Supporters
Stronger Schools. Stronger Partnerships.
VAIS brings together independent schools, educators, leaders, and organizations committed to strengthening education across the Commonwealth. Our supporters are an important part of that community. Through sponsorships, strategic partnerships, and academic collaborations, organizations can build meaningful relationships with VAIS schools while helping expand professional learning, strengthen leadership, and advance excellence in independent education.
VAIS partnerships are grounded in shared purpose. We work with organizations whose expertise, resources, and ideas can contribute to the work of our schools and the people who lead them.
Contact us to learn more about partnership and sponsorship opportunities.
Strategic Partners Corporate Partners: Gold, Silver & Bronze Academic Partners
Strategic Partners
9ine
Approach
Approach, a firm dedicated exclusively to guiding organizations towards continuous improvement. Prior to launching Approach in 2024, Megan served as General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Education and Support at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) for five years. With a legal career spanning over 16 years, Megan has a proven track record of partnering with leadership teams to mitigate risk and drive organizational growth.
IndySchool Consultancy
Professional Consulting Workshops
Practical, facilitated sessions that bring seasoned judgment to your school's most consequential decisions - a complimentary benefit to all VAIS member schools.
Lead Team Partners
Your mission is too important to leave to chance,and your time is your most precious resource. LeadTeam connects school leaders with the specific expertise needed to navigate every milestone — providing the vetting and objective data you need to move forward with confidence while staying present for your community.
OneDigital
OneDigital is the official retirement partner of VAIS, helping schools support the financial futures of their faculty and staff. We provide retirement plan consulting, plan administration, and financial education to help employers strengthen their retirement programs and employees prepare for life after work. Our broader services include employee benefits, HR consulting, insurance, and wealth management. With personalized guidance and practical solutions, OneDigital helps organizations care for their people and build long-term financial confidence.
RCM&D
RCM&D’s Education Practice provides insurance brokerage and risk management services to VAIS member institutions and over 200 schools nationwide.
RCM&D is the exclusive broker for the Cherry Blossom Consortium, a proprietary, group buying program for Property & Casualty Insurance leveraging the collective buying power of member schools for premium stability, coverage enhancements and access to enhanced risk assessment and risk management solutions.
Corporate Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
FLIK Independent School Dining
FLIK Independent School Dining is proud to have over 50 years of experience leading the hospitality programs for independent school communities from coast-to-coast.
As a part of FLIK Hospitality Group and our parent company, Compass Group North America, we’re proud to be a leading food service company dedicated to providing Great Food and Great Service from Great People.
Meriwether Godsey
For more than 40 years, Meriwether Godsey has partnered with premier independent schools to build dining programs defined by care, craftsmanship, and community. Woman-founded and woman-led from day one, we set out to offer what large corporate operators cannot: hands-on leadership, culinary independence, and genuine hospitality. Today, our 85 percent focus on educational communities ensures your campus receives the personal attention, scratch-made quality, and tailored partnership your communities deserve.
MISBO
MISBO helps independent schools operate smarter, strengthen their teams, and make better use of their resources. Through professional development, peer networks, group purchasing, benchmarking, compensation studies, and the Independent School Group Retirement Plan, MISBO gives VAIS schools access to practical expertise and collective buying power that would be difficult to achieve alone. Our focus is simple: helping independent schools reduce costs, improve operations, and build stronger, more sustainable institutions.
OneDigital
OneDigital is the official retirement partner of VAIS, helping schools support the financial futures of their faculty and staff. We provide retirement plan consulting, plan administration, and financial education to help employers strengthen their retirement programs and employees prepare for life after work. Our broader services include employee benefits, HR consulting, insurance, and wealth management. With personalized guidance and practical solutions, OneDigital helps organizations care for their people and build long-term financial confidence.
RCM&D
RCM&D’s Education Practice provides insurance brokerage and risk management services to VAIS member institutions and over 200 schools nationwide.
RCM&D is the exclusive broker for the Cherry Blossom Consortium, a proprietary, group buying program for Property & Casualty Insurance leveraging the collective buying power of member schools for premium stability, coverage enhancements and access to enhanced risk assessment and risk management solutions.
The Budd Group
The Budd Group’s vision is to enrich people’s lives in the spaces where they live, learn, work, and play. The Budd Group is a family-owned and operated company that has provided exceptional services and solutions to facility managers for over 60 years. With more than 4,000 highly trained service associates, we can provide virtually any service required within a facility and are adept at integrating our services to create cost-effective solutions for our customers.
Silver Sponsors
9ine
Bridging Generations
Every independent school today is navigating the same quiet challenge: faculty, administrators, and students are often three or four generations apart — and that gap shows up everywhere, from classroom engagement to communication style to how students respond to feedback and authority. What worked to reach students five years ago often doesn't land the same way today.
Bridging Generations, led by Dr. Unnatti Jain, helps schools close that gap. Through research-based training and consulting, Dr. Jain works with educators and administrators to understand how Gen Z and the incoming generation of students think, communicate, and engage — and how to adapt teaching, mentorship, and school culture accordingly, without losing what makes a school's values and standards strong.
The result: stronger student-teacher relationships, fewer communication breakdowns between faculty and families, and a school culture where every generation in the building — students, teachers, and administrators alike — feels understood.
We're proud to sponsor VAIS and support the educators shaping the next generation of independent school students.
Learn more at www.unnattijain.com.
Creative / Steelcase / Smith System
Serving Central, Western and Coastal Virginia, Creative's success is based on providing innovation solutions, building relationships based on integrity and trust, and exceeding expectations every time. A proud Steelcase dealer, Creative’s partnership with Steelcase is deeply invested in understanding how students learn and how physical space can support that. Pairing Steelcase Learning’s research-driven design with Smith System’s K12-specific expertise is a combination that is hard to beat. Both Steelcase Learning and Smith System are available through major cooperative contracts like Sourcewell, OMNIA Partners, and E&I Cooperative Services — so VAIS members don’t have to jump through extra hoops to get quality.
Bronze Sponsors
38 House
38 House is a creative and marketing agency built specifically for independent schools. With deep experience in admissions, advancement, athletics, communications, and marketing, we understand the unique opportunities and challenges schools face. We partner with schools to strengthen their brands, sharpen their marketing strategies, and tell their stories through branding, websites, publications, photography, video, digital marketing, and more.
AdvancementEDU
AdvancementEDU partners with independent schools to generate philanthropic revenue for transformational impact. Our clients are guaranteed a relationship built on integrity, excellence, and accountability.
We have expertise in building high performing fundraising teams, major gifts, annual giving, prospect research, portfolio management, board training, and campaigns.
AdvancementEDU is founded by Chris Dudley who served in leadership at High Point University for nearly 25 years. As SVP for Administration and Chief of Staff, he led security, transportation, food services, maintenance, janitorial, landscaping, construction, events, and community relations. As SVP for Development, he led a team that raised $450 million in eight years.
AI for Education
Providing AI literacy training to 1 million educators and leading the responsible adoption of Generative AI in the education ecosystem, empowering teachers and ultimately improving student outcomes while preparing them for the future.
Bitner Henry
Representing over 15 premier carriers across nine states, our dedicated local agents conduct on-site risk assessments to deliver tailored protection. From property, general liability, and commercial auto to school board legal liability, abuse prevention, traumatic incident response, and cyber coverage. We handle your institutional risks so your leadership team can focus entirely on your students and mission.
Blackbaud
With more than 40 years of experience in private and independent K–12 schools, Blackbaud offers a total school solution that connects every facet of your school. From student and family engagement to admissions, academics, advancement, financial aid, and the business office, our software is purpose-built to help you drive impact.
Boost My School
Boost My School is the only fundraising platform and CRM built just for K-12 advancement teams. Transform your outdated donor experience with engaging fundraising pages and modern payment options for giving, events, and auctions.
Brown Edwards
We offer a full range of business office management services including:
- financial audit preparation and support,
- budget preparation and management,
- payroll,
- purchasing,
- accounts payable,
- state reporting,
- federal reporting,
- grant management,
- governing council reporting, and
- accounting software expertise.
ClassLink
ClassLink is the global leader in identity and access management for education. School systems around the world rely on ClassLink for access, automation, and analytics products that create more time for learning. Education leaders turn to ClassLink for evidence on screen time and how edtech usage connects with student outcomes. ClassLink empowers 25 million students and staff in over 3,000 school systems. Visit classlink.com to learn more.
Curriculum Associates
At Curriculum Associates®, our mission is making classrooms better by connecting data-driven insights to high-quality instruction and educator support.
Our i-Ready® solutions span assessment, personalized instruction, and core programs in literacy and mathematics, supported by expert professional learning and service.
We’re also the home of Ellevation®, which empowers educators to make informed instructional decisions for multilingual learners, and Stile Education® for hands-on, core middle school science. Our innovation hub, AI Labs, designs educator-trusted technologies.
We measure success by our impact on student growth and learning. We’re honored to support 17 million students and one million educators (and counting) worldwide.
Growing Standard LLC (Potato Class)
Potato Class is K-12 math and reading practice built around the Virginia SOL, made by a Northern Virginia teacher. When a student answers wrong, it finds the misunderstanding behind the answer and suggests small groups for reteaching. Teachers assign practice on screen or print it, and kids grow a potato character as they practice.
Free for any school through June 30, 2027.
La Belle Route Custom Tours
La Belle Route Custom Tours partners with independent schools to create immersive, curriculum-aligned domestic and international journeys that inspire curiosity, global citizenship, and meaningful connections. With over 30 years of educational travel expertise, we specialize in customized experiences, hands-on learning, personalized service, and comprehensive safety measures.
Exclusive VAIS school benefits include complimentary annual strategic travel planning sessions, fundraising and scholarship resources, and faculty collaboration to develop meaningful, curriculum-connected programs. Schools booking qualifying student group journeys also receive complimentary faculty conference and event travel coordination.
Discover a different approach to educational travel. Travel with Intention™.
Manns Consulting
Manns Consulting works alongside schools, educational institutions, and local governments to develop strategies that strengthen organizational culture, foster authentic community connections, and support sustainable improvements in student and staff outcomes.
We support independent schools in cultivating inclusive, values-driven learning environments where students feel a strong sense of belonging, educators are equipped to meet diverse student needs, and families are engaged as meaningful partners. Through organizational culture assessments, leadership consultation, professional development, and customized strategies for student engagement and support, Manns Consulting helps schools translate their mission and values into daily practices that strengthen relationships, improve school climate, and promote sustainable student outcomes.
Our approach helps independent schools align their institutional mission with the lived experiences of students, families, and staff—building stronger communities where every student has the opportunity to thrive.
NatureBridge
Our mission is to connect young people to the wonder and science of the natural world, igniting self-discovery and inspiring stewardship of our planet. Through our overnight, hands-on environmental science programs, we take more than 30,000 students each year into our national parks to explore the outdoors, connect with their peers, discover themselves and develop a lasting relationship with the environment.
SAGE Dining Services
For more than 35 years, SAGE Dining Services® has worked in partnership with independent schools and private colleges and universities throughout North America who share their passion for great food, nutrition, and sustainability.
They pride themselves on financial transparency and invest in technology, talent, and training to provide unmatched guest satisfaction. SAGE Chefs tailor menus for each community and prepare meals from scratch.
SAGE’s unparalleled expertise in nutrition, sustainability, and culinary trends produces exceptional dining experiences that delight the senses, inspire minds, and foster community.
Schooley Mitchell
We work with a range of enterprises to help them save money on a variety of operating expenses. Our contingency-based model aligns well with school budgets since we only get paid if we find savings for our clients. Optimizing a school's vendor expenses enables more funds to be directed to student success so everyone wins in the end.
Subbey
Subbey is a substitute management app made by educators. Subbey partners with schools to streamline the process of managing and communicating with substitute teachers.
SysCloud
Easy, Reliable Backup for K-12 Schools SysCloud helps K-12 schools protect their Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 data with automated backup and quick recovery. Our solution keeps student and staff data safe, ensures compliance, and helps schools recover from accidental deletions or cyber threats.
Toddle
Loved by 100,000+ educators around the world, Toddle is an all-in-one teaching & learning platform for independent schools. Toddle empowers teaching teams to work together and better for curriculum planning, student portfolios, assessments, reports, family communication, and streamlined accreditation - all from one intuitive interface, now powered by AI.
Wake Forest University School of Professional Studies
Wake Forest University School of Professional Studies Master in Educational Leadership - Independent School Pathway provides independent school educators the opportunity to develop the tools and knowledge to take on new leadership opportunities in their school. In this online cohort-based model, you will work alongside other independent school professionals who are advancing their careers and tackling real-world challenges within independent schools at the same time.
Academic Partners
Evidence Based Education
Raising the quality of teaching is the most effective way to improve pupil attainment and equity, so that’s exactly where we focus our efforts. We enhance teaching and learning expertise through research-led, innovative, impactful and engaging professional learning.
Drawing on input from a diverse team, we have combined years of experience in teaching and school leadership to develop the Great Teaching Toolkit. Because sustainable school improvement starts with great teaching.
James Madison University College of Education
JMU’s College of Education is distinguished through faculty and student achievements, academic rigor, excellence in teaching, student and faculty interactions and relationships, technological innovations, and national recognitions.
Leadership+Design
University of Lynchburg
At the University of Lynchburg, we inspire independent thinkers to become trustworthy, effective leaders who shape caring communities.
University of Richmond – SPCS
At the University of Richmond, we seek to meet the learning needs of working professionals through the School of Professional and Continuing Studies. We’re collaborating with the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) to offer degree programs at discounted tuition rates through the UR Education Consortium. If you work at a Virginia independent school that’s a member of VAIS, you’re eligible for the discount.
William & Mary’s Office of Strategic Cultural Partnerships
William & Mary’s Office of Strategic Cultural Partnerships (SCP) catalyzes the university’s cultural and historic resources to generate new knowledge and advance understanding. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, W&M offers a top-rated academic experience while being consistently recognized as one of the best values in the nation, bringing together the global opportunities of a teaching, learning and research university with the personal education of a liberal arts and sciences institution.
World Leadership School
World Leadership School, a Founding B Corp, partners with K-12 schools in order to reimagine learning and create next-generation leaders. Since 2007, our diverse community has grown to 50+ staff, instructors, teacher coaches, and country coordinators around the world.
Our US-based staff coordinates World Leadership School’s travel and professional learning programs. Our instructors are amazing, intrepid, humorous, and wise experiential educators. Our teacher-coaches partner with educators to create learner-centered, purposeful classrooms. Our coordinators live and work near our host communities and nurture the long-term relationships that are the bedrock of the work that we do.
Gain the benefits of a VAIS membership.
Membership connects independent school teams to a powerful professional network dedicated to strengthening independent school education across Virginia. Member schools gain access to professional learning, leadership development, accreditation support, research, and collaborative networks.