About AIMS

AIMS is a voluntary organization of private, independent elementary and college preparatory schools in Maryland and the District of Columbia. All 115 member schools work together to improve education for their more than 45,000 students.

Mission Statement

Adopted February, 1997
The Association of Independent Maryland Schools is an educational organization which exists to offer and promote activities and services of benefit to member schools. The Association leads by anticipating vital issues in education and responds by meeting needs expressed directly by member schools. Specifically, the Association requires and provides a means for accreditation for member schools; encourages the exchange of information among member schools; fosters and supports the diversity of its member schools; serves as the focal point for contacts between member schools and the State Department of Education and the Maryland Legislature; acts as a liaison with independent, parochial, and public school organizations at the local, regional, and national levels; and provides professional development opportunities for the faculty, administration, and trustees of member schools.

History

Founded in 1967, AIMS now serves 115 member independent schools in Maryland and the District of Columbia. These schools serve over 45,000 children, from pre-school through high school, and collectively employ approximately 6,500 teachers and administrators. Each AIMS-member school is a not-for-profit corporation and is governed by a volunteer board of trustees. Each school also maintains its own mission statement, which defines its educational vision, including predominant teaching methods and the student population it serves best. AIMS schools are therefore endlessly diverse-each school has its own philosophy, population, and school culture-and yet have the following in common: they are similarly incorporated and organized; they are non-discriminatory; they are independent of most governmental regulation; and they are able to address individual student needs by maintaining favorable student:teacher ratios and relatively small class sizes. In addition, most AIMS schools seek to address the "whole" child-academic, social, and emotional-and to instill important values, such as honesty, respect for diversity, and the value of hard work.

AIMS serves three important purposes: to provide a rich offering of annual professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, and trustees; to accredit member schools; to lobby the state legislature on behalf of member interests and independence; to promote the vigorous exchange of views and experiences among the various professional constituencies within member schools; and to be the voice of independent education in the area. The Association is best described as egalitarian, collaborative, and passionate about children, education in general and independent education in particular, and the importance and excitement of lifelong learning.