Indian Community School (ICS) earned Cognia® Accreditation, with an Index of Educational Quality score of 358, which is significantly above the Cognia IEQ Network Average of 296. This places ICS in the high-performance category, indicating that it meets and exceeds Cognia's accreditation expectations. This nonprofit organization provides quality assurance for schools, districts, and education service providers.
“Accreditation as conferred by the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission provides Indian Community School an internationally recognized mark of quality for our school,” shared Carrie McGhee Gleba, School Administrator. “Earning our Cognia Accreditation affirms our commitment to excellence, our willingness to enact meaningful change based on evaluation and feedback, and our desire to be the best we can be on behalf of the students we serve.”
Cognia recognizes schools worldwide that meet rigorous standards focused on productive learning environments, equitable resource allocation, and effective leadership. To earn Cognia Accreditation, a school must submit to internal and external review. Earning accreditation from the Cognia Global Accreditation Commission means that the school meets Cognia Performance Standards and maintains a commitment to continuous improvement. Schools in good standing can maintain their accreditation for a six-year term.
Dr. Mark A. Elgart, president and CEO of Cognia, stated, “Cognia Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school and its community on the primary goal of ensuring all students can flourish in engaging and equitable learning environments. We commend Indian Community School for meeting high standards and making progress on key indicators that impact student learning.”
Cognia is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). Parents and interested community members can learn more about Cognia Accreditation at cognia.org.
About Cognia
Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping institutions and other education providers grow learners, teachers, and leaders. Cognia offers accreditation and certification, assessment, and improvement services within a continuous-improvement framework. Serving 40,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in more than 90 countries, Cognia brings a global perspective to advancing teaching and learning. Find out more at cognia.org.
About Indian Community School
Indian Community School (ICS) is a private, faith-based intertribal school in Franklin, Wisconsin, serving Native children in K4 through 8th grade. ICS is guided by our mission to nurture the whole child — mind, body, spirit, and emotions — through Indigenous ways of knowing, language, and values. We prepare our students with a strong cultural identity, critical thinking, and academic readiness to live in a good way and to carry forward the wisdom of our ancestors for the benefit of future generations. ICS provides rigorous academics infused with Native languages, traditions, and values, nurturing the whole child — mind, body, spirit, and emotion.
Serving the Indian community of metro Milwaukee for more than 56 years, ICS provides an education grounded in traditional Native spiritual and cultural principles, with the revitalization of Native languages and cultures at its heart. ICS currently teaches four Native languages: Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, and Oneida, and it enrolls students who are members or descendants of American Indian tribes. The revitalization of Native languages and cultures is the heart of the school. All Board Members must also meet this criterion per the school's Bylaws. Carrie McGhee Gleba, a Citizen of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, is the School Administrator. For the 2025-2026 school year, ICS serves 360 students from more than 200 families, representing 44 tribal Nations in Wisconsin and other federally recognized tribes. The school employs over 122 staff members, including 58 instructional staff, 30 of whom are classroom teachers. Learn more at www.ics-edu.org or by calling (414) 525-6100.