Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

After going through a tough process for the past couple of months, Lanett City Schools announced on Wednesday it had earned accreditation by Cognia, which is a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts and education service providers.

“Systems accreditation as conferred by the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission provides Lanett City School a nationally recognized mark of quality for our school system and each school within our system,” LCS Superintendent Jennifer Boyd said in a press release. “It demonstrates to our community our commitment to excellence, our openness to external review and feedback and our desire to be the best we can on behalf of the students we serve.”

Cognia has accredited more than 36,000 institutions, which encompasses 5 million teachers and 25 million students around the world.

Cognia recognizes school districts that meet rigorous standards that focus on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocations that meet the needs of learners and effective leadership.

“The accreditation engagement review is an extensive process of quality assurance that allows for the review of practices, processes, and programs that are embedded within our organization,” Boyd said “It is a measure of an organization’s commitment to the continuous improvement process in an effort to expand system wide effectiveness, enhance student learning, and increase student achievement.

“By engaging in this voluntary process we have received a nationally recognized mark of quality for our school system and each school within our system. It demonstrates to our community our commitment to excellence, our openness to external review and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”

Now that LCS has earned Cognia accreditation, the district is recognized across the nation as a school system that meets the standards of quality and maintains a commitment to improvement. To receive Cognia Accreditation, a district must submit to an internal and external review while implementing a process of improvement. The accreditation stands for a five-year term.

With the accreditation, the LCS now has access to various Cognia services, which includes guidance for system-wide initiatives, professional development for staff among other services.