Candidacy Criteria

The criteria for candidacy in SAIS are aligned with SAIS standards for accreditation. If an applicant school is invited to complete the full membership application, the documents required will establish that the criteria have been met. 

• Has education as its primary mission
• Operates under a governance structure
• Has at least two consecutive years of operating experience
• Offers an academic program and curriculum that serves at least three successive grade levels across the K-12 continuum
• Employs at least the equivalent of one full-time professional faculty member per grade level offered
• Has bylaws
• Operates under non-discriminatory admissions and employment policies in accordance with state and federal law
• Matriculates students in a physical plant
• Is financially sustainable
• Is financed almost exclusively by private rather than public funds
• Has articles of incorporation (may be held by a church or other governing authority)
• Has an organizational structure that includes separate entities that carry out the distinct functions of governance and day-to-day management
• Has a head of school who is not the chair of the governing body

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DEFINITIONS OF ITEMS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFUSION

• Employs at least the equivalent of one full-time professional faculty member per grade level offered
  *If your school offers grades K-5, then you have six grade levels. You are required to have a minimum of six full time equivalent classroom teachers (this count does NOT include administrators or support staff).
• Matriculates students in a physical plant
  *SAIS does not support online schools or home schools. If your students are required to register as home school students (even if you are a hybrid), you do not meet the SAIS membership requirements. If your students take a significant portion of their classes on line, you do not meet the SAIS membership requirements.
• Has an organizational structure that includes separate entities that carry out the distinct functions of governance and day-to-day management
  *While there are many effective governance structures, SAIS only supports those in which there is a clear separation between governance and operations. Common responsibilities of the board of trustees are to hire and nurture the chief executive of the school (Head, Director, occasionally Principal), set the mission and direction of the school, and exercise fiduciary oversight. Common responsibilities of the head of school are to establish curriculum, hire/manage/fire faculty and staff, manage the budget, enroll/dismiss students, oversee the maintenance of the physical plant.