Pope John Preschool Receives National Accreditation

The Pope John Preschool program is also nationally accredited by Cognia Early Learning.

(Madison, IN) - Pope John Preschool announced that it has received the highest quality rating through the state of Indiana’s Paths to Quality rating. Paths to Quality is Indiana’s statewide quality rating and improvement system for early care and education. It consists of four levels, with each level building on the foundation of the previous one. Providers start at Level 1 and work their way up to the highest level, Level 4, for national accreditation. Pope John received a 4.

The Pope John Preschool program is also nationally accredited by Cognia Early Learning, an accreditation it has held since 2018.

“To say that I am proud of the preschool program Pope John has is putting it mildly,” said Bethany Fewell, Pope John’s principal and preschool administrator. “We have a preschool staff that works hard to ensure that students are cared for and are learning at the highest level. It is incredible to watch the growth of our preschool students in a year.”

Pope John Preschool has been led under the direction of Ms. Patti Welsh for more than 30 years. Even though Ms. Patti retired last year, the foundation that she laid forth for the preschool has helped make it what it is today. “We attribute a lot of the success that our preschool has had to Ms. Patti and the work she did with the preschool staff to make it a student-first environment devoted to our young learners and their families,” said Mrs. Fewell. “Our current preschool staff have learned from her, and she has left a legacy that we want to continue to honor.”

Pope John Preschool has started the registration process for the 2025-2026 school year. Anyone interested in learning more or taking a tour can call the school’s office at 812.273.3957.