Independence USD 446 will welcome a team of education professionals from Cognia on October 5–7 as part of the district’s continuing accreditation and continuous improvement process.
Cognia Accreditation is an internationally recognized mark of educational quality and a process designed to help schools and school systems continuously improve. For Independence USD 446, that relationship has especially deep roots. The district has been a Cognia member district—and part of its predecessor accreditation organizations—for more than 100 years, representing a century-long commitment to external review, educational quality, and continuous improvement.
This week's visit continues that longstanding tradition. The Cognia team will spend three days learning about USD 446, visiting classrooms, reviewing evidence and data, and talking with students, teachers, administrators, board members, and other stakeholders. Cognia Engagement Review teams evaluate alignment with the Cognia Performance Standards, examine the impact of continuous improvement efforts and quality assurance practices, and provide feedback to support future growth.
For USD 446, the visit represents the culmination of an extensive process of reflection and evidence gathering. Over the course of the district’s five-year improvement cycle, staff and leaders have examined student achievement and growth, stakeholder feedback, learning-environment observations, graduation and postsecondary outcomes, professional practices, and the systems used to support students and staff.
“Accreditation is much more than earning a designation,” said USD 446 Director of Learning Services, Kellie Puderbaugh. “It gives us an opportunity to take an objective look at the work happening throughout our district—celebrating what is working well while being willing to identify the areas where we can become even better for our students.”
Meet the Cognia Review Team
Dr. Tiffanie Welte — Lead Evaluator
Dr. Tiffanie Welte serves as a Regional Accreditation Evaluator for Cognia and will lead the USD 446 Engagement Review. She joined Cognia in 2024 following a career of nearly three decades in public education. Her experience includes serving as a secondary English language arts teacher, assistant principal, director of secondary education, principal, and superintendent. She has also worked with the Nebraska Department of Education in areas including career and technical education, assessment and accountability, and accreditation.
Dr. Welte earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and her graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her extensive experience at the classroom, building, district, and state levels brings a broad perspective to the review process.
Dr. Laura Brock — Associate Lead Evaluator
Dr. Laura Brock brings 35 years of experience in education to the review team. During her career, she has served as a teacher, principal, director of professional development, assistant superintendent, and educational consultant in public and charter schools in Iowa, California, and Missouri.
Her professional work has included strategic planning, professional learning, leadership development, program evaluation, curriculum review, and school improvement. She has also participated in the Missouri School Improvement Program review teams. Dr. Brock joined Cognia as a Regional Accreditation Evaluator in 2022 and holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in Education Administration from Iowa State University.
Dr. Nancy Bolz — Cognia Senior Director, Midwest Region
Dr. Nancy Bolz has worked with Cognia for more than two decades and currently serves as a Senior Director in Cognia’s Midwest Region. She has served as a state director in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, managed quality assurance for accreditation reports, and overseen accreditation reviews across multiple states.
Before her work with Cognia, Dr. Bolz spent more than 20 years as a teacher and administrator in Kansas schools. She also served for 19 years as an adjunct professor at Wichita State University, where she earned her master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees in educational leadership. She has served extensively in Kansas education leadership, including on the Kansas Accreditation Advisory Council and the Kansas Learning First Alliance.
Dr. Dione Christy — Early Learning Evaluator
Dr. Dione Christy will provide specialized expertise in early learning as part of USD 446’s review. Her professional background spans early childhood education, K–12 administration, higher education, leadership development, and educational consulting. She has served in national education management and principal leadership development roles and has participated in previous accreditation review teams. Her experience provides an important perspective as the district examines the quality of learning experiences and continuous improvement practices, beginning with its youngest learners.
A Focus on Continuous Improvement
Throughout the visit, the team will have an opportunity to see USD 446 in action—from the Independence Early Learning Center through Independence High School. Team members will observe classrooms, meet with stakeholder groups, examine evidence, and consider how district practices align with Cognia’s expectations for high-quality educational systems.
The process is intentionally comprehensive. Cognia’s accreditation model examines not only student results but also the conditions that contribute to those results, including culture, leadership, engagement, instructional practices, and systems for monitoring improvement. Cognia describes accreditation as an ongoing improvement process rather than a one-time inspection.
USD 446 enters the review with much to celebrate, including strong school climate, recognition through Kansas State Department of Education Challenge Awards, improving graduation outcomes, and postsecondary success that exceeds predicted performance for schools serving similar student populations. At the same time, district leaders have identified opportunities for continued growth, including strengthening academic interventions and increasing student proficiency.
That combination—celebrating success while honestly examining where improvement is still needed—is at the heart of the accreditation process.
“We are proud of the work happening every day across USD 446, but continuous improvement means we are never finished,” Puderbaugh said. “We look forward to sharing our schools with the Cognia team, learning from their perspective, and using their feedback to help determine our next steps.”
Following the Engagement Review, Cognia will provide the district with feedback identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Under Cognia’s current accreditation model, continuing accreditation is based on the Engagement Review and Cognia Performance Standards, with accreditation recognition ultimately governed by the Cognia Global Commission.
USD 446’s focus on continuous improvement will also include a Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) Check-In on Wednesday with the Kansas State Department of Education. While the Cognia Engagement Review provides an external perspective on the district’s overall quality and improvement efforts, KESA is Kansas’ statewide accreditation and school-improvement process.
The check-in provides an opportunity for district leaders to review USD 446’s improvement work, discuss progress toward district goals, examine evidence of implementation and outcomes, and receive feedback and support from the Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas’ current KESA model pairs school systems with regional KSDE representatives who provide ongoing coaching, accountability, and support throughout the improvement process. USD 446 is part of the state’s East Region.
Jean Rush, KSDE East Regional Executive, will join USD 446 for Wednesday’s KESA Check-In. Rush currently serves as the East Regional Executive with KSDE’s Implementation and Supports team, which oversees KESA and works with Kansas school systems on continuous improvement. She is also the designated KESA regional contact for Independence USD 446.
Rush brings extensive experience in Kansas education to the role. Before joining KSDE, she served as a teacher, building principal, assistant superintendent, district superintendent, and school-improvement specialist at a Kansas service center. After joining KSDE, she worked with the Special Education and Title Services team, primarily supporting Title I Schoolwide programs, before moving into her regional accreditation role.
Her current work focuses on supporting school systems as they move through Kansas’ accreditation and improvement process. Rush has also helped KSDE communicate the state’s school-improvement work more broadly, including appearing on the department’s Insight Podcast to discuss how Kansas schools use instructional practices, standards, and assessment data to strengthen student learning.
The timing of the two visits provides USD 446 with a unique opportunity to consider its improvement efforts through both a national accreditation lens with Cognia and a Kansas-specific lens through KESA. Although the processes are distinct, both emphasize a common principle: meaningful school improvement requires schools to examine evidence, identify needs, implement intentional strategies, monitor their impact, and continually adjust.
As USD 446 welcomes both Cognia and KSDE to Independence this week, the district is proud to continue a relationship with external accreditation that spans more than a century—honoring a long tradition of educational excellence while continuing to ask the most important question: How can we become even better for our students?