Cobb County Board of Education to hold special meeting to discuss accreditation review
MARIETTA, Ga. - The Cobb County Board of Education called a special meeting Monday to discuss the results of last year's accreditation review.
A report from Cognia, a non-governmental non-profit that evaluates public school districts, released in November found the school district kept its full accreditation, but provided a list of areas in which Cobb County School District can improve. The agency investigation was prompted by complaints by Board of Education members in January 2021 claiming violations in Cognia standards. In February, Cognia said it received dozens more complaints about Cobb schools falling short of Cognia's performance standards.
The review disgruntled Board Chair Randy Scamihorn.
"Despite numerous requests to Cognia, there remains a great deal we do not know about this review," said Scamihorn in a statement after Cognia's review concluded. "We still have not been provided with the specific allegations against the District, which led Cognia to believe this special review was needed. We do not know why so much weight was given to allegations made in public comment, which are often not representative of the community as a whole. It is disappointing the Special Review Team chose not to consider much of the context leading to various Board decisions, and their review of evidence requested from the District appears to be cursory and incomplete. While I am pleased this review is unlikely to have an immediately negative effect on the District's students, it did serve as a significant distraction for the staff."
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The purpose of Monday's special meeting is to "address" findings of the Cognia report. It will be the first time the board discusses the report publicly.
The meeting is set for 12:30 p.m. on Monday and will be streamed live.
Why was Cobb County School District's accreditation reviewed?
Several board members and dozens of community stakeholders complained to Cognia.
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Cognia told Cobb County School District it was launching a special review.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale wrote in a statement addressed the complaints in a statement:
"The communication I received from Cognia centered upon allegations of political disagreements and intra-personal behavior within the board of education. While these are serious concerns, an unscheduled Special Review seems to be a very unusual response, particularly following the extension of our accreditation and the possible adverse effects of a Special Review to the District’s students, faculty, staff, and community. Given this, the District is taking this Special Review very seriously. The District will fully cooperate with Cognia in moving forward without delay. I have every confidence the District’s adherence to performance standards will be evident, just as it was 14 months ago."
Cognia also required Cobb County School District to
What directives did Cognia provide Cobb County School District?
The accreditation agency indicated multiple areas of improvement for the school district to address.
- Access to district programs, such as work-based learning, opportunities with technical student organizations and the opening of a career academy
- Graduation rates and overall academic achievement
- Positive support to students, particularly English learners
- Dropout rate of students with disabilities
Monday meeting will "discuss Cognia communication regarding accreditation status."
Why is school accreditation important?
A negative review by an accreditation agency could impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment, and retention.
Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County School District and DeKalb County schools have all been subject to accreditation reviews.