Primary Advocate for American Private Education
The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national
organizations and state affiliates serving private elementary and secondary
schools. There are 29,000 private schools in America; in fact, one in
four of the nation’s schools is a private school. More than six
million students (11 percent of all students) attend them. CAPE member
organizations represent about 80 percent of private school enrollment
nationwide.
Private Schools and America
 As
America’s first schools, private schools established our country’s
foundation for education. Today, private schools help fulfill the American
ideal of educational pluralism. Our nation is blessed by a rich diversity
of schools—some rooted in religious tradition, some that provide
intensive academic experiences and some that are specialized for specific
populations. Whether public or private, these diverse schools constitute
the American educational experience and share a worthy goal: the education
of our country’s children. Together, public and private schools
work to ensure an educated citizenry; together they strive to help students
reach their potential and contribute to the common good.
CAPE member organizations are themselves diverse. The CAPE board of directors
and state network representatives deliberate extensively, listen to each
other carefully and endeavor to reach agreement on important public policy
issues. They are primarily motivated by the concepts of opportunity, choice,
pluralism and excellence in education. Further, they are vitally interested
in participating in the debate on the future of education in America and
are ready to share a perspective shaped by private school experience.
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Mission and Goals
CAPE's mission is to preserve and promote educational pluralism so that
parents have a choice in the schooling of their children. Founded in 1971
to provide a coherent voice for private education, CAPE is dedicated to
fostering communication and cooperation within the private school community
and with the public sector to improve the quality of education for all
of the nation’s children. By speaking as one national voice, CAPE...
- promotes the vital role of private schools in American education
and their significant contributions to educating the public and promoting
the common good;
- promotes the rights of parents to educate their children in the schools
of their choice;
- encourages excellence and pluralism in education and promotes the
right of private schools to fulfill their unique missions;
- fosters the participation of the private school community in shaping
the nation’s education agenda, and develops and promotes positions
on education policy;
- advocates the equitable opportunity of private school students to
participate in appropriate state and federal education programs;
- monitors and analyzes legislation and regulations affecting private
schools;
- provides information about private education to policy-makers and
the public;
- keeps the private school community informed on issues and programs.
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Activities
CAPE’s activities include:
Communicating the public purpose of private schools;
their effectiveness at producing informed, caring and committed citizens;
their role in educating the public at considerable savings to taxpayers;
their direct and immediate accountability to parents; and their promotion
of the common good.
Providing lawmakers and policymakers with information
on matters of interest and concern to private schools, including school
choice, educational excellence and pluralism, school reform, learning
technology, tax policy and equitable opportunities for private school
students under government programs.
Interacting with Congress, the Administration, the U.S.
Department of Education and other government agencies to ensure consideration
of the private school perspective.
Sponsoring meetings to enable representatives of CAPE
member organizations to communicate directly with members of Congress
and other policymakers.
Working with the state CAPE network to achieve CAPE’s
goals at the state and local levels.
Publishing Outlook (a monthly newsletter), periodic
issue papers, resource documents, news releases and e-mail updates on
public policy issues.
Maintaining a web site (www.capenet.org) for communicating
with the general public about private education.
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CAPE's Board of Directors
President
Ken Smitherman
President & CEO
Association of Christian Schools International
Vice President
Irene McHenry
Executive Director
Friends Council on Education
Secretary
Patrice Maynard
Leader for Outreach and Development
Association of Waldorf Schools of N.A.
Treasurer
Patrick F. Bassett
President
National Association of Independent Schools
Members
David Zwiebel
Executive Vice President
Agudath Israel of America
Richard Ungerer
Executive Director
American Montessori Society
Martha Rolley
At-Large Member
Marketing Director, K-12 Marketing
Apple Computer , Inc.
R. Jay Nelson
Executive Director
Association of Christian Teachers and Schools
Virginia McHugh Goodwin
Executive Director
Association Montessori Internationale, USA
Charles Glenn
At-Large Member
Professor
Administration, Training, and Policy Studies
Boston University
David Koetje
Executive Director
Christian Schools International
Daniel Vander Ark
Past President
Council for American Private Education
Donna Braband
Director for Schools
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
William Cochran
Director of Schools
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Gene Ladendorf
Representative
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
The Rev. Daniel Heischman
Executive Director
National Association of Episcopal Schools
Karen Ristau
President
National Catholic Educational Association
Philip Patterson
Executive Director
National Christian School Association
Mark Siegel, Esq.
At-Large Member
Executive Director
Oregon Federation of Independent Schools
William Agnew
Director
Oral Roberts University Educational Fellowship
Larry Blackmer
Vice President for Education
Seventh-day Adventist Board of Education, K-12
James Field
President
Minnesota Independent School Forum
State CAPE Network Representative
Marie A. Powell
Executive Director, Office of Catholic Education
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
James A. Brandt
Administrator
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Schools
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CAPE's History: 35 Years of Service
CAPE was founded in 1971 to provide a coherent voice for private schools
in the educational community. The organization meeting of the board of
directors was held on December 1, 1971 and the by-laws identify eight
original members of the corporation: Board of Parish Education of the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Friends Council on Education, National
Association of Episcopal Schools, National Association of Independent
Schools, National Catholic Educational Association, National Society for
Hebrew Day Schools, National Union of Christian Schools and United States
Catholic Conference. Cary Potter from the National Association of Independent
Schools was chosen to be the first chairman.
The very next day CAPE testified before the Subcommittee on Education
of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The subject was federal
aid for nonpublic elementary and secondary schools.
The vision of the founders has been translated into twenty-five years
of vigorous activity on behalf of the private schools of the country.
Today CAPE is comprised of fourteen national organizations serving private
elementary and secondary schools. Member organizations are non-profit
and subscribe to a policy of non-discrimination in their admission policies.
There are currently 28 state CAPE affiliates which strengthen the coalition
throughout the country.
The CAPE member organizations and their schools are different from one
another: they are religious and non-religious, urban and rural, small
and large. However, there are many similarities: all of the schools serve
diverse populations; they have a strong sense of mission and purpose which
is clearly defined; the schools provide a climate which supports the individual
and provides a safe community in which adults and children are able to
learn; teachers are valued for their professional expertise and values
are part of all aspects of school life. Out of the differences among private
schools comes a need to affirm the similarities with a strong advocacy.
In 1993 CAPE inaugurated the CAPE Education Leadership Award which has
been presented for outstanding contributions to education. However, these
were not the first awards which CAPE has presented. There were three awards
given in 1974-76 for "Distinguished Service to American Education."
The Rev. C. Albert Koob, President of NCEA and one of the CAPE founders
was the first recipient. Another was Otto Kraushaar and the third, Cary
Potter, also a founding member.
Cary Potter, in remarks made at the awards luncheon on June 14, 1974
in honor of Rev. Koob reflected on private education: " We often
talk about the fact that the private school is too little understood.
I suspect that what we really ought to be saying is that it is the public
nature of the private school that is too little understood, certainly
in the public at large." Potter goes on to identify what he means
by "public nature". He says we are responsible to the public
through its duly constituted governing authorities. "But we are responsible
to the public in other ways, equally, if not more, important, and a principal
one is the quality of the way we serve. For that we are clearly responsible
to that portion of the public whom we serve directly as students and parents.
Further, we are clearly responsible to the profession of education, to
its ideals, to the maintenance of its standards, to its growth and development
and improvement; we have the obligation to share, to learn, in short to
serve and contribute to the advancement of education. Finally, we have
a special responsibility to this kind of pluralistic society because we
represent one among many kinds of voluntary institutions that are critical
to its nature..."
We salute the founders of CAPE, the many former board members, and the
former executive directors who have served the organization so well. CAPE's
mission as defined by the founders, of a coherent private school voice,
remains the same and is even more relevant today. Private schools contribute
to the public good and must be included in the debate on the future of
education in America. Their very existence helps fulfill the American
ideal of pluralism. We pledge to continue to build on that strong foundation.
Former CAPE Leadership
Founding Board Members
Thomas S. Brown FCE
Rev. John Paul Carter NAES
Edward R. D'Alessio USCC
Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky NSHDS
Rev. C. Albert Koob NCEA
Cary Potter NAIS
Dr. Al H. Senske LCMS
John A. Vander Ark CSI
Board Chairpersons
1971 - Cary Potter, NAIS
1973 - Dr. Al H. Senske, LCMS
1977 - Rabbi Bernard Goldenberg, NSHDS
1979 - Clayton Farraday, FCE
1981 - Rev. Msgr. John F. Meyers, NCEA
1982 - Dr. Michael T. Ruiter, CSI
1985 - Dr. Sally Sibley, NAPSEC
1987 - John C. Esty, NAIS
1990 - Bretta Weiss, AMS
1992 - Sr. Catherine T. McNamee, NCEA
1994 - Kay Edstene, FCE
1996 - Michael Eanes, AMS
2000 - Dr. Carl Moser, LC-MS
2001 - Dr. Richard Osborn, SDA
2002 - Daniel Vander Ark, CSI
2005 - Dr. Ken Smitherman, ACSI
Executive Directors
1971 - Richard P. Thomsen
1973 - Robert L. Lamborn
1979 - Robert L. Smith
1989 - Joyce G. McCray
1996 - Joe McTighe
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