The mission of the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools is to lead, nurture, and unify Episcopal schools in order to advance academic excellence within the faith community of the Episcopal Church. SAES supports its schools while promoting excellence., and we promote our mission through: Membership services: From the beginning, SAES was created as a way for Episcopal educators to come together and share resources and provide support and encouragement for the ministry to which we have been called in our work with young people. The relationships developed through SAES membership are commonly noted as one of the most important ways we advance our mission. Our membership services are always based on promoting ways for these relationships to take root and develop between school leaders. Professional development: Promoting excellence requires that school professionals constantly improve and develop skills central to the work taking place on our campuses. We advance our membership through curating a variety of professional development opportunities. Recognizing the large geographic region we serve, our professional development programs take advantage of both in-person and virtual opportunities. Accreditation services: Promoting high standards has always been central to the role of SAES. In 1987, SAES began offering accreditation. As a founding member of the International Council Advancing Independent School Accreditation (ICAISA), SAES continues to seek innovative approaches to accreditation that promote both accountability as well as strategic thinking. Consultation services: Schools can take advantage of the expertise of the SAES family through high-quality consultation services in areas such as strategic planning, leading leadership development, and strategic financial planning.