W H O A R E W E ?

THE CONFERENCE OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS OF

ONTARIO

BETTER KNOWN AS…

CIS ONTARIO

• CIS Ontario is a collegial group of 47 member schools working together to advance educational excellence in Ontario Independent schools

• Of the 47 Schools…• 3 are associate schools out-of-province• 8 are single-gendered girls’ schools• 6 are single-gendered boys’ schools• The remainder are co-educational• 16 have a boarding complement

PRIVATE SCHOOL OR INDEPENDENT SCHOOL?

• In Ontario, any school not receiving public funding are all grouped under the one umbrella of “private schools”. There are currently 941 schools that fit that definition!

• CIS Ontario prefers to use the term “Independent Schools” to distinguish themselves from the larger group. The key differentiator is the requirement that all CIS Ontario Schools have gone through a vigorous membership criteria process that includes a mandatory governance structure with a Board of Governors that operates at arms-length from the administration of the school.

OUR STUDENTS ARE…

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OR PRIVATE SCHOOLS - WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

Public Schools

Accountable to ‘central board office’

Operational policies set by central office

Budget set centrally Staffing limited by central

office Management of staff

impacted by labor contracts Parents’ role – Parent

Advisory Council Alumnae role minimal

Private Schools

Accountable to independent board of governors

Operational policies set by management team

‘School-based’ budgeting Staffing limited by approved

budget Management of staff requires

finely honed HR skill set Parents as ‘clients’. Parents’

Guilds Alumnae as a significant

stakeholder group

OUR SCHOOLS HAVE EXCELLENT COMPENSATION PACKAGES THAT MATCH OR EXCEED THAT OF THE LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD. ALMOST ALL SCHOOLS ARE MEMBERS OF THE ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN.

CIS ONTARIOMEMBERSHIP CRITERIA

Vigorous Membership Criteria for Schools• Academic Standards – programming must qualify

students for university• Governance – arms-length Governance structure

must be in place• Financial Considerations – proven long-term

financial stability• Reputation – reputation of excellence must be

achieved by the school over a period of years and recognized by CIS Ontario and the public at large

OUR TEACHERS ARE OFFERED EXTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT ENSURES….

CIS ONTARIO BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

• Professional Network Groups - Heads of School, Business Officers, Human Resources, Health Services, Librarians, IT Directors, Facilities Managers, Curriculum Leaders

• Marketing - Teacher Recruitment, Faculty of Education Presentations, Career Opportunity Day

• Professional Development - Cohort 21, New Teacher Day, subject-specific/division specific programs

• Student Programs – CISAA, CIS Ontario Music Festival, CIS Ontario Drama Festival, CIS Ontario Dance Festival, Techno Cup

OUR SCHOOLS ARE ….

COME VISIT US AND LEARN MORE!

www.cisontario.ca