Admissions

Through the recruitment, selection, and enrollment of students, admission and enrollment management professionals play a critical role in their schools’ vitality and educational culture.

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Athletics

Athletics can play an important role in the lives of children. The school's athletic program should be an essential part of the education of students, fostering the development of character, life skills, sportsmanship, and teamwork.

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Board of Trustees

The board is the guardian of the school's mission. It is the board's responsibility to ensure that the mission is relevant and vital to the community it serves and to monitor the success of the school in fulfilling its mission.

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Business Officers

Although responsibilities of business officers are as varied as the institutions they serve, the following principles provide a common standard of leadership and good practice for individuals vested with the responsibilities of the school's financial and physical resources.

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Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education emphasizes the development of the whole child, providing for each child's social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs. Early childhood programs are developmentally appropriate, in that they are based on an understanding of general patterns of growth in the early years as well as children's individual development.

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Educating for Global Citizenship and International Mindedness

Twenty-first century independent schools must prepare students to be knowledgeable, compassionate citizens and effective leaders within a rapidly transforming world. This objective requires an understanding of one's own culture while extending well beyond the boundary of the nation where instruction occurs. Such schools meet the following principles of good practice.

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Education of International Students in Independent Schools

Independent schools value the presence and full engagement of international students in their educational communities. The following principles provide guidelines for the recruitment, residential life, education, and support of international students in independent schools.

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Elementary School Educators

Building on the work of early childhood educators, elementary school educators continue to nourish the child's joy of discovery and passion for learning, and provide for the child's social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and moral growth — giving special attention to the mastery of those basic skills and concepts that are the foundation of all future learning.

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Environmental Sustainability

Schools committed to environmental sustainability emphasize an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to fostering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to build a sustainable world for present and future generations. Such schools meet the following principles of good practice.

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Equity and Justice

NAIS schools value the representation and full engagement of individuals within our communities whose differences include – but are not limited to – age, ethnicity, family makeup, gender identity and expression, learning ability, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

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Financial Aid Administration

Recognizing that each family bears the primary responsibility for financing a student's education costs, NAIS's Principles of Good Practice for Financial Aid Administration are designed to serve as guideposts in developing professional policies and orderly procedures among schools. Through these principles, NAIS affirms its belief that the purpose of a financial aid program is to provide monetary assistance to those students who cannot afford the cost of attending an independent school.

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Fundraising

The advancement program of the school should exemplify the best qualities of the institution and reflect the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. The following Principles of Good Practice are addressed to those involved in the school's advancement operation -- trustees, school heads, development and alumni/ae officers and staff, volunteers, consultants, and business officers.

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Heads of School

The primary responsibility of the head of an independent school is to carry out the school's stated mission. While there are profoundly different ways to accomplish this goal, NAIS offers the following principles as guideposts for all heads engaged in this rewarding, complex job.

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Head Searches

The following principles of good practice are designed to help independent schools and their search committees as they embark upon the task of selecting a school head. They are intended to further the likelihood of a professional and fair process that is the foundation for the successful hiring of a new head of school.

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Hiring Process

The quality of the hiring process sets the tone for a mutually satisfying relationship between the school and the candidate and communicates to the candidate the spirit and values of the institution. The values that infuse these guidelines can be applied to any hiring process, whether that process involves the use of placement agencies or is fully managed by the school. NAIS encourages schools to adopt these principles and to share them with candidates as appropriate.

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Independent School Trustees

The following Principles of Good Practice are set forth to provide a common perspective on the responsibilities of individual members of independent school boards.

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Middle School Educators

Middle school is a unique period in the educational life of a student. Youngsters experience a variety of significant changes, both individually and collectively. The range of academic ability and physical and emotional development is huge. Relationships among adolescents, not to mention with their parents, change on a daily basis. Middle school educators have the responsibility to respond to and provide for the unique developmental needs and characteristics of their students.

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Parents Working with Schools/Schools Working with Parents

Parents and independent schools work together to create and sustain effective partnerships. The following principles of good practice describe the respective roles and responsibilities of both partners.

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Secondary School Educators

Secondary school educators are committed to helping their students move from adolescence to young adulthood.

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Teachers and Supervisors of Teachers

Entrusted with the education of children, the independent school teacher promotes the best interests of the child within the context of the school's philosophy. Those who supervise teachers are responsible for the quality of teaching and for promoting growth in those who teach. The following principles of good practice provide guidelines for supervisors of teacher.

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Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age

Digital technologies provide increasingly powerful tools and offer a variety of educational opportunities that can improve teaching and learning. The principles below offer crucial guidelines for administrators, teachers, and technology staff in planning and managing the role of technology in independent schools.

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