The Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW) is an association of 75

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

s located in the District of Columbia and metropolitan Washington, D.C. areas in Virginia and Maryland. More than 30,000 students attend these member schools in grades pre-K through high school. Founded in 1951, AISGW member schools include co-ed schools as well as boys- and girls-only programs. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a staff of three full-time employees, AISGW serves as a resource for member schools and families seeking to learn more about independent education and the educational options provided by its member schools. The mission of AISGW is to advance the collective interests of member schools in the capital region by promoting high professional standards and exemplary practices, encouraging cooperative endeavors, enhancing member schools' standing in the community, and safeguarding their independence.

Programs

AISGW provides advocacy for its member schools, both on legislative and regulatory issues and to the public in advocating and communicating the benefits of an independent school education. The Association also provides tools for schools to use, opportunities for networking and professional development for administrators and school leaders, sponsors recruiting fairs, and provides educational benefits for member schools and their faculty and staff. The Association manages a job bank where it lists open positions at its member schools and provides yearly statistical analysis of trends in enrollment, tuition, and other topics.

Membership

Membership is available to independent,

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

schools within the AISGW service area who have independent boards of trustees and independent finances, are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting board (i.e.

Virginia Association of Independent Schools Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) is a non-profit, voluntary membership association of schools within the state of Virginia. The VAIS is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools. Prior to its establishment in Ch ...

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National Association for the Education of Young Children The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a large nonprofit association in the United States representing early childhood education teachers, para-educators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families o ...

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Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

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Association of Independent Schools of Maryland and DC
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Southern Association of Independent Schools {{Cleanup-spam, date=April 2011 The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) is a U.S.-based voluntary organization of more than 380 independent elementary and secondary schools through the South, representing more than 220,000 students. ...

, and have been in operation for 36 consecutive months. Provisional memberships are also available. District of Columbia * Aidan Montessori School
Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School
* Bishop John T. Walker School For Boys * Capitol Hill Day School *

Edmund Burke School Edmund Burke School is an independent college preparatory school in Washington, D.C. Located on Connecticut Avenue NW, two blocks from the Van Ness - UDC metro station, Burke enrolls approximately 315 students in Grades 6-12. Founded in 1968 by ...

The Field School The Field School is a preparatory school in Washington, D.C., located in the old Cafritz mansion on Foxhall Road. The school teaches 6th-12th grade, with about 368 students attending as of the 2019–2020 school year. Notable alumni * * (cla ...

Georgetown Day School Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students in northwestern Washington, D.C. Russell Shaw is the current Head of Sch ...

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School is a private Roman Catholic college-preparatory school for girls located in the historic Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Georgetown. Founded in 1799 by the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (also kno ...

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16 ...

* The Lab School of Washington * Lowell School *

Maret School Maret School is a coeducational, K–12 independent school in Washington, D.C. It was founded by Marthe Maret in 1911 as a French primary school for girls and boys. History In the late 1800s and early 1900s, three French sisters, Mlles Marth ...

*Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation's Capital *

National Cathedral School National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...

* National Child Research Center * National Presbyterian School * Parkmont School * The River School * Sheridan School *

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...

* St. Albans School * St. Anselm's Abbey School * St. Columba's Nursery School * St. John's College High School *

St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School is an independent nursery, elementary, and middle school in Washington, D.C. It is affiliated with St. Patrick's Episcopal Church. History Founded in 1956 as a nursery school in a townhouse basement, the sch ...

Washington International School The Washington International School (abbreviated as WIS; es, Colegio Internacional de Washington; french: École Internationale de Washington) is a private international school in Washington, DC. Established in 1966, WIS was the first school i ...

* Washington Jesuit Academy * The Washington School For Girls Maryland * Alef Bet Montessori School *The Academy of The Holy Cross *

Barrie School Barrie School is a progressive independent school for students age 12 months through Grade 12 located in an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. The school is within the Glenmont census designated place, ...

Bullis School Bullis School is an independent, co-educational college preparatory day school for grades K-12. The school is located in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. History Bullis was founded in Washington D.C. in 1930 by Commander Willia ...

* Butler Montessori *

Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, often referred to as CESJDS or JDS, is a private, pluralistic Jewish JK-12 school located in two campuses in North Bethesda ( Rockville postal address), Maryland, United States.

* Concord Hill School *

Connelly School of the Holy Child Connelly School of the Holy Child is a Catholic, independent, college-preparatory school for girls, grades 6-12 located in Potomac, Maryland, USA. It is operated independently in the Archdiocese of Washington, and is a member of the Association of ...

* The Diener School * Evergreen School *

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit board ...

* German International School Washington, DC * Grace Episcopal Day School * Green Acres School * The Harbor School * The Heights School *

Holton-Arms School Holton-Arms is an independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12, located in Bethesda, Maryland. As of the 2021–22 school year, there were 667 students and 94 faculty. Since 2007, Susanna Jones has been Head of School. The s ...

Landon School Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 680 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Background Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, fou ...

* Mater Dei School *

McLean School of Maryland McLean School (formerly the McLean School of Maryland) is a K-12 co-educational, college preparatory school located in Potomac, Maryland. History Founded in 1954 by Lenore and Delbert Foster, McLean School is an independent, coeducational, coll ...

* The Nora School * Norwood School * The Primary Day School * St. Andrew's Episcopal School *

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school, founded in 1923, in the Network of Sacred Heart schools for girls. The school offers grades 1-12 and a co-educational early childhood program. History ...

*The Tidewater School * Washington Episcopal School *

Washington Waldorf School The Washington Waldorf School is a private K-12 school in Bethesda, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C., on a 6-acre campus the school rents from Montgomery County. As a Waldorf school, the curriculum is based on the educational philosophy o ...

* The Woods Academy Virginia * Browne Academy *

Burgundy Farm Country Day School Burgundy Farm Country Day School is an independent school on a campus in the Rose Hill census-designated place of Fairfax County, Virginia, with an Alexandria postal address, and in West Virginia. It serves students in grades Junior Kinderga ...

* Commonwealth Academy * The Congressional School of Virginia * Episcopal High School *

Flint Hill School Flint Hill School, founded in 1956, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school, in Oakton, Virginia, serving grades JK– 12. The school has separate upper and lower school campuses about a mile apart in Fairfax County, approximatel ...

Foxcroft School Foxcroft School, founded in 1914 by Charlotte Haxall Noland, is a college-preparatory boarding and day school for girls in grades 9-12, located near Middleburg, Virginia, United States. In its century of existence, Foxcroft has educated the daug ...

* Grace Episcopal School * Green Hedges School * The Hill School * The Langley School *

Loudoun Country Day School Loudoun Country Day School (LCDS) is an accredited, independent, coeducational pre-school through eighth-grade school located in Leesburg, Virginia. History The school was founded in 1953 by Mrs. William J. McDonald and Mrs. J. Churchill Newcomb ...

The Madeira School The Madeira School (simply referred to as Madeira School or Madeira) is an elite, private, day and boarding college-preparatory school for girls in McLean, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1906 by Lucy Madeira Wing. History Ori ...

* Oakwood School * The Potomac School * St. Stephens & St. Agnes School *

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

References

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External links

Official website
1951 establishments in Washington, D.C. Education in Washington, D.C. Educational institutions established in 1951 Private and independent school organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. 501(c)(3) organizations