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Newton County Schools granted six-year Cognia reaccreditation, earns IEQ score of 330
Summary
At its May work session the Newton County Schools Board heard that the district received full reaccreditation from Cognia for a six-year term and that the district—s IEQ (Index of Education Quality) score rose to 330, with strengths noted in leadership and learning environments.
Newton County Schools has been granted full reaccreditation for a six-year term by Cognia, the district—s presenter said at the board—s May work session. "Newton County Schools has been granted full reaccreditation for a 6-year term by the Cognia Global Commission," Doctor Sheila Thomas told the board.
The district earned an IEQ (Index of Education Quality) score of 330 for the 2025 review, up from 321.13 in 2019, Thomas said. Cognia—s IEQ ranges from 100 to 400 and aggregates stakeholder feedback, student performance, learning environments and culture of learning. The district exceeded the Cognia network average (296) in all four domains: culture of learning (3.3/4), leadership of learning (3.1), engagement of learning (3.0) and growth of learning (2.9).
Thomas listed four standards that received exceptionally high ratings, including leadership that fosters fairness, equity and inclusion and learning environments that promote creativity and collaboration. She also relayed Cognia—s two recommended areas for improvement: stronger integration of digital resources and more consistent behavior support systems through professional development and family engagement.
Superintendent Doctor Bradley and several board members praised the accomplishment at the meeting. Bradley noted the reaccreditation covers a six-year span that included the pandemic years, calling the upward movement in ratings "truly significant" for a district that remained stable during that period. A board member also urged recognition of staff who worked on the process.
The presentation noted the reaccreditation followed a multi-step submission and external review process that included an executive summary, assurances of compliance, self-assessment narratives aligned to 30 performance standards, supporting artifacts and an on-site (external) review. Thomas thanked colleagues who supported the submission work.
The Cognia report and related recommendations will be used to inform the district—s continuous-improvement planning; Thomas said the recommendations align with already-identified strategic priorities.
