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Oldham County Schools report strong results from district-wide Cognia reaccreditation review
Summary
District staff told the school board March 24 that Oldham County Schools received high marks from Cognia, with perfect ratings in most evaluated areas and recommendations to strengthen supports for special education, English learners and economically disadvantaged students.
Dr. Smith, district staff, told the Oldham County Board of Education on March 24 at the Arvin Education Center that the district’s systemwide reaccreditation review by Cognia produced overwhelmingly positive results.
The district received perfect ratings in most measures: “Out of 28 possible areas we got perfect scores in 23 of them,” Dr. Smith said. Cognia flagged five areas where the district should continue focused improvement work, notably supports for special education, English learners and economically disadvantaged students.
Cognia’s process, Dr. Smith said, began with a summer work session of about 175 district and building leaders who reviewed standards, compiled evidence and wrote narrative reports for the accreditor. The review scores ranged from level 1 (insufficient evidence) to level 4 (noteworthy, systemwide practices). Dr. Smith said the district scored highly in student performance analysis and leadership for learning and noted the district’s use of Studer surveys and other data to inform improvements.
Board members asked about next steps and reporting. Dr. Smith said the district will continue implementing recommended actions, will have a midterm check at year three, and will repeat the full review at year six. The teaching-and-learning team is developing a new instructional framework to create common language for classroom practice and will roll it out at the district’s Ignite conference and teacher onboarding.
The Cognia report also highlighted “noteworthy practices” including collaborative decision-making, emphasis on professional growth, strengthened PLCs and an instructional playbook used by coaches for onboarding new teachers. Dr. Smith identified curriculum work in reading and science and continuing implementation of HQIRs as priorities.
Board members expressed appreciation for the work that produced the reaccreditation report. Dr. Smith said district staff will continue to interface with Cognia and will provide updates on progress at planned intervals.
Next steps include implementing the instructional framework over the summer, a three-year midterm review, and a full reaccreditation cycle resuming at year six.
