a network of professional colleagues.

• Participants new to the Diploma Program and intending to complete all the requirements in the program are required to begin with the CAIS Foundations for School Leadership Program: Designing a Practice.
• Leaders and aspiring leaders who do not intend to complete the Diploma may take a few specific modules without completing the Foundations program. Kindly declare your intention upon registration.

1. Completion of the CAIS Foundations for School Leadership Program: Designing a Practice
   AND
2. Completion of 10 CAIS Diploma modules (please see Module Offerings - Effective Summer 2021 below)

• Six (6) required modules 
• Four (4) additional modules from any module category

Diploma Participants Who Registered Prior to Summer 2021

• Participants who complete the six (6) required modules and four(4) elective modules (10 in total), earn the CAIS Diploma in Independent School Leadership.
• Note that effective Summer 2020, Accreditation is no longer a required module.
• Participants who have completed Accreditation can count it as one (1) of the 10.
• Participants who have not taken Accreditation can take a different elective module.

Required Modules to earn the Diploma - (if you started prior to restructuring)

• Education Program Foundations (formerly known as Academic Administration)
• Advancement
• Faculty and Staff Culture
• Finance
• Governance

Elective Modules to earn the Diploma - (if you started prior to restructuring)

• All other modules have elective status and there is no restriction in choice. 
• Required modules plus electives to total 10 modules to earn the Diploma.
• For a list of possible electives, please see Module Offerings - Effective Summer 2021 below.

Note:

• Module offerings depend upon demand and facilitator availability and will be posted shortly.
• Asterisked (*) modules are required modules for those participants who began the Diploma program prior to the summer of 2021.
• Modules (6) in bold are required modules for those participants who begin their Diploma program in the summer of 2021.

Education Program Modules (7)

• Co-curricular Program
• Curriculum Design 
• Custodial Care - Boarding, Homestay, Exchange
• Education Program Foundation (Leadership organization, schedule, school organization, learning environment, resources)*
• Instructional Strategies (Pedagogical approaches and theoretical frameworks)
• Student Assessment 
• Student Well-being (Academic and Social Emotional Support, University Counselling/Guidance)

School Operations Modules (6)

• Advancement *
• Enrolment Management
• Finance*
• Human Resources
• Marketing and Communication 
• Physical Plant and Property

Leadership Strategies and Structures (16)

• Child Protection
• Change Management
• Crisis Management 
• Faculty and Staff Culture* 
• Design Thinking 
• Difficult Conversations 
• Effective Leadership Facilitation 
• Environmental Sustainability
• Faculty/Staff Growth and Evaluation
• Governance* 
• Information Systems Privacy and Risk
• Media Training
• Mental Health First Aid
• Pluralism
• Public Speaking and Writing
• Risk Assessment and Management 
• Women in Leadership (open to everyone)

Independent school leadership requires a breadth of understanding of many key school functions. The CAIS Honours Diploma Program provides you with the opportunity to dig into these functions and develop a deeper understanding of less familiar school operations that relate to your leadership role in your school.

• Participants who complete the CAIS Diploma Program and five (5) additional modules of choice will earn the CAIS Honours Diploma in Independent School Leadership
• Select at least one module from each of the three (3) categories (Education Program, School Operations and Leadership Strategies and Structures), and two (2) others of your choice
• Effective Summer 2021

• For further information see CAIS Leadership Institute FAQ’s or contact Catherine McCauley, Director of Professional Learning, at cmccauley@cais.ca.