Dear AISC,
Greetings from AISC’s Board of Directors and welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!
It is a pleasure to serve as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the American International School Chennai. My wife, Lavanya and I have a child, Shrinidhi, in Grade 4 at AISC. I have been an elected member of the Board of Directors since July 2020 and have chaired the Finance Committee and served as the Treasurer since July 2021.
The timing of this note comes when we will soon be celebrating teachers across India for National Teachers Day on September 5. Parents and students, please join the Board of Directors in continuing to extend our collective appreciation to our amazing faculty and school leaders for successfully starting a new school year.
We are excited to see our students, faculty, and staff starting this year with courage, confidence, creativity, and compassion. Allow me to extend a sincere thank you on behalf of the Board of Directors to everyone in our AISC community.
My Board colleagues and I are often asked questions about the Governance structure of the school and the workings of the AISC Board of Directors. I hope you’ll find this letter informative and providing answers to some of those questions.
This will be the first of regular updates and information that you’ll receive regarding our work throughout the year.
Board Committees & Parent Participation on Council of Advisors
In preparation for this school year, we sought Association members to serve as Council of Advisors (CoA) to the Board of Directors in May 2024. Our CoA is composed of parents who serve on Board committees and assist us with our annual priorities.
Shared below is the approved Board composition for 2024-2025 School Year.
| Committee | Chair | Board Member | COA |
| Executive | Ravi Pillai | Mike Roberson Con Conlon Clark Pew | NA |
| Finance | Con Conlon | ~~ | NA |
| Futures | Nashid Chowdhury | Natasha Jethanandani | Klaudia Loretti-Korolec Ramesh Mahalingam Shabri Roberson |
| Governance | Clara Cho | Vel Dhinagaravel | Lakshmi Kasirajan Anne Mathilde Thevenin |
Student Protection
American International School Chennai remains committed to a safe and secure environment for all students and a robust approach to student protection. This includes meeting all legal requirements outlined in the POCSO Act, 2012, as well as our own internal student protection briefings and documentation.
As mandated by the Act, AISC has designated members of the Student Safeguarding Advisory Committee (SSAC) for this academic year. This team is composed of administrators, faculty, parents and a Board member listed below. The SSAC will undertake reporting any cases of child sexual abuse to the Central Complaint Center (CCC). For all other forms of abuse and neglect, our internal Student Protection Team provides the necessary support and follow through.
- Principal – Ms. Leigh Fitzgerlad, Head of School (Chair)
- Teachers (2) – Ms. Felina Heart, Elementary School Counselor and Ms. Gretchen Galaty, Middle School Counselor
- Parents (2) – Ms. Deepti Sheeju and Ms. Jisoo Kim
- Management Representative – Ms. Natasha Jethanandani, Board of Directors Futures Committee Member
- Non-teaching staff – Ms. Lynn Schneider, Elementary School Principal
September Association Meeting
The Biannual General Meeting of the Association will be held on Wednesday, 11 September, 2024 at 8:45 a.m. as a hybrid meeting. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this important meeting. At the request of the Board, the biannual State-of-the-School Presentation will be offered by the Head of School and the Financial and Annual Audit Report will be offered by the Chief Business Officer (Principal Officer).
The agenda is below:
| # | Agenda Item | Presenter | Time (a.m.) |
| 1 | Call to order and establishment of quorum | Board Chairperson | 8:45-8:46 |
| 2 | Opening Remarks | Board Chairperson | 8:46-8:50 |
| 3 | State-of-the-School Presentation (On behalf of the Board) | Head of School | 8:50-9:20 |
| 4 | Financial and Annual Audit Report (On behalf of the Board) | Chief Business Officer (Principal Officer) | 9:20-9:35 |
| 5 | General questions from Members of the Association | Board Chairperson | 9:35-9:40 |
| 6 | Adjournment | Board Chairperson | 9:40 |
Please join us in-person at the Madras Hall or via the Zoom link mentioned below. Please do not share this link outside our community.
Meeting ID: 954 9996 2407
Passcode: AISC
I’ve included below an FAQ regarding Board of Directors and Board meetings.
If you have questions regarding board operations and committees, I encourage you to contact me directly via email at boardchairperson@aischennai.org.
If you have questions pertaining to our academic program or general school operations please contact your child’s section principal or our Head of School, Ms. Fitzgerald.
I look forward to an amazing school year with our engaged, diverse community.
Sincerely,
Ravishankar Pillai
Chairperson
AISC Board of Directors
AISC Board of Directors Q & A
Who is currently serving on our Board of Directors?
Our Board is composed of nine members. The agendas and summaries of all Board of Directors’ meetings will be posted on the Board of Directors Newsletter, which will be included with this Friday’s newsletter links. These will also be posted in paper form outside of the main reception at the school.
What is the role of our Board of Directors?
The role of the Board of Directors is to guard the school’s Mission by engaging in significant strategic issues relevant to the long-term well-being of the school. As a group empowered with the stewardship of the school, the annual and monthly work of the Board is highly relevant and meaningful to our current and future students, faculty, staff, and parents. The Board of Directors does not engage in the day-to-day running, management, or decision-making at the School. This is the purview of the School Administration. All questions pertaining to our academic program or general school operations should be directed to the section principal or the head of school.
When does the Board of Directors meet next?
The Biannual General Meeting of the Association is on Wednesday, September 11 (8:45 a.m. IST).
Who can attend Board meetings?
The AISC community is welcome to attend. Board meetings are noted on the calendar on RaptorNet and the first part of every Board meeting is open to Association members, faculty, staff and students.