America’s Independent Schools Advocacy Initiative Update .

America’s Independent Schools

Advocacy Initiative Update www.isadvocacy.org


AI Goals

• Increase awareness of independent schools– Unique characteristics – Value

• Close the knowledge gap, deliver consistent messages

• Capture attention of media, parents, policymakers, prospective teachers


1999 POP: Describing Independent Schools

Top FiveStructured/64%Safe/60%Selective/55%Caring/53%Personalized/53%

Bottom FiveAffordable/22%Diverse/32%Intimidating/33%Approachable/36%Elitist/39%

America’s Independent SchoolsNegative Assumptions about Private Schools

• Private school teachers are less qualified than public school teachers

• Private schools are only for rich white people; elitist; expensive; homogenized; snobbish; an escape from the real world.

• Private schools only meet the needs of smart kids; highly selective, so not competing fairly with public schools.

CAPE Board’s List(Matches POP)

America’s Independent SchoolsNegative Assumptions about Private Schools

• Private schools do not serve the public good: they merely drain off the very best students leaving the more difficult to educate to the public schools; they are an insidious threat to the nation's pluralistic and democratic ideals and an impediment to the improvement of public education.

• Private school teachers are less qualified than public school teachers.

• Private schools design curriculum haphazardly and do not have to meet state or national standards.

CAPE Board’s List(Matches POP)


AI Message 1 for the PublicIndependent schools are close-knit communities that are uniquely capable of providing students with individualized attention.• Classes at independent schools are intimate learning environments where teachers are closely connected to their students. Teachers develop a full understanding of how each student learns and what interests and motivates each individually. • Teachers at independent schools know and care about their students and work to build relationships that encourage students to achieve their full potential.• Independent schools promote regular communication between students, parents, and teachers to ensure everyone is working towards the same goals for the student.


AI Message 2 for the Public

Independent schools challenge students to stretch their minds.• Independent schools set high academic standards, encourage excellence, and motivate students to be enthusiastic and creative about learning in an academically rigorous environment.• Teachers at independent schools provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, and encourage classroom discussions, teamwork, and socialization with others.• Independent schools encourage teachers to be creative and flexible to make sure all of their students reach their full potential. With more autonomy within the classroom, teachers are able to construct unique learning experiences for their students.


AI Message 3 for the Public

Independent schools go beyond academics to develop responsible, independent, and community-oriented students.• Independent schools teach students how to develop critical thinking skills and solve dilemmas, individually and as part of a team. • Educational opportunities at independent schools extend well beyond the classroom – to athletic competitions, artistic pursuits, and school leadership experiences.• Independent schools offer students real-life learning experiences in and outside the classroom including field trips, classes with expert guest lecturers, and learning through service.

America’s Independent SchoolsAI Message to Prospective Teachers

• Discuss the flexibility and autonomy associated with teaching at independent schools.• Convey the excitement of the independent school teaching experience – celebrate the talents of students at your school.• Directly address the commonly held assumption that independent school teachers receive low salaries – share information to show how “the full package” (salary, benefits, quality of life considerations) provides fair compensation for teachers.• Illustrate the personal satisfaction associated with teaching at an independent school. Underscore how teachers at independent schools positively impact the lives of their students.


AI Message to Policy Makers

• Showcase how your school encourages a lifetime commitment to community involvement and nurtures a sense of social responsibility and global citizenship.• Calculate and present the economic impact of your school on the community to expand on key messages about your unique value and characteristics.• Highlight the resources and cultural events your school offers the community (i.e., art exhibits, concerts, campus facilities for community events, etc.).


AI Message to Policy Makers

• Demonstrate effective educational practices and provide examples of ways in which graduates of your school make a difference – in their communities and in our world.• Discuss how your school regularly collaborates with other schools and organizations to measure the success of your students and ensure standards are being met.


Choice of a LifetimeBrochure forParents


Choice CompanionWebsite: www.isadvocacy.org/parents


Teacher RecruitmentCampaignBrochure


Teacher RecruitmentWebsite: www.isadvocacy.org/teachers


Ads in Ed Week Jan – May, NYTimes Online, etc.Mailings to 400 Colleges


Online Communications


Internal Mobilization

America’s Independent SchoolsPositive Messages about Private Schools

• Education choice should not be limited to the affluent: should be a right of all parents.

• Private schools are pluralistic, including a wide diversity of income, ethnicity, and ability levels within their communities, and are particularly effective in educating students from the lowest socio-economic quartile of the population.

• Private schools success in enabling students of all income, ethnic, and ability levels to achieve serves the common good

Cape Board’s TopTen + Cheney Report


• Private schools are mission-based and differ significantly from one another, and thereby offer a wide range of choices for families.

• Private schools believe that they are partners with, not competitors to the public schools and that there is a public purpose of private education: to model best practices that produce high-achieving students who make significant contributions to the democracy; to serve as a laboratory for experimenting with new methods for other schools (such as charters and public magnet schools) to adopt.

Cape Board’s TopTen


• Private schools educate the whole child - socially, emotionally, academically, and spiritually.

• Private schools have a salutary impact on their communities: economic, social, and educational, including saving local taxpayers millions of dollars and generating significant business income to the local economy.

• Private schools offer small and intimate and values based settings where all students are supported and expected to succeed and their individualized needs are met.



• Private school teachers are highly qualified, have very high job satisfaction, and they succeed because they have the freedom to design their own curriculum and assessments and the freedom to teach moral and spiritual values.

• Private schools are accountable beyond standardized testing, as they are held accountable by their parents and boards of trustees and by the accreditation body that provides periodic external review of program, operations, and the success of graduates.



So What’s It Gonna Be…

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America’s Independent Schools Advocacy Initiative Update .

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