NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads

The NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads is a one-year professional development program for individuals at NAIS member schools who wish to become heads of independent schools. Through programming, mentorship, and a school project, fellows develop their own leadership styles, learn key issues and skills, and develop a strong network. The fellowship is a critical component of NAIS's leadership development philosophy. We invest in this program because we believe strongly in the importance of nurturing the next generation of independent school leaders. Equally important is the investment that fellows, their schools, and their mentors are making in their own leadership development. Click here to download a pdf file of the 2009-10 Fellowship brochure.

Applying to Become a Fellow
We are now accepting applications for the 2010-11 NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads.  Please click here to access our online application.  To be eligible for consideration as an NAIS Fellow, you must:

• Work at an NAIS member school (and have worked as an administrator in independent schools for three or more full years);
• Have a master's degree or other advanced degree, or be in the process of working one;
• Commit to completing all the components of the program in the fellowship year;
• Secure the backing of your school head (including financial support); and
Complete the online application by November 13, 2009.

Selected individuals will receive a $1,000 fellowship contribution, which helps to cover the registration costs for the School Leadership Institute and the NAIS Annual Conference. Fellows secure the backing of their heads of school to cover the rest of the program expenses, including travel expenses and accommodations.

Information for Current and Past Fellows
Click on the year of your cohort for up-to-date information:

• 2007-08 Fellows
• 2006-07 Fellows
• 2005-06 Fellows
• 2004-05 Fellows
• 2003-04 Fellows

Click here for recommended reading from and for NAIS Fellows. To submit your suggestions, please e-mail rapp@nais.org

Fellowship Alumni: Are you at a new school or in a new position? Please e-mail your new school or position information to rapp@nais.org.

Resources and Contacts

• Edward E. Ford Foundation: http://www.eeford.org/ (founding sponsor of the NAIS/E.E. Ford Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads)
• Carney, Sandoe & Associates: http://www.carneysandoe.com/ (generous sponsor of the NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads)
• Educational Directions, Incorporated:http://www.edu-directions.com/ (home of the Blue and Green Sheets for independent school administrators)
• Programs offered at the Klingenstein Center, Columbia University: http://www.klingenstein.org/academics/academic.html

Information for Mentors
Click here for resources for current mentors. If you are a head of school and wish to serve as a mentor for an aspiring school head, please contact Jay Rapp at rapp@nais.org for more information

All participants at NAIS member/subscriber schools are welcome to participate in the Fellowship Program. NAIS has an institutional commitment to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, NAIS does not discriminate in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, gender, or any other characteristic.

NAIS is indebted to The Benedict Foundation for Independent Schools for its generous support of the most recent class of Aspiring School Head Fellows.