The Source

Boards of education and superintendents that operate in a cohesive manner with respect, trust, transparency, and clear communication lead as a unified team that focuses on specific goals to reach their vision, mission, and beliefs of the system. Effective school boards: Have a clear vision for the district Communicate their... Read the full article >

But classroom observations can be challenging to implement at the school, district, and state levels. Some research on the effectiveness of classroom observation raises concern about potential bias in ratings and questions the tools’ alignment with what they purport to measure or what matters to improve learning. Equally significant, many... Read the full article >

Biggest Challenges Teachers Face Based on our experience working with schools, school districts or networks, and states, we see every day the biggest challenges teachers face. Specifically, educators find it most difficult to: Figure out how to teach students remotely in class and simultaneously support their learning at home. Many... Read the full article >

South’s oldest continuously accredited school continues to reinvent itself through the Cognia Accreditation process  Battle Ground Academy is an independent K–12 day school in Franklin, TN, the county seat of prosperous Williamson County. The co-ed, college-prep school draws students from a 30-minute radius in the Middle Tennessee region, which extends... Read the full article >

With an unprecedented nine out of ten students worldwide out of school due to COVID-19 [i] it is more important than ever to focus on the learners. As a mission-driven organization, Cognia™ focuses on improving educational opportunities for all students and advocates for student-centered learning. We hosted a virtual panel to gives... Read the full article >

A seminal book for me around school turnaround is So Much Reform, So Little Change by Charles Payne. Payne describes traditionally low-performing schools as places “where there is a general feeling of instability—personnel come and go, students come and go, programs come and go – all of it presided over... Read the full article >

This is not an easy task, but it is one we pursue earnestly. With today’s growing challenges throughout our community, we know our students are not entering school kindergarten-ready. A student's socioeconomic status should not inhibit his or her education. While we are fully aware that the stress of a... Read the full article >

Years after leaving that school, I still feel pangs of distress in my stomach as I think about walking into the building. The toxic energy was palpable. No smiles were exchanged in the hallways. The teachers’ lounge became a dumping ground of complaints, tears, and stress over the latest round... Read the full article >

In order to start to adequately understand a phenomenon and affect a phenomenon, the development of a theoretical framework is necessary.  E.P. Thompson wrote; “Reality is too complex to fully capture in abstractions.  Every study selects particular aspects of the world to emphasize, necessarily leaving the rest in a shadowy... Read the full article >

Seemingly everything about our schools is changing as America shifts from a national, analog, industrial economy to a global, digital, information economy–demographics, technology, curriculum, standards and testing. The skills and knowledge students need, as they compete for jobs with peers from around the world, have risen to the highest levels... Read the full article >