New Initiatives at Independent Education Thomas Toch Executive Director Heads Conference

1. New Initiatives at Independent Education Thomas Toch Executive Director Heads Conference October 8, 2010

2. “To advance the collective interests of member schools in the national capital region by promoting high professional standards and practices, encouraging cooperative endeavors, enhancing member schools’ standing in the community, and safeguarding their independence.” Mission Statement

3. Programming /Professional Development • Community Building/Networking • Data • Research/Publications • Cost Savings • Advocacy • Teacher/Staff Recruitment • Marketing What We Do

4. New Initiatives To Support Mission

5. Institutes: • Teacher Evaluation • Heads/Board Chairs • Beginning Teachers/Mentors Expanded Professional Development

6. New Branding Goal: Respond to 2007 strategic plan’s call for the association to play enhanced role in promoting member schools among parents, potential teachers, and other audiences outside of our community of schools. “Reinforce AISGW as the ‘go to’ source for information on local independent education.” “Pursue the member benefits—especially those related to student and teacher recruitment—that could arise from a more dynamic and ‘plugged in” AISGW website.”

7. Name Change • Shorter, simpler • Celebrates what member schools stand for clearly, boldly • Distinguishes organization from other associations in region (AIMS/VIAS/NAIS) for public audiences. We have a professional rather than a regulatory relationship with our schools • Drives web traffic

8. Tagline • Reflects the fact that our community of schools serves many different types of students with many different needs and abilities with many different educational programs. • Suggests that independent schools in the region are welcoming, inclusive.

9. Descriptive Language Goal: Use language to describe the association and member schools that helps distinguish us from other independent school associations and helps drive families and other public audiences to our website: independent private schools, professional organization, consortium. Consultants: Use descriptors on website that the public uses most frequently. A 2008 “search engine optimization” study commissioned by AISGW found that “private schools” draws twice the traffic of “independent schools.”

10. Descriptive Language • Description of NAIS on most widely used Internet search engine, Google: “Education association with resources for private independent schools.” • NAIS: School and Student Services products provide “comprehensive financial aid services for private schools.” • Google description for AIMS: “A statewide association of over 100 private academic schools.” • AIMS website: “AIMS is a voluntary organization of private, independent elementary and college preparatory schools in Maryland and the District of Columbia.” • TABS: “independent private schools”

11. Website • Deliver more, enhanced web-based services, resources to member schools • Improve communication with and within schools network • Raise profile of Independent Education, member schools • Establish AISGW website as a key portal for families searching for independent schools • Improve functionality

12. Website • Content matters: Traffic up 60 percent in 2009-10, to 33,000 visits/month • Goal: 50,000/month by end of 2010-11

13. Reducing Costs • Purchasing Point: • $17 billion/yr in purchasing power • Hundreds of vendors, thousands of products • Average savings: 33 percent • Member schools enrolled: 46 in 4 months; very high up- take rate • $1.50/student; smaller programs in metro DC and Pennsylvania charge $3/$2.50 per student.

14. Reducing Costs • USI Property and Casualty Insurance Program: • Using scale of association to leverage lower premiums, better coverage, risk-managements services • Voluntary • No-cost deficiency analysis • Every school underwritten on own profile, history • Meetings with 14 schools/risk analysis at 7 • Independent Education receives 1 % of gross premiums as marketing fee/has lowered own premiums

15. Reducing Costs • Corporate Partnerships: • One-year relationships • Discounted member pricing on products, services • Guidelines drafted by legal counsel/published on website • Common model • Reduces dependence on dues • Two in place/others in pipeline • Reduces dues increases

16. Recruiting Teachers, Staff • Current: Job Bank • New: Resume posting, TFA relationship • Exploring: Substitute teacher registry, participation in educators credit union, partnership with teacher recruitment agency to lower costs to member schools

17. Recruiting Students, Families • Website: • “Families” navigation • Enhanced school search • Featured school on home page • Latino Student Fund: • Proposed new placement strategy for LSF

18. Research, Analysis • Website: • Building on-library of materials on schooling issues • Experts listings • Links to research sites • Foundation-funded research: • Reports on topics of importance to member schools • Monthly e-newsletter

19. Building Membership • Association serves schools in 80-square-mile area • Could increase membership by 50 percent via schools in existing geographic footprint meeting current membership criteria • No competition with AIMS/VAIS; we’re a secondary membership, compete with NAIS • Low marginal cost of serving new members

20. Membership • Committed to rigorous membership standards • NAIS grants associate membership status to charter schools, on-line schools, for-profit schools • Membership/strategic planning committees charged with examining criteria • Using names of states where schools located drives web traffic; AIMS does this

21. Organizational Sustainability • Corporate Partnerships • Foundation Funding • Purchasing Point • Sustaining organization’s ability to support schools • Reducing reliance on dues (dues = 69 percent of budget in 2009-10; 55 percent in 2010-11)