Tucson Hebrew Academy began its 53rd school year in August with another milestone already behind it: reaccreditation from Cognia, an independent organization that evaluates schools for educational quality.
The review examined several areas of school life, including student engagement, academic growth and support, leadership, staff practices, and continuous improvement.
“Our mission at Tucson Hebrew Academy is to provide our students with exemplary academics,” said Head of School Johanna Shlomovich, who is beginning her sixth year at Tucson Hebrew Academy. “By combining Cognia’s standards with our own expectations and the expertise of our teachers, we’re able to deliver on that mission year after year. The fact that we’re able to do so while grounding that education in Jewish values and a nurturing community makes it even more meaningful.”
Cognia’s continuing accreditation process operates on a six-year cycle. Schools are asked to examine their own practices, provide supporting evidence, and participate in an external review. Review teams look at student performance and school improvement efforts, observe classrooms, and speak with members of the school community.
At Tucson Hebrew Academy, planning for the review took six months and included staff preparation, the collection and analysis of documentation and data, faculty, parent and student surveys, classroom observations, interviews and meetings with the Cognia accreditation team.
Jennifer Lehrfeld, Director of General Studies, said the process involved contributions from across the school.
“This reaccreditation reflects a tremendous amount of work from our teachers, staff, leadership, and everyone who contributed throughout the process,” Lehrfeld said. “We’re incredibly grateful for the time and care they put into it, but ultimately, this work is about our students and making sure we continue providing them with the strongest educational experience possible.”
Tucson Hebrew Academy received a higher score in its most recent review than it did during its previous Cognia evaluation.
Accreditation can also be one factor for families to consider when comparing schools. Not every private school seeks outside accreditation, and parents may want to ask whether a school is accredited, which organization provides that accreditation, and what standards are included in the review.
