Sunman-Dearborn Receives Accreditation From Cognia

Sunman-Dearborn is one of only twenty school corporations in Indiana that are accredited by Cognia.

(St. Leon, Ind.) - Sunman-Dearborn Community School Corporation is pleased to announce the corporation has completed the on-site review for accreditation by Cognia™, a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts, and education service providers. Cognia recommends full accreditation. Sunman-Dearborn is one of only twenty school corporations in Indiana that are accredited.

On a scale of 100 – 400, Sunman-Dearborn scored 338.06 points on Cognia’s Index of Educational Quality which is well above the average score for educational institutions of 278-283. During the last accreditation process in 2016, Sunman-Dearborn scored 220 points.

To earn accreditation from Cognia, a school district also must implement a continuous process of improvement, and submit it to internal and external review. School systems in good standing can maintain their accreditation for a five-year term.

The on-site review team recognizes the following themes, among others:

The district has clearly aligned its board, district leadership, school leadership, central office operations and fiscal responsibilities to create a path toward improvement and vision attainment.

The district has established and implemented an overarching framework with protocols and processes creating structures for consistency of program implementation and evaluation for organizational and student learning effectiveness.

Established structures and opportunities identify and address the individualized learning needs of students supporting their success at the next level.

“The report affirms the hard work of our teachers, staff, and administrators. The report will serve as a starting point for our new strategic plan and our journey toward continuous improvement,” Dr. Andrew Jackson, Superintendent.

In the final report, Sunman-Dearborn earned the top rating in 17 out of 31 standards, and the second highest in 12 standards. The full report can be found on the Sunman-Dearborn website at www.sunmandearborn.k12.in.us., under the Information Menu - Cognia On-Site Review Report.