All Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana maintain State Accreditation with the Indiana Department of Education through achievement of state accountability standards and by meeting all legal assurances required by the State of Indiana.

Indiana Department of Education
Office of Accountability
 

Indiana Catholic Schools Consortium

In the spring of 2013, the superintendents of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the Diocese of Evansville, the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, the Diocese of Gary and the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend, in partnership with the Indiana Catholic Conference, and the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, began to seek ways to build greater collaboration and support among our dioceses. Subsequently, the five Indiana Catholic School superintendents began a dialogue with then AdvancED, now Cognia, to explore the possibilities of creating a statewide collaborative accreditation model that positively impacts the strength, quality, and vibrancy of Indiana Catholic schools and school systems. The Indiana Catholic Schools Consortium (ICSC) is the culmination of these discussions, and is comprised of the aforementioned group.

The Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana continues to maintain system accreditation through Cognia following the guidance and direction of the Indiana Catholic Schools Consortium.
 

Cognia Accreditation

All Catholic Schools in Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana are accredited through
Cognia System Accreditation, effective July 2021.

The Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) including all 16 Catholic schools in the diocese prepared for an external review team visit, which tookplace in April 2021.  The focus review protocol for this visit served as a stragetic planning effort for the Office of Catholic Schools.  The four domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) served as the framework for strategic planning.  Data measures on the four domains of Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality were collected along with stakeholder input to forumlate four strategic priorities, one for each domain of the NSBECS. 

In the spring of 2021, the Diocese of of Lafayette-in-Indiana welcomed a team of six Catholic superintendents, associate superintendents and Cognia administrators from across the United States who were charged with conducting an external review of our diocesan system of Catholic schools on behalf of Cognia.  During this extensive three-day visit, team members evaluated the diocesan system by reviewing the developed stragetic priorities, all prepared documentation and data measures, and conducting a series of interviews with Bishop Timothy L. Doherty, the diocesan accreditation sterring committee, Catholic school principals, pastors, and other stakeholders.

  Accreditation Strategic Priorities

Catholic Identity - Strengthen Catholic identity with a focus on evangelization in parish schools and diocesan schools.

Governance and Leadership - Ensure that parish schools and diocesan schools employ highly effective administrators and teachers that display and promote Gospel Values.

Academic Excellence - Determine classroom instruction meets the individual needs of diverse learners through the effective use of technology and formative assessment data.

Operational Vitality - Establish formal enrollment management plans, including Latino outreach, for every parish school and diocesan school.

Ongoing Process of Improvement

Cognia Accreditation requires an ongoing process of continuous improvement of both the system and of its Catholic schools. A critical component of system accreditation is an internal review process to assure that each school meets required standards, both Cognia and the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, and that each school is actively engaged in a continual school improvement process. Internal review teams, comprised of Catholic school administrators and educators from within our diocese, visit each of the schools once on a rotating basis during the five year cycle, yet every school is expected to be “visit ready” at all times. Internal reviews are single day visits of the school to observe classrooms, to interview stakeholders, and to determine whether or not the school continues to meet the standards. Feedback from the internal review is incorporated into the school improvement plan.

In addition to conducting internal reviews, the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana must address any improvement priorities issued by the external review team and provide a two-year progress report to Cognia on how the system has addressed these priorities.

NEXT ENGAGEMENT REVIEW: SPRING 2026