Accreditation

Sorenson’s Ranch School is an RTC, and an Accredited High School located in Central Utah. We serve young people who struggle emotionally, socially, and academically and their families. Sorenson’s Ranch School will soon complete the cycle of Accreditation. This means that later this year we will come to the end of our current Accreditation Certification. This will be renewed for another 6 years. We are proudly Accredited by Cognia Inc. In order to continue our certification for another cycle, we are required to submit an extensive report, detailing the policies and procedures of our school. We must explain how the data and daily operations show that we meet Cognia’s rigorous standards. Cognia has 30 standards of compliance that are presented in four categories. The categories or “Key Characteristics are; 1) Culture of Learning, 2) Leadership for Learning, 3) Engagement of Learning, and 4) Growth in Learning. In order to demonstrate compliance to these standards we have to gather data from our various stakeholders including; Students, Teachers/staff, and Parents/Caregivers. This data must then be analyzed so that necessary changes can be identified and implemented. There is a quote from Cognia that explains how they look at data. “Perception is Reality” This is the reason that we gather data. We want to see the experience of living and going to school at Sorenson’s Ranch School through the eyes of our stakeholders. The data gives us our reality as reported by all those who participate in it. After we gather data, we analyze it in different contexts to see if current procedures are working and acceptable as “Best Practices” or if we need to make changes in policy or procedure to make the experience here more fulfilling and effective for our students. Our goal is to achieve congruence in the elements of the program, which will help our students to make consistent simultaneous progress in Academic, Therapeutic, and other goals which are identified by the treatment team. As a school and as a program, we know that we have much to offer the students that we serve. There are many things that make us unique in this industry. One of the things that allows us to be successful is that we are looking for and willing to make changes when they need to be made. The staff of Sorenson’s Ranch School work hard to fulfill points that are in our Mission and Belief statements. We have been working with students who struggle for many years, and we are good at what we do. Having said that, we are also always looking for ways to create a better experience for our students and their families. The Accreditation process gives us the opportunity to critically look at any gaps between where we are now and where we desire to be as a school and a program. Looking at the data and reviewing our current procedures helps us to move forward with an attitude of continuous improvement.