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I would like to thank each of you for allowing me to serve you and support you during the Georgia Leadership Institute. I hope you all have a great rest of your school year as you continue to "impact, inspire, and enable pathways for success for all learners" during your institution's continuous improvement journey.

Sincerely,

Dr. Harrison

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Mountain Island Charter School Supportive Links

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Mountain Island Charter School Supportive Links

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Mountain Island Charter School Supportive Links 2025

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My Institution has Hosted Its Accreditation Engagement Review:  Now What?

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My Institution has Hosted Its Accreditation Engagement Review:  Now What?

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My Institution has hosted Its Accreditation Engagement Review-Now What--- 2025 Participants Copy

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The Journey to Cognia's STEM Certification 

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The Journey to Cognia's STEM Certification 

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STEM Certification Training-North-South Carolina Conference 2025- Participants Copy

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Blazing a Trail of Continuous Improvement Through Accreditation 

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Blazing a Trail of Continuous Improvement Through Accreditation 

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Blazing a Trail-North-South Carolina 2025-Participants Copy

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Accreditation  Continuous Improvement 2025-Participants Copy

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Great job of drawing focus to specific portion of the process to prioritize our attention

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Events - Cognia

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Engagement Review training-prepare on your schedule

Whether you will be the facilitator leading your own institution in training on the Cognia standards and protocols or are attending training with your school, ongoing events are available to support you. Register for the current self-paced asynchronous course. Available through December 31, 2023.

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Find a workshop or conference near you to stimulate your practice.

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Types of Accreditation and Certification Reviews 

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Types of Accreditation and Certification Reviews 

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Assurances for School Systems in United States

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Assurances for School Systems in United States

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Assurances for Early Learning Institutions/US

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Assurances for Early Learning Institutions/US

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Assurances for Digital Learning Institutions/US

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Assurances for Digital Learning Institutions/US

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Assurances for Digital Learning Institutions/US

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Assurances for Digital Learning Institutions/US

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Accreditation & Certification Policies and Procedures

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Accreditation & Certification Policies and Procedures

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CEO Message: The Power of Community - Cognia - The Source

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As a global organization, we serve all types of institutions-every type of institution you can imagine from all over the world. Each institution has its own set of beliefs, their own vision, and directed purpose. As do we. As improvement experts, in our accreditation work, we craft standards designed to improve education quality.

The standards are written so that they adapt to the unique context of every institution and every institution's vision, purpose, and core values. They are written to help institutions pursue their vision for a better future. Our role is to guide and support institutions on their improvement journeys. We are an extra set of independent, objective eyes on how well states, districts, schools, and learners are progressing toward their desired future. As we prepare to implement a new set of Cognia standards and protocols for accreditation this upcoming school year, we are focused on helping institutions and their educators improve the learner success.

The last few years have been isolating and have challenged us to connect in new ways within our personal and professional networks. We have all had to find ways to maintain and build the connections that sustain us and our school communities. As we look to summer it is time for us to reflect, relax, and prepare to re-engage our communities to continue the journey of improvement.

In this edition of The Source, we feature:

Schools are ecosystems that thrive in community. We leverage the power of community to support learners, teachers, and leaders.

Dr. Mark A. Elgart has served as president and CEO of Cognia since 2002. Under his leadership Cognia was established, following the merger of AdvancED and Measured Progress, to bridge the gap between school evaluation and student assessment. Cognia serves as the trusted partner with over 36,000 institutions in 85 countries to advance learning for 25 million students. Elgart has a long, distinguished career of 40 years as an educational leader including time as a math and physics teacher, school principal, and chief executive leading a global, education non-profit. He is annually recognized, both locally and internationally, as an influential leader in education due to his impact on education policy and the work of schools. He is an internationally recognized speaker on education and frequent author on educational issues including recent whitepapers on federal policy and school improvement. In education, Elgart is widely viewed as the foremost authority on school improvement and education quality. Elgart earned a bachelor's in Mathematics from Springfield College, a master's in Educational Administration from Westfield State College, and Doctorate in Education in Leadership in Schooling from the University of Massachusetts.

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CEO Message: The Power of Community - Cognia - The Source

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The standards are written so that they adapt to the unique context of every institution and every institution's vision, purpose, and core values. They are written to help institutions pursue their vision for a better future. Our role is to guide and support institutions on their improvement journeys. We are...

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As an improvement organization, Cognia believes that every institution, even great ones, can be better tomorrow than today. We hold ourselves to the same ideal. Like the members we serve, Cognia continually works to innovate and improve. Our commitment to school quality and continuous improvement compels us to examine and update our accreditation standards and protocol to acknowledge changes and set expectations for quality education institutions in a new era.

Cognia's Performance Standards and Protocol underpin all our solutions in service to schools and learners-professional learning, accreditation and certification, assessment, turnaround, and school improvement. The accreditation standards outline expectations for Cognia accredited institutions based on what the latest education research indicates makes for quality schools. The protocol outlines the requirements of the accrediting process.
New Cognia Performance Standards and Protocol
New Cognia Performance Standards and Protocol go into effect July 1, 2022, for member institutions undergoing an Accreditation Engagement Review and institutions pursuing accreditation for the first time. These new standards will help schools address today's education challenges and set a vision for the future. In our last edition we wrote about The Meaning of Standards but here is what is most important to know.

The new protocol includes Self-Assessment, Engagement Review, and Progress Reporting. If you are familiar with the previous Cognia standards for different institution types, you will notice a significant change. One set of standards applies to all K-12 and postsecondary institution types, including systems of institutions. Not to worry we have ways of capturing relevant details that make your institution unique, and still provide useful information that leverages the power of community to share what we know works for high-quality schooling and is relatable among institutions with similar profiles, challenges, and experiences.

Members institutions now have new improvement tools and more opportunities for support and collaboration to help your institution's team achieve a shared vision and understanding and make progress on improvement objectives.

Starting this fall, in response to evolving institution needs Cognia will:

Move to a six-year accreditation cycle* for most institutions so you have more time to implement initiatives, evaluate them, and prepare for the next cycle

Offer orientation and training for your team to prepare for success

Guide and support you with Cognia experts throughout your accreditation and improvement activities

Add Institution Self-Assessment to identify institution strengths and needs and ensure personnel understand the new standards and protocol

Add Progress Reporting and collaborate to help institutions sustain momentum

Throughout the engagement review process, Cognia provides guidance, tools, and resources as we shift from a review event to a relationship that fosters ongoing progress with momentum. With Cognia Standards as your guide to high-quality schooling you choose how to address your institution's specific needs and leverage our knowledge to help you succeed.

Based on current research in education, input from practitioners, and multiple expert reviews, Cognia's cyclical development process assures that the standards at the foundation of our improvement and accreditation strategies continue to be viable, feasible, and relevant. Learn more about the new Cognia Accreditation Performance Standards or reach out to your local Cognia contact for assistance.

*Some institution accreditation cycles will differ based on the needs or requirements of the institution, or the state/country in which it operates including Early Learning, Department of Defense Education Activity, and international schools.

Holly King, Ph.D., is senior vice president of Evaluation Services for Cognia, overseeing all aspects of accreditation and certification services offered to PK-12 schools around the world. Over her career, Dr. King has directed education programs in private, non-profit, and school district settings. She has held adjunct faculty positions in Early Childhood Education for eight years at three colleges, teaching adult learners in online and face-to-face settings, and is an adjunct faculty member for the Master's in Organizational Leadership program at the University of Denver. She also serves as Affiliate Research Faculty for Antioch University's Ph.D. in Leadership and Change in quantitative methods. To her leadership roles, Dr. King brings expertise in best practices in early learning and K-6 education; strategic planning; leadership development; quality assurance; data analysis; health, mental health, and disabilities services; family support; and professional development and coaching. Dr. King holds a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University, as well as master degrees in Early Childhood Education and Leadership and Change.

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Expectations for Quality Education - Cognia - The Source

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Cognia's Performance Standards and Protocol underpin all our solutions in service to schools and learners-professional learning, accreditation and certification, assessment, turnaround, and school improvement. The accreditation standards outline expectations for Cognia accredited institutions based on what the latest education research indicates makes for quality schools. The protocol outlines the requirements...

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Over the past 50 years, adult education scholars have developed a robust literature on "andragogy," the art and science of teaching adult learners. In the 1970s, Malcolm Knowles, a one-time head of the Adult Education Association of the United States, introduced the word on these shores (from the German for "man-leading") to distinguish the facilitation of adult learning from pedagogy (child-leading), directing the learning of children.

Adult and independent learner strategies could be the next big driver of school improvement

Scholars have synthesized Knowles's assumptions about how to best support adult learners in an andragogical curriculum model of learning. The six fundamental attributes of this model are:

Resources: The adult learner's experience becomes a rich resource for their own and other's learning.

Need to Know: Adult learners need a meaningful reason to learn something.

Efficacy and Direction: Adult learners are increasingly self-directing.

Readiness: Life tasks and problems drive adults' readiness to learn.

Orientation: Adult learners seek immediate application for their learning.

Motivation: The adult learner is increasingly motivated by internal incentives and curiosity.

These core attributes apply to all adult learning contexts, from literacy programs to professional learning for educators and can help drive school improvement in new ways. Best practices for developing current teachers follow these adult learning principles. Surveys and research further show that professional learning is most effective when it is relevant to the learner (e.g., teacher, leader), directly applicable to their professional context, and shared within a network of practice.
Adult learning for school improvement
For schools to continuously improve, leaders need to direct district policies, resource allocation, and new uses of technology so that schools become centers for teacher and leader learning. Educators must have opportunities to learn from each other, mentor and be mentored, and grow together in a community of practice. (Dufour 2009, Davidson, 2023)

A 2022 report from the Learning Policy Institute, Developing Effective Principals: What Kind of Learning Matters? highlighted a similar need for school principals. In spite of increased access to content related to leading instruction, managing change, developing people, shaping a positive school culture, and meeting the needs of diverse learners, principals' access to crucial job-based learning opportunities (e.g., internships, applied learning, mentoring or coaching) is still limited. According to the report, "Only 40% of principals reported having had an internship during their preparation that allowed them to take on real leadership responsibilities characteristic of a high-quality internship experience, and very few in-service principals reported having access to coaching or mentoring."

School leaders are even more isolated than teachers. They are true "lone rangers" in their buildings. As an educator who has led a district, taught adult learning in education departments at several universities, and now provides training for school districts involved in Cognia's accreditation and school improvement efforts, I have seen firsthand how the lack of networked support for leaders can limit success in school improvement.
All part of continuous improvement
To be successful, school improvement should be a team sport. Everyone needs a coach, and all the players must share a common vision of what the game is about and be open to new ways of helping each participant (e.g., adult, student) achieve better outcomes.

Cognia's approach to continuous improvement can be used in connection with pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy (the administration of learning for self-managed learners) in the strategic planning process, which also needs to be taught with greater emphasis in university-based leadership programs.

Cognia defines continuous improvement (Elgart, 2017) as "an embedded behavior within the culture of a school that constantly focuses on the conditions, processes, and practices that will improve teaching and learning." The key dimensions of that work require four successive strategic actions (i.e., visioning, planning, implementing, and evaluation) that need to be revisited and repeated as a new cycle. For anyone interested, the best tool available for understanding what's involved in this process is Cognia's "inFocus guide for strategic thinking and improvement planning," (2023) which should be a regular focus of every leader.

As shown in the chart below, the cycle begins with imagining the possibilities, communicating with stakeholders, plotting the journey, initiating the journey with training and fostering buy-in, building momentum and capacity, and reflecting, evaluating, and adjusting to begin the cycle again.
Unleashing andragogy and heutagogy to improve learning
To effectively educate adults, andragogy must be paired with heutagogy-the administration of learning for self-managed learners. In my work with schools and districts, to identify root causes of low performance across all dimensions of school quality, I see how indispensable andragogy and heutagogy are to the future of our education system.

The following chart identifies key principles of heutagogy in addition to pedagogy and andragogy.

Young, S. (2018, March 7). Heutagogy: the art of self-directed learning. Acts of Leadership.

The old focus on traditional pedagogy, in which dependent learners follow external motivations and a prescribed curriculum to get to the next level and are directed by teachers who manage the process of learning and hold the knowledge that needs to be changed to usher in a new era of active, student-directed learning. While this approach can be useful for younger students, it cultivates the kinds of passive learning that are better suited for the industrial era rather than the digital age, where students learn more independently than in lockstep with each other. The pedagogical model needs to be changed to usher in a new era of active, student-directed learning.

The pedagogical model needs to be changed to usher in a new era of active, student-directed learning.

What will a new system look like? Teachers will be collaborators and active co-constructors of learning, optimizing support for each student. Learners will make choices in how they learn, helping to design their own learning experiences and pathways and progressing through content as they demonstrate competence in projects that engage with communities outside the school.

Taking adult learning to heart, we can create new ways for teachers to learn from one another and address the problems of practice, allowing them to be propelled by teachers' intrinsic motivation and aided by expert peers who serve as facilitators and collaborators.

The areas needing improvement indicate that focusing on andragogy to improve adult learning for teachers and leaders can help shift the focus to student needs and experiences. It can also encourage teachers to conduct research to make improvements and begin the transition to a heutagogic system that will shift teachers' roles and encourage self-directed and self-paced learning.
Looking ahead
When we have changed from policies that direct where and how long students must learn to an approach that allows them to learn where and how fast they can, we will be ready to create a system of learning through heutagogy. In the future, students will work with their teachers to create their own unique courses of learning-to go as far and as fast as they can on an unplanned, non-linear journey of exploration and discovery.

We can encourage students to set goals that are meaningful to them, draw on the passions and interests that drive them to learn, focus on knowledge domains (not subjects and courses), and develop the skills to become lifelong learners. Ultimately, we must ensure that all students have agency and can equitably achieve 21 st -century learning goals at the pace appropriate for their learning. Only then will our education system be as powerful as our students can make it.
References
Cognia (2022), Performance Standards K-12 and Postsecondary Institutions, Performance-Standards.pdf

Cognia (2023), inFocus: A guide for strategic thinking and improvement planning, inFocus Guidebook

Cox, Elaine (2015), "Coaching and Adult Learning: Theory and Practice," New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, chapter 3, Wiley Online Library

Darling-Hammond, L., Wechsler, M. E., Levin, S., Leung-Gagné, M., & Tozer, S. (2022). Developing effective principals: What kind of learning matters? [Report]. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/641.201. Updated September 14, 2023. Revisions are noted here.

Davidson, Scott (Spring 2022), "Get More Out of Professional Learning," appearing in Cognia, The Source, Get More Out of Professional Learning - Cognia - The Source

Dufour, Rick (Fall 2009), Professional Learning Communities: The Key to Improved Teaching and Learning, appearing in Cognia, The Source, Professional Learning Communities: The Key to Improved Teaching and Learning - Cognia - The Source

Elgart, Mark A. (September 2017), Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement, Cognia White Paper, Meeting-the-Promise-of-Continuous-Improvement-White-Paper.pdf (cognia.org)

Eripuddin and Jufrizal (2021), JEE (Journal of English Education) Vol. 7 No. 1, June 2021, pp. 103-123, Eripuddin Jufrizal 2021

Gutierrez, Karla (2021), Three Adult Learning Theories Every E-Learning Designer Must Know, Association for Talent Development, 3 Adult Learning Theories Every E-Learning Designer Must Know (td.org)

Henschke, J.A. (2014) "Andragogical Curriculum for Equipping Successful Facilitators of Andragogy in Numerous Contexts" from the Selected Works of John A. Henschke, Ed.D. , Lindenwood, Henschke 2014

Holmes, Kathryn and Preston, Greg (2020), "Concept of Pedagogy and Andragogy Education" appearing in Community Medicine & Education Journal Vol 1 Issue 1 2020, Holmes Preston 2020

Patrick, Susan (Spring 2023), "Next Generation Accountability Systems for Student Success," appearing in Cognia, The Source, Next Generation Accountability Systems for Student Success - Cognia - The Source

Rohlwing, Ruth L. and Spelman, Maureen, (2015) "Characteristics of Adult Learning," Implications for the Design and Implementation of Professional Learning programs, chapter12, in Martin, L.E. Kragler, S, Quatroche, D.J., Hargreaves, A., and Bauserman, K.L., Handbook of Professional Development in Education, Successful Models and Practices, preK-12

Young, S. (2018, March 7). Heutagogy: the art of self-directed learning. Acts of Leadership. https://www.samyoung.co.nz/2018/03/heutagogy-art-of-self-directed-learning.html

André L. Harrison, Ed.D., currently serves as Vice President of Accreditation Services for Cognia. Dr. Harrison has supported institutions throughout the United States and other countries across the world during their continuous improvement journeys. He has over three decades of experience in the field of education, including more than 25 years of experience as an adjunct university instructor. He is currently serving as an adjunct assistant professor of Educational Leadership for the University of Alabama and teaches school finance in leadership courses at universities in Alabama. Dr. Harrison has written extensively about school leadership and board governance, curriculum and instruction, and school finance. He recently co-authored The Alabama School Finance Handbook, which will be used in training sessions for aspiring and new superintendents.

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Andragogy: Supporting Adult Learners - Cognia - The Source

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Adult and independent learner strategies could be the next big driver of school improvement Scholars have synthesized Knowles's assumptions about how to best support adult learners in an andragogical curriculum model of learning. The six fundamental attributes of this model are: Resources: The adult learner's experience becomes a rich resource...

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Cognia Performance Standards:  Examining the Research

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Cognia Performance Standards:  Examining the Research

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Crosswalk and Alignment of Cognia 2017 and 2022 Performance Standards 

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Crosswalk and Alignment of Cognia 2017 and 2022 Performance Standards 

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Sample Accreditation Engagement Report for the NEW Protocol

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Sample Accreditation Engagement Report for the NEW Protocol

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The Engineering Design Process Science Buddies.

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Teaching the Engineering Design Process Resource

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Teaching the Engineering Design Process Resource

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Teaching the Engineering Design Process

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Technical Knowledge-FAQs/Engineering Design Process

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Creating a STEM Culture for Teaching and Learning

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Creating a STEM Culture for Teaching and Learning

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This is a great resource book for schools to support their efforts with expanding STEM teaching and learning: https://www.amazon.com/Creating-STEM-Culture-Teaching-Learning/dp/168140396X  .

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Guidelines for Institutions Seeking STEM Certification

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Guidelines for Institutions Seeking STEM Certification

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https://catalog.cognia.org/browse/stem

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The Mid-Cycle Progress Report Guidelines for Institutions

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The Mid-Cycle Progress Report Guidelines for Institutions

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Accreditation and Improvement Infographic 

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Accreditation and Improvement Infographic 

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The Role of Accountability Systems and Regional Accreditation by Dr. Mark Elgart

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The Role of Accountability Systems and Regional Accreditation by Dr. Mark Elgart

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The Role of Accountability Systems and Regional Accreditation in Improving Quality K–12 Education (cognia.org)

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Dr. Annette Melton, Senior Regional Director
Email:  annette.melton@cognia.org

Jennifer Thomas, Regional Director
Email:  jennifer.thomas@cognia.org

Brittonie Donahue, Analyst
Email:  brittonie.donahue@cognia.org

Dr. Cheryl Allread, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)

Email:  cheryl.allread@cognia.org

Sandra Leatherwood, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)

Email:  sandra.leatnerwood@cognia.org

Holly Wingard, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)

Email:  holly.wingard@cognia.org

Carmen Pough-Banks, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)

Email:  carmenpough.banks@cognia.org

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Debora Williams, Regional Director
Email:  debora.williams@cognia.org

Becky Hoyle, Analyst
Email:  becky.hoyle@cognia.org

Donna Thomas, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:  donna.thomas@cognia.org

Julia Lovett, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:  julia.lovett@cognia.org

Steven Bloom, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:  steven.bloom@cognia.org

Sandra Leatherwood, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:  sandra.leatherwood@cognia.org

Donna Gibson, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:   donna.gibson@cognia.org

Julie Wright, Regional Accreditation Evaluator (RAE)
Email:  julie.wright@cognia.org

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Dr. Andre L. Harrison,
Vice President of Accreditation Services
andre.harrison@cognia.org
Direct number:  334-322-2666