Reflections on CAIS for Heads and Chair Heads Conference 2025
October 24, 2025 — This week, Dennis Fagundo, our Board Chair, and I had the privilege of attending the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Heads and Chairs Leadership Conference in Kelowna, Canada. Somersfield Academy has been a proud member of CAIS for 20 years, an accreditation body that ensures we meet the highest standards of a world-class independent school operating in Bermuda. The conference offered the opportunity to connect with other top-tier schools across Canada and discuss the most pressing issues facing independent schools today and into the future.
One major area of focus was the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on education: how schools operate, how teachers teach, and how students learn. As many of you know, AI is rapidly reshaping workplaces, particularly in knowledge-based professions. Employers are increasingly seeking uniquely human skills that AI cannot replicate, such as:
analytical thinking
leadership and social influence
creativity
resilience, flexibility, and agility
curiosity
At Somersfield, our founders made a bold decision to combine a Montessori Approach with the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma (DP) programmes. This framework is proving to prepare our students for the future in ways no other curriculum can.
Montessori Approach: Helps students make sense of the world through carefully curated learning experiences, nurturing independence and lifelong learning.
MYP: Strengthens critical thinking by examining real-world issues and encourages reflection after every assignment—a skill increasingly vital in future work environments.
DP: Challenges students to question the very foundations of knowledge through courses like Theory of Knowledge, teaching them to ask, “How do we know what is true, and who decides that truth?”
Whilst students lament the fact they must reflect on their thinking after every assignment, this skill is now becoming an essential component of future work environments. I often hear criticism of our math programme because it doesn’t focus on the core mathematical skills, but more on concepts requiring students to solve abstract problems that they may not have studied. Whilst this approach causes angst amongst both parents and students, it is preparing our students for the world ahead of them.
“Our math approach causes angst amongst both parents and students, but it is preparing our students for the world ahead of them.”
As part of our ongoing CAIS accreditation, we are beginning a self-study process. This is a unique opportunity for our entire community—students, staff, leadership, board members, and parents—to analyse the complex workings of our school and ensure we are positioned for long-term success. The integration of AI into our curriculum will be an important part of this planning.
The educational landscape is evolving rapidly, and schools everywhere are grappling with how to respond to AI. At Somersfield, we are confident that our mission—to inspire socially conscious, independent thinkers—has never been more relevant.
Read more about our CAIS accreditation journey, here.