Oglethorpe County schools received their accreditation from Cognia this spring and will be qualified until 2029.
Cognia is a nationally recognized accreditation agency.
Accreditation is important for schools in order for their students to earn the Hope Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, Superintendent Beverley Levine said. Also, it’s important to “have an outside agency look at the system through a different lens and share our strengths and areas for improvement,” she added.
Levine mentioned the accreditation at the school system’s annual strategic planning meeting on May 30, what she called “one of our most important days of the year.” Staff, teachers, parents and students meet to discuss the accomplishments of the 2023-2024 school year and what it would like to work on next year.
Assistant Superintendent Kanya Cornish presented the school system’s beliefs, vision, and the mission of “excellence for every student every day.”
The board recognized five prioritized needs: proficiency in reading and math, social-emotional and behavioral supports, effective school leadership practices and effective use of technology tools and digital resources.
“The goal for this meeting is to review the year we just had,” Levine said. “And then come out with what’s important for us for next year.”
Sara Hughes, director of federal programs/grant writing, presented data comparing five strategic goal areas from 2023-2024. The goal areas included: Student Readiness, Learning and achievement; Culture and Climate; Family and Community Engagement; Recruitment, Retention, and Growth; and Fiscal and Operational responsibility.
Key numbers include:
Graduation rate: 95.3%
Students who have completed pathways: 83.1%
- Facilities updated with network/devices: 100%
The research found that the school system had two areas of improvement: instructional support for teachers and revise curriculum to “enhance learners’ appreciation values and contributions of various cultures and backgrounds.”
“We also need to make sure that we look at diverse backgrounds,” Cornish said.
The Recruitment, Retention, and Growth group dove into the specifics of providing professional learning, planning for continuity of the organization’s success and recruiting and retaining highly effective staff by looking at the personnel climate survey.
OCHS teacher Jennifer Yauck complimented the school system’s effort to increase connectivity throughout departments.
Abigail Horton, a rising senior, joined the meeting because she “likes being involved.” She voiced concerns for the lack of motivation from students that she sees in her classrooms at the high school.
“No one wants to work anymore,” she said. “I just feel like there needs to be motivation.”
The board found that it was able to accomplish one of its main goals from last year, which was to provide mentors for students.
“We have 12 consistent community members that come in once a month to help mentor our students,” Hughes said. “So we’re really excited about that.”