(St. Stephens, WY) – After five years of hard work, St. Stephens School recently received news their Index of Education Quality (IEQ) has increased from a “low performing school” rating to a “good school” rating. Taking them from the verge of losing accreditation to the future goal of reaching “great school” status.
“This has been an incredible 5-year journey for our board, leadership, and staff, including parents that devoted their time to making our Tribally Controlled School a better place to learn for our Indigenous students,” St. Stephens Superintendent Franklin No Runner said.
In 2015, weeks after a new administration started at St. Stephens, an AdvancED (now Cognia) Performance Accreditation and Engagement Review happened for their IEQ rating. This review is essentially a schools’ 5-year report card that measures three categories – teaching and learning; leadership capacity; and resource utilization.
In this review, they received an overall score of 174.91 – well below the global average of 282.79. This low score classified them as a “low performing school.” This rating also put them on a 1-year accreditation improvement review or their accreditation would be revoked, according to No Runner.
The administration was able to improve the following year, removing the immediate threat of losing accreditation.
“For the next four years, we worked very hard, with many bumps, push backs, and learning opportunities to become a ‘Turnaround School,'”. No Runner continued. “We have used Transformational Leadership Theory and Framework to improve our learning continuum away from hierarchical leadership. Instead of making excuses we reached out to the best consultants and continued to build capacity as board members, school leaders, teacher leaders, para leaders, and all other departments that help provide and prepare the resources for us to succeed.”
Their 2020 IEQ score recently released is 315.00. Surpassing the average range of schools around the world which is currently 278.34 – 283.33.
Wyoming’s Cognia Regional Director Dr. Daniel Sybrant told No Runner, “You are all to be congratulated for a strong report. I rarely see a 300 plus IEQ score. Please accept my sincere congratulations on your efforts and please pass these congratulations on to your team. Great Job.”
Looking to the future No Runner shared, “In 2025, we hope for St. Stephens to become a learning academy. We want Northern Arapaho students to excel at a higher level because they are learning and growing to become educated citizens and leaders in the State of Wyoming.”