Between February 2025 and February 2026, the NAIS staff and a committee of the board undertook a comprehensive strategic planning process, grounded in member feedback and research, with the goal of informing our organization’s direction and priorities.
Below, find the overall priorities of the strategic plan. This summer and fall, as we work to implement the objectives of the plan, we will share more details and updates with members.
Strategic Plan Priorities
Independent school leaders are navigating extraordinary complexity—including enrollment uncertainty, affordability pressures, workforce shortages, increased community polarization, and rapid technological change.
Over the next three years, the plan will help NAIS deliver what school leaders say they need most to sustain schools amid this complexity:
- stronger leadership pipelines and sustained workforce support,
- a powerful national voice protecting independent schools and strengthening public perception, and
- practical insight that helps leaders make confident decisions every day.
At the center of this work is a clear understanding that strong governance and a healthy school culture that is grounded in belonging and student well-being are essential to thriving schools and must shape how leaders respond to the challenges at hand.
How We Will Strengthen Our Capacity
To achieve the objectives of the strategic plan, we will focus our service to leaders; align our programming to what is important to schools and what NAIS can uniquely do; and strategically invest in technology that will expand access to, and the relevance of, our resources.