WHAT IS AISA?
The Alabama Independent School Association is an organization of independent schools in Alabama seeking to to provide a quality school program for the students of Alabama. AISA’s mission is to serve independent schools in the state of Alabama by providing its member schools with educational and corporate services and programs focusing on excellence in academics, accreditation, and athletics.
Membership Benefits
BC/BS Health Insurance
As a member of the AISA you have access to affordable insurance options other than the typical BCBS small group plans. The AISA Health & Wellness plans include 4 Health options, 2 Dental options and 1 vision plan. Our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance program has saved our stakeholders thousands of dollars.
Southeast Collaborative
The Southeast Collaborative consists of a group of eight state associations (AISA, FCIS, GISA, MAIS, NCAIS, PAIS, TAIS and VAIS) that negotiates member pricing on popular digital resources and subscriptions. As a benefit of membership with the AISA, a large number of discounted educational resources are available to you. Pricing information is confidential and should not be shared outside of your school.
Consortium Buying Power
One benefit of AISA membership includes exclusive member pricing on popular digital resources and subscriptions.
Working in conjunction with a group of state associations across the southeast, we have been able to leverage our collective bargaining power to offer discounts on certain resources and subscriptions. We participate in the purchasing consortium at The Independent School Collaborative (ISC). AISA Executive Director Michael McLendon proudly serves as a member of the Independent School Collaborative Board of Trustees.
See resources and subscriptions available for the following school year at the ISC website.
Government Relations
The AISA contracts with a Government Relations Specialist to monitor legislative activities and to safeguard the interest of Alabama’s independent schools, particularly in promoting policies that support independent schools and educational choice.
A key focus has been the CHOOSE Act, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at expanding educational options for families in Alabama. By supporting the CHOOSE Act, the AISA strives to give families more control over their children’s education, fostering an environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed in the best learning environment for them.
Through its advocacy work, the AISA continues to engage with legislators to ensure that policies like the CHOOSE Act evolve in ways that strengthen educational options and ensure the long-term success of independent schools across the state. This ongoing legislative effort aligns with the AISA’s mission to support quality education and uphold the rights of Alabama families in choosing the best educational path for their children.
To learn more about the CHOOSE ACT, we’ve compiled the latest information here.
Professional Development
The Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) provides a range of professional development opportunities designed to support educators and enhance their skills.
Through workshops, conferences, and specialized training, AISA empowers educators to stay current with best practices, instructional strategies, and educational trends.
Some of our key offerings are the AISA Annual Conference and the AISA Leadership Conference, which connects teachers, administrators, and staff with industry leaders and experts.
In addition to these conferences, AISA coordinates subject-specific workshops for teachers, providing deep dives into areas such as STEM education, Artificial Intelligence (AI), college counseling, and much more. Overall, these initiatives are just one way we serve our members in helping educators grow professionally, stay motivated, and continue to provide exceptional learning experiences for students across the state.
You can learn more about these offerings on the professional development page of our website.
Accreditation
The AISA proudly maintains an agency partnership with Cognia/SACS and serves as the Lead Agency in this partnership. This partnership allows schools to obtain both AISA and SACS accreditation through one seamless process, with the AISA serving as the managing partner in this process and utilizing Cognia unique protocols and platforms.
For more information about AISA/Cognia accreditation, please contact our office.
Athletics
The AISA takes pride in offering competitive sports opportunities for our members.
Student-athletes compete in cross country, volleyball, football, and cheerleading, showcasing their talents at both the regional and state levels. These championships bring together top athletes from AISA schools to vie for state titles, fostering a spirit of sportsmanship, excellence, and camaraderie.
In addition to state championships, the AISA organizes All-Star games for volleyball, football, and cheerleading, celebrating outstanding athletes who have demonstrated exceptional skill, leadership, and commitment throughout the season.
Through these athletic events, AISA not only honors athletic achievement but also promotes important values such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance, helping students grow both as athletes and individuals.
Student Activities
Each year the Alabama Independent School Association sponsors a variety of organized academic and fine arts events to recognize and reward student excellence in academic learning, creative activities, and noteworthy achievement. As a result of competing with their peers in academics, AISA students have experiences that broaden their intellect, strengthen their thinking skills, foster their creativity, and help them mature as individuals. These academic events include spelling bee, creative writing, reading competition, science fair, elementary choral festival, secondary honor choir, band festival, visual arts show, middle school and high school math competition, oratorical contest, middle school and high school scholars’ bowls, drama festival technology fair and state student government association.
Access to Exclusive Partnership Offers
The AISA maintains partnerships through our corporate sponsorship program. A corporate sponsorship with the AISA can create a heightened corporate image and brand awareness by demonstrating social responsibility and community involvement. In return, many of these corporate partners offer discounted serves and programs to our members.
Tuition Discounts at Faulkner University
The AISA and Faulkner University have partnered to provide significant tuition discounts and scholarships for AISA graduates, employees and their families.
These benefits include:
- Full-time employees shall receive a 50% tuition discount in eligible adult undergraduate and graduate programs taken through Faulkner.
- Full-time employees may also designate up to two (2) other individuals to receive a 50% tuition discount in eligible adult undergraduate and graduate programs taken through Faulkner.
- A full-time employee’s children (including step-children) shall receive:
- a 50% tuition discount for eligible, adult undergraduate and graduate programs taken through Faulkner
OR
- a scholarship/grant award totaling a minimum of $10,000 per academic year (fall and spring) through Faulkner’s on-ground traditional program at the Montgomery campus.
- Graduates of AISA schools will be eligible to receive a scholarship/grant award totaling a minimum of $10,000 per academic year (fall and spring). This option is available only to students eligible for the on-ground traditional program at the Montgomery campus.
Read more about this agreement here.
Exclusive Discounts for online learning tools
The AISA is excited to announce a new partnership with Accelerate Education, a platform that offers digital, fully-customizable curriculum to meet the needs of our members.
Every student has individualized needs, and the AISA has a variety of offerings to help students succeed. These online course offerings will allow students to obtain credits in a flexible, asynchronous, online learning environment.
Teachers will work with students to ensure mastery of content through synchronous sessions, support lessons, and office hours. You can be sure your students are working to their highest potential while also having the flexibility of the learning space and place.
Courses:
With over 300 course offerings, your students will have access to Standard Credit, Credit Recovery, AP, Honors, Career Readiness and many electives. Click here to view Accelerate Education’s course catalog.
Customizations:
Courses are fully customizable for each individual student – add, remove, or edit content as needed.
Open Enrollment Year-Round:
There are open enrollment dates, year-round, that allow students access to courses 24/7, from virtually anywhere. (There is NO minimum of days that student must be enrolled to complete a course for credit unless a NCAA course).
User-Friendly LMS:
The Learning Management System is a student friendly experience that adapts calendar due dates, shows course grades/activities, and has a student dashboard to keep students on track.
Administrator and Parent Access:
School personnel and parents have amazing tools available including access to real-time data on progress and grades, valuable reports, and an emailed weekly progress report.
Flexible pricing and course types allows us to build a solution that is the perfect fit for your program.
Contact Caleb Smith, Director of Member Services, for information: [email protected]
403B Retirement Plan
AISA is excited to partner with the Independent School Collaborative (ISC) 403(b) Multiple Employer Plan (MEP).
A MEP is a retirement savings plan that covers two or more employers. It enables small organizations to offer big-company benefits. Key characteristics include: single plan document, one form 5500, one plan audit, pooled assets and administration, and centralized governance. The MEP vendor team includes TIAA as record-keeper, Pentegra as the 3(16) Fiduciary Administrator, and Compass Financial Partners as the 3(38) Fiduciary Investment Manager and education advisor.
Program advantages include:
- Flexibility in Plan Design – Maintain your unique plan design features such as vesting schedules, type and amount of employer match, Roth option, availability of plan loans and hardship.
- Fiduciary Support – Your MEP 3(38) advisor will handle most of the fiduciary responsibilities.
- Reduction of Administrative Responsibility – Your MEP 3(16) Administrator will take care of items such as employee notices, eligibility tracking and distribution management.
- Cost Savings – Take advantage of expanded share class availability, open architecture, reduced costs associated with plan document maintenance, restatement, or amended responsibilities.
