About AAAIS
The Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools was founded in 1971 by a small group of school leaders and admission directors.
They wanted to end high-pressure admission procedures and put families first.
The first decision they made was to agree on a common notification date, whereby all families that applied to one or more of the member schools would receive all acceptance decisions on the same date, with a request to respond within roughly two weeks. This gave families time to weigh their options and make a decision without feeling rushed or pressured.
Common admission dates are still a cornerstone of AAAIS, but as the organization steadily grew to its current size of about 70 schools serving over 40,000 students, additional focus has been placed on collaboration and the sharing of ideas and strategies in many different areas, including groups comprised of guidance counselors, alumni directors, diversity coordinators, and learning specialists. This gives all our schools fresh, new ideas, which in turn makes all the schools stronger and better able to serve your child.
AAAIS operates under the leadership of an Executive Committee, all of whom are school heads. An Executive Director manages the day-to-day operation of the organization.
Our Mission
The Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS) is the only professional organization of accredited independent schools dedicated to the Atlanta metro area that promotes the highest standards and best administrative practices for the benefit of its schools and the families and students they serve.
Executive Committee
Frank Moore - Executive Director
Frank Moore received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and master's in Math Education and Leadership from Tulane University.
He taught math and computer science in New Orleans, having begun one of the first computer science programs in the state. Moving to Atlanta in 1987, he served as Dean of Studies at St. Pius X High School for ten years, and then became the President/Principal of Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City.
Frank returned to Atlanta in 2000 to become the founding principal of Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, a position he held until his retirement in June 2016.
Frank has served on the Louisiana State Curriculum Committee for Computer Science Education, the Oklahoma Governor's Principal Advisory Committee, and the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Independent School Association.
Frank has two grown children and three grandchildren.
Mandy Crock serves as the principal at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in Brookhaven, GA. OLA School was founded in 1951 with the Sisters of Mercy and we continue the tradition of service to others and a Catholic nurturing environment today. Mrs. Crock was appointed to principal in 2022, however she started her teaching career in 1996 at OLA.
Mrs. Crock has 22 years of experience as an educator and is committed to Catholic education with all her education experience at Catholic schools. She is a certified Orton-Gillingham instructor and has a passion for students learning to read. She has been a classroom teacher, grade level chair, tennis coach, student success team leader and leader of UDL instruction, director of plays and school camps, and was the Archbishops Honoree recipient in 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Furman University in elementary education, a Masters of Arts degree from Oglethorpe University in early childhood education, and a Masters in Instructional Leadership with an emphasis in Catholic schools from Creighton University.
Mandy and her husband, Chris, have two boys who are graduates of Catholic school and are now in college. They enjoy spending time with family, going to Atlanta sporting events as Mandy is an Atlanta native, and going to Lake Burton.
Mandy Crock
Roslyn Benjamin
Roslyn Benjamin has served as Head of School of The Children's School, an early learning through eighth grade school in midtown, since 2020. She has spent three decades working in independent schools, serving as an educator and administrator.
Following Roz’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in International Relations, she returned to her alma mater, Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, CA, to begin her teaching career. In addition to her time in the classroom, she also served as Diversity Coordinator, Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Middle School Admissions, Middle School Advisor, and Middle School Tennis Coach. During her tenure at Crystal Springs Uplands, she earned her MA of Secondary Education at San Francisco State University. After a brief period at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School in Phoenix, AZ, she returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, working as Assistant Head of School at Katherine Delmar Burke School (in addition to Director of Multicultural and Institutional Programs) for seven years and Live Oak School for nine years.
Currently, Roz is serving on the board of the Episcopal Day School of St. Matthew’s in the Bay Area, returning after a year hiatus. She has also been on the board of The Carey School, the school she attended as a child, early learning through fifth grade.
Roz is married to André Benjamin, a former elementary school educator; she is the mother of two children, a high school student and a college student.
Keith Evans became the fifth president of The Westminster Schools in July, 2014. He came to Westminster from The Collegiate School in Richmond, VA, where he had served as Head of School from 1999 to 2014. Evans has also held leadership roles at St. Mary’s Episcopal School (Memphis, TN), Webb School of Knoxville (TN), and The McCallie School (Chattanooga, TN).
A graduate of Davidson College, Evans earned his bachelor’s degree in religion. He holds master’s degrees from Harvard University and the University of Tennessee. Over the span of his career, he has taught courses across a variety of disciplines including religious studies, economics, government, psychology, and neuroscience.
Evans has enjoyed fellowships with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University. He has served on boards of the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the Virginia Council on Private Education and a variety of nonprofits focused on ending homelessness, addiction recovery, and expanding educational opportunities.
Evans and his wife, Emilie, have two grown sons, Ronnie and Hank. He enjoys travel, skiing, and outdoor activities of all kinds.
Keith Evans
Kevin Glass
Kevin Glass has been Headmaster of Atlanta International School since July 2009. He has a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Framingham State College, Massachusetts; a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Biology and Chemistry from Cambridge University, UK; and a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Degree in Bacteriology and Virology from Manchester University, UK.
Mr. Glass' career in education spans over 25 years and includes educational leadership and teaching positions in South and West Africa, Central and North America, and Central Asia. Prior to joining Atlanta International School, Glass served as Director of Tashkent International School in Uzbekistan for five years.
He is a board member of the Academy for International School Heads and the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education. Glass is a member of the International Baccalaureate Grant Committee, along with serving as an advisory board member for The International Educator and The Principals’ Training Center. Glass is also currently the Board President for the Association for the Advancement of International Education. Glass is also a Board Member for the Buckhead Coalition, a member of Buckhead Rotary, and a Leadership Atlanta Graduate of the Class of 2011.
He and his wife, Stefani have three children: Liam, Lilly and Leanne, who all attend Atlanta International School.
Amy Shafron currently serves as the Head of School at The Alfred & Adele Davis Academy in Atlanta GA, the largest Reform Jewish Day School in the United States. During her ten-year tenure as Head of School, Amy has led the school through generations of students and families, several cycles of long-range strategic planning and SACS/SAIS reaccreditation and multiple fundraising campaigns and construction projects to expand the school’s campus.
Prior to her appointment, Amy served as The Davis Academy’s Associate Head of School for two years, after serving as its Advancement Director for the previous four years.
Amy is originally from Canada and is an attorney, having graduated from The University of Western Ontario’s School of Law. After practicing corporate and taxation law at one of Toronto’s leading firms, Fraser & Beatty, Amy moved to the U.S. and transitioned to non-profit leadership as a communal professional, adjoining her skills and expertise with her personal passions. She served in a variety of roles in social service agencies and in education prior to relocating to Atlanta and joining The Davis Academy’s administration.
Amy and her husband Michael have two adult children, Max & Rebecca.
Amy Shafron
Chris Pomar
Chris Pomar is Head of School at the Swift School in Roswell, GA. Swift School serves students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences in grades 1-8. He joined Swift as its third Head of School in 2000.
Chris’ career includes work at Emory University, Birmingham-Southern College, Agnes Scott College, Coxe Curry & Associates, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, and he was the founding director of the Dyslexia Resource outreach program of The Schenck School. He oversaw the PruittCares Foundation and the communications and corporate chaplaincy departments at PruittHealth from 2018 to 2020. He attended Oxford College of Emory University and earned a B.A. in English from Emory and an M.P.A. with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
Chris is on the board and executive committee of The Giving Kitchen and has served on the Oxford College Alumni Board, was president of the AAAIS admissions cohort in the early 2000s, and served on the boards of Horizons Atlanta’s HIES location and the International Community School.
Chris and his wife, Pam, have three adult children and one grandchild. An active student of leadership and life, Chris enjoys reading, music, the outdoors and coming up with creative menus for dinner.
Paul A. Barton began work as the 10th head of school at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in 2014. Prior to his move to Atlanta, Mr. Barton led the Avery Coonley School near Chicago for seven years.
During his career, Mr. Barton’s roles in pre-K through 12th grade have included being a teacher, coach, residential dean, admissions associate and senior administrator. He has participated in two of the most respected professional development programs for educational leadership, the Klingenstein Visiting Heads Fellowship at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Kellogg Executive Scholars Program at Northwestern University.
Mr. Barton holds a master’s degree in education, administration and supervision from DePaul University, a Master of Arts in liberal education from St. John’s College and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Loras College.
Mr. Barton and his wife, Leanne, have three children: Sam, Abby and Charlie.
Paul Barton
Kevin Bracher
Kevin Bracher serves as the head of school at Whitefield Academy in Smyrna, GA. Whitefield is a Christ-centered, college-preparatory school that was founded in 1997. Dr. Bracher arrived at Whitefield in 2007 as principal of the Middle School and continued to assume roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to being appointed as head of school in 2013, he was serving as the academic dean, focusing on curriculum, faculty development, testing, technology, and accreditation.
With over 30 years of experience as an educator, Dr. Bracher’s career began as a high school math teacher (ranging from algebra through AP calculus) and coach of three sports, followed by leadership posts in all three K-12 levels - high school, middle school, and elementary school. Dr. Bracher earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in mathematics and secondary education, and he holds three graduate degrees from Georgia State University, including a Ph.D. in educational leadership.
Kevin and his wife, Becky, have four children who are all graduates of Whitefield Academy. Spending time with his family, engaging in activities through his church, and enjoying the outdoors hiking and biking are among his favorite activities.