WITH 24 active members already in their network, the Jamaica Alumni Association of High Schools (JAAHS) is looking to expand its membership network as it prepares to host its inaugural election this weekend.

According to the association, last November several presidents from individual school alumni associations across the island came together after realising that they all shared common goals and faced similar challenges within the various school networks.

This then led to representatives from various institutions such as Hampton School, Munro College, Ardenne High School, Camperdown High School and Clarendon College, among others, starting discussions on establishing an association in which they could formally share ideas and collaborate as a team for the benefit of all, the association said in a release on Wednesday.

“What we are saying is we need to work together. There are some objectives that are common to all of us, for example physical development in terms of the improvement at the schools, academics, such as higher CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) passes, that varies across high schools, but it’s looking at whatever strategies and strengths some high schools are using that can be shared with other schools,” past president of the Calabar Old Boys’ Association and one of the founding members of the JAAHS, Keith Whyte, told the Jamaica Observer via a phone interview Wednesday.

He highlighted some of the work being done, noting that the association has been actively helping schools such as Edith Dalton James High to get their own alumni network off the ground by providing draft constitutions, best practices and advice.

Other new additions to the JAAHS include Wolmer’s Girls’ and Boys’ Schools, Kingston College, The Queens School, Jamaica College, and Campion College.

The association has been meeting monthly at the St Andrew High School for Girls under the hospitality of Sally Carter, who is the current president of the school’s alumni association.

“The next stage is to finalise the constitution and detail the vision, governance, structure and objectives of the association,” Carter stated in a release.

“One of our top priorities right now is putting together best practices for different spheres of alumni operations like fund-raising, governance and student development,” she continued.

The association also intends to focus on improving the academic, spiritual, physical and emotional development of students within high schools.

JAAHS said it welcomes all secondary alumni associations and issued an invitation to alumni representatives from various high schools to come out to St Andrew High School for Girls this Saturday at 10:00 am to participate in the election.