Cognia the global school improvement and accreditation organization, has announced Converse County School District #1 has received their Systems of Distinction designation, one of only 38 sytems across the globe. The Systems of Distinction earn this recognition based on the results of Cognia’s rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process.
Converse County School District #1 hosted its accreditation review in the spring of 2022. The 2022 Schools/Systems of Distinction are listed on the Cognia website. During the 2021-2022 school year, Cognia conducted approximately 1,500 school engagement reviews for accreditation. This year, 96 schools and 38 systems in 34 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and nine countries are recognized. The number of institutions reviewed and those that earn this designation vary from year to year. Winners carry the designation for one year.
Congratulations to the 2022 Schools and Systems of Distinction for demonstrating excellence in education in meeting the Cognia Performance Standards,” said Cognia President and CEO Dr. Mark A. Elgart. “Based on the results of their 2021–2022 accreditation reviews, each of these schools and systems demonstrated evidence of growth in learning, a healthy culture for learning, engaging and high-quality instructional environments, and effective leadership for learning.”
School districts that seek to earn accreditation participate in a rigorous evaluation process that includes a period of self-assessment; an evaluation conducted by trained external, third-party evaluators; and an improvement phase focused on the results of the evaluation. The Cognia Performance Standards for accreditation are based on the latest research and understanding of learning, teaching, and leading expected in effective schools and systems. Once an institution is accredited, it engages in a similar engagement review process at least every six years to maintain accreditation.
Converse County School District #1 superintendent Dr. Paige Fenton Hughes thanked the district staff for their hard work and dedication to students, staying focused on student learning through the pandemic, and caring about each and every student.
School board chairman, Mark Horr, commended the entire staff on this outstanding award noting, “The district is part of a pretty small and impressive group of schools and systems that are recognized across the nation and world. Our staff and students deserve this recognition. They’ve worked hard to continuously improve learning for all kids.” About Cognia Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping institutions and other education providers grow learners, teachers, and leaders.
Cognia offers accreditation and certification, assessment, and professional services within a framework of continuous improvement. Serving 36,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in more than 90 countries, Cognia brings a global perspective to advancing teaching and learning. Find out more at cognia.org.