those standards, exceeding them, initiating improvements or is insufficient. No facet of a school district is overlooked. They look at curriculum offerings, special education programs, teachers, instructional resources, professional development, technology, safety, student test scores data, support services, budget and much, much more. At the conclusion of their accreditation review of Madison City Schools, which was done March 7 through 9, the Cognia team shared some of their experience in an exit conference. Four themes stood out: • Culture: A shared commitment among all stakeholder groups to excellence, diversity and high expectations is evident. • Data use: The system consistently utilizes data to drive decision-making. • Curriculum and instruction: Instructional practices include opportunities for all learners and are aligned to a relevant and challenging curriculum based on high expectations and best practices. • Long-range strategic planning: The system demonstrates effective long-range strategic planning to support its purpose and direction. In the end, 179 stakeholders were interviewed. These include the superintendent, myself, board members, district administrators, principals, parents, teach-
56 Madison Living
ers, community partners, and even students from our schools. The review team shared a list of words that were frequently used by stakeholders during the interviews. Those include family, awesome, excellent, innovative, dynamic, resilient, teamwork and diversity. The review team also shared quotes from some of the community stakeholder interviews: “Madison City Schools are the crown jewel of Madison,” “Innovation is what sets us apart,” and encouragement to “keep doing what you are doing with your students because they are very impressive.” I could go on about what the accreditation review entailed but I will conclude with this: MCS really is a “crown jewel” that all of us can take pride in. And as one student aptly said, it’s also pretty “awesome.”
Highlights, Honors, and Awards ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
37 National Merit Semifinalists 8 US Presidential Scholar Candidates 1 US Presidential Scholar Finalist A on all district and school state report cards Ranked #2 district in the state by Niche 68% of 6th-12th grade students enrolled in one or more CTE classes
★ 92 National Board Certified Teachers ★ 3 Milken Award Winning Teachers ★ 58% of 2021 graduates offered $45 million in scholarships, with $20 million accepted ★ 69% of students taking AP scored a 3 or higher ★ 18% of students taking the ACT scored 30 or above ★ 86 languages spoken in the district ★ 12 First Class Pre-K Classrooms 1
