Leading Educational Nonprofits Form “Critical Friendship”
AAIE moves its central office to ISS Princeton Headquarters, strengthening long-time relationship and shared goal to further international education worldwide
The Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) and International Schools Services (ISS) forged a tighter relationship at the start of the 2018-19 academic year, when AAIE relocated its central office to the ISS headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition to shared space, ISS will provide business office and logistical support to AAIE as part of the arrangement, and AAIE’s Mark Ulfers will provide programmatic support to ISS.
“We are both important organizations within the international school community,” says Mark Ulfers, Executive Director of AAIE. “This critical friendship will allow our independent organizations to work together more closely to improve and grow international education. The fact that we can use space at ISS and leverage their technology and accounting infrastructure means AAIE can then redirect some of its limited resources to place more emphasis on our people and programs.”
Over the past two years, ISS has formed several formal collaborations with different organizations as part of its strategic plan to create meaningful partners to better serve the international school community. Liz Duffy, President of ISS, initially approached Ulfers with the idea of an AAIE and ISS collaboration. “At ISS, it’s all about Win-Win-Win arrangements,” says Duffy. “We win; the other organization wins; and most important, the international community wins. To truly be a great collaboration, all three must exist. The critical friendship between ISS and AAIE has the potential to do really great things for international educators and the students they serve.”
Looking ahead, both organizations have exciting plans for the upcoming year. AAIE is creating its full lineup of learning events, including its flagship Annual International Leadership Conference and Expo 2019, which will be held in San Francisco, CA. In addition to its full suite of services for international schools, ISS is preparing for the launch of ISS-Schrole Advantage, a revolutionary change in global recruitment for educators and schools. ISS-Schrole Advantage will feature reimagined technology, enhanced job fairs, and a major expansion in the number of recruiting schools and job-seeking candidates.
AAIE’s Mark Ulfers sums up the collaboration with ISS thoughtfully, “In many ways, the behavior of ISS and AAIE is consistent with what we strive for in our schools: more collaborative leadership.”
Both organizations are excited for this novel relationship and expect to learn from each other. ISS and AAIE will continue to be separate organizations, focused on their individual nonprofit missions, and will find ways to work together for the betterment of the international community. For more information contact info@iss.edu or mark@aaie.org.
As a nonprofit organization, International Schools Services (ISS) works with more than 500 international schools and thousands of educators each year across its suite of services, creating the largest global footprint in international education support. Since its inception in 1955, ISS has launched and managed more than 110 international schools; placed approximately 50,000 educators; developed ground-breaking learning programs, such as the World Language Initiative and Level 5 Creativity & Innovation Hubs; processed about 15,000 school supply orders annually; and stewarded over 75 school foundations each year. With its headquarters in Princeton, NJ, USA and locations in China and Bahrain (starting in the 2018-2019 school year), ISS currently directly owns, operates, or manages nearly 20 international schools around the world and promotes innovative best practices for global education through its core services that include founding and managing student-centered, future-oriented schools; recruiting world-class educators; providing cutting-edge professional learning opportunities; sourcing essential school supplies; and stewarding school foundations. ISS staff has extensive experience in all aspects of international education, with most senior leaders having served as Heads of Schools across a variety of continents. To learn more, please visit: dev.iss.edu.
About the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE)
AAIE is a not-for-profit association of international schools around the world promoting exemplary school leadership and research-based, effective and innovative educational practices. As an autonomous organization, AAIE was legally incorporated in 1966 with a mandate to further and continuously improve international education and cultural understanding across independent overseas schools. AAIE serves a diverse global community providing leadership development across the ever-changing and expanding spectrum of educational programming initiatives and issues. Through annual gathering(s) and outreach, it connects together ideas, perspectives, success stories, member expertise and thought leaders around the world. AAIE promotes and communicates current educational research, teaching and learning practices, best-in-class trends, and change leadership to promote continuously improving and future-ready schools. From the very beginning, and even more necessary and true today, AAIE is the worldwide organization that connects school leaders to new ideas, opportunities– serving as a disruptive influence– and change agent to ensure the viability, integrity and future of overseas schools. With the executive office in Princeton, NJ, AAIE brings people, languages, ideas, cultural understanding and values together where everyone learns, benefits and belongs. To learn more, please visit: www.aaie.org.