East Cobb Schools

New Daniell MS principal named; Cobb high schools accredited

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Daniell Middle School in East Cobb will be getting a new principal in the coming school year, and she’s a familiar face to teachers, staff and students.Campbell High School lockdown

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved personnel changes that including promoting Daniell assistant principal Amy Stump to principal, effective July 1.

She will succeed James Rawls, who is leaving after four years to become principal at Cooper Middle School, where he previously had been an assistant principal.

Stump previously had been an assistant principal at Dickerson Middle School.

That is the sixth change of principals at East Cobb schools this spring. Last month, new principals were appointed at Eastvalley, Powers Ferry and Rocky Mount elementary schools.

Two other principals have retired: Dr. Thomas Flugum at Pope High School and Dr. Amanda Richie at Brumby Elementary School, but their successors have not been named.

The 2022-23 school year starts on Aug. 1.

The school board also affirmed the accreditation of the 16 high schools in the Cobb school district by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.

That’s an agency that accredits only high schools in the state, and whose representatives toured Cobb high schools last year as the district was under a special review by Cognia, its main accreditor and which accredits school systems.

Cognia had instructed Cobb schools to make improvements in four areas in its findings that were released last fall, but reversed those findings in March.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told school board members Thursday that the GAC accreditation will not affect its accreditation with Cognia and is simply another layer of accreditation.

While Cobb had considered switching to GAC while the Cognia review was underway, Ragsdale assured board members that there were no plans to do so now. The vote to affirm the GAC accreditation was a unanimous 7-0.

GAC announced it was giving the high schools its highest designation, “accredited with quality.”

GAC was paid $3,000 to perform the accrediting process and will be paid $850 annually to continue accreditation monitoring.

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Cobb schools change crisis alert systems, plan Code Red drills

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Cobb schools changing alert system provider
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale responds to a question about safety issues from school board member Tre’ Hutchins.

Two weeks after a deadly school shooting in Texas, Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that the district has switched to a new crisis alert system provider.

During prepared remarks at a Cobb Board of Education work session, Ragsdale also said each of the district’s 114 school campuses will have at least one unannounced Code Red drill during the 2022-23 school year to test the new system.

He added that the Cobb district is considering recruiting and training retired military, law enforcement, and other agents to serve as armed guards of schools and wants to hire more school psychologists to help students with mental health issues.

AlertPoint, which has been Cobb’s alert system vendor for the last five years, will be replaced by Centigex, which provides alert system technology for the educational sector and other industries.

Installation of the new system began in April and will be in place in all schools by Aug. 1, when the new school year begins in the Cobb district, according to Ragsdale, but he didn’t say why the district was making the change.

In February 2021 all high schools in Cobb were put on a brief Code Red lockdown. After initially saying it was due to a false alarm, the district said the incident was a deliberate cyber attack on the AlertPoint system and called in the Cobb Police Department to help investigate.

Centigex offers something similar to AlertPoint, what is called the CrisisAlert System, which is in place in several other school districts in metro Atlanta for what Ragsdale said is a “first level of security.”

In the Centigex system, teachers and staffers are equipped with wearable badges to report emergencies electronically via the push of a button, and that “instantly” alerts administrators and responders and triggers a lockdown in seconds.

On May 24, an 18-year-old boy in Uvalde, Texas shot his grandmother, then entered Robb Elementary School and fatally shot 19 students and two teachers before he was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer.

Ragsdale called the tragedy an “evil act,” and said that while “there’s no quick fix” and “you cannot ban evil,” the new alert system is part of the Cobb district’s enhanced objectives “to put in place all measures necessary to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Student safety has been, and continues to be, our number one priority.”

He said he could not publicly explain some of the procedures and protocols for security reasons, but told board members the matter could be discussed in executive session.

The district also has updated other safety information as part of its Cobb Shield safety and security program.

AlertPoint was installed in 2017 in several schools and then district-wide the following year. Cobb spent $5.3 million to purchase AlertPoint, and said all teachers and staff had been trained to use it.

But a survey conducted by Watching the Funds Cobb, a citizens group tracking Cobb school district spending, said more than 80 percent of respondents said they didn’t know how to use AlertPoint and hadn’t been trained on it.

When the subject came up at the work session, Ragsdale said that AlertPoint was “fully functioning” although not every staff member had a badge.

Board member Jaha Howard told Ragsdale he wanted to have trust in the new company, and Ragsdale directed him to the Centigex website.

The Centigex CrisisAlert Syterm also is installed in several hundred districts in Florida, which mandated such systems after the Parkland High School shootings left 17 people dead in 2018.

But Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, the largest district in North Carolina, dropped Centigex in 2020 when some features of the system weren’t reliable or working at all.

Ragsdale said after each school’s Code Red drill, district officials will brief school administrators to improve crisis preparedness.

“That does not mean that we will show up and issue a code red without announcing it is a drill,” he said.

The idea of arming teachers, however, is something Ragsdale said he isn’t entertaining: “We’re asking teachers to do too much already.”

At the board’s Thursday night business meeting, several speakers demanding more security measures wore orange shirts saying “We Demand Safer Schools Now!”

Some were not satisfied with what Ragsdale had announced, and called for the district to resume the suspended “No Place for Hate” and other bias training programs, and to do more for students with mental health issues.

One of the speakers, parent Jenny Peterson, said “how can you fix what’s broken if you don’t identify it? Be leaders!”

The Cobb school district said it will be seeking to use money Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, passed by Congress in 2020, to help pay for some of the additional security measures.

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Federal lawsuit filed challenging Cobb school board redistricting

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Cobb school board redistricting town hall
New Cobb school board maps push Post 6 (in turquoise) completely out of East Cobb.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations and individuals have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the redistricting of Cobb Board of Education seats.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta, claims that legislators used race as “a predominant factor” in redrawing the seven school board posts, diluting black and Hispanic voting power in Cobb County.

The suit alleges that the board’s four white members “forged ahead with a secretive map-drawing process to maintain their tenuous majority over the Board’s three Black members.”

But the only defendants named are the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration and director Janine Eveler.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News that Daniel White, the Cobb Elections attorney, was not aware of the lawsuit.

The suit (you can read it here) is asking the court to declare that the redrawn posts 2, 3, and 6 violate the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution and to order an interim redistricting plan for those three seats.

Late last year, the board’s Republican majority approved maps that were later introduced by Cobb Republican lawmakers and that were passed by a GOP-majority Georgia legislature in February.

Those new lines pushed three seats entirely into the South Cobb area, including Post 6, which currently includes the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones.

The new lines, which go into effect in January, cut out the East Cobb area of that post, which solely includes the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area.

Post 2 and Post 4 also are in the South Cobb area, and along with Post 6 have are represented by three black Democrats.

One of them is Charisse Davis, who was elected in 2018 to serve Post 6. She is not seeking re-election this year.

Nor did Jaha Howard of Post 2, who ran in the Democratic primary for Georgia school superintendent last month.

The new maps split East Cobb into two districts: Post 4, held by two-term Republican chairman David Chastain and that includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry clusters; and Post 5, held by Republican vice chairman David Banks, which comprises the Pope, Walton and Wheeler clusters.

Chastain is up for re-election this year and in November will face Democrat Catherine Pozniak.

“Ultimately, the Board and General Assembly enacted a redistricting plan that whitewashed the northern, eastern, and western districts by packing Black and Latinx voters into the Challenged Districts, as a last-ditch effort to limit the power of their emerging political coalition,” read the lawsuit.

“The Plan is a product of the Board’s pattern and practice over the last several years to impose policies that disproportionately and negatively impact students of color and their families.”

SPLC Cobb BOE maps

The lawsuit also catalogues a number of conflicts on the Cobb school board along racial lines over the last three years, and concerns from black legislators about the redistricting proposals that they may violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

“As shown in the maps [above] which reflect Black and Latinx voting age population figures by voting district utilizing 2020 census data, the majority of Cobb County’s Black and Latinx communities live in the southern half of the County, while most of the County’s white population lives in the north,” according to the lawsuit.

Other plaintiffs include the Galeo Latino Community Development Fund, the New Georgia Project Fund, the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb and some Cobb school parents in those three posts.

Other legal groups involved in filing the suit include the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the ACLU Foundation of Georgia and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.

This story will be updated.

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Mt. Zion UMC offering diversity scholarships for East Cobb students

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Mt Zion United Methodist Church

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in East Cobb is offering diversity scholarships to students in the area as part of its Life Skills Outreach Ministry.

It’s an extension of the church’s racial unification (RU) team that was formed in 2021, “to raise awareness of the issues facing historically marginalized populations.”

This year, the ministry “wishes to demonstrate the compassion that will benefit deserving students from our community.”

The ministry’s mission statement is that “We truly love others, recognizing our differences. We will listen intently, learn what others need, lament when others suffer or struggle, and leverage our gifts to help everyone, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Five college scholarships of $1,000 each will be distributed for the upcoming school year, and applications will be received through June 15.

They are merit-based scholarships for students in the East Cobb area, including the Sprayberry, Wheeler, Lassiter, Pope, Kell and Walton high school attendance zones.

Students receiving the scholarships must be enrolled in an institution of higher education for the 2022-23 academic year.

The RU team will review the applications and announce the recipients by Aug. 15. The RU team also will provide one-on-one mentorship for the scholarship recipients for life skills, character development and spiritual growth.

For more information and to apply, click here.

 

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Cobb school district to hold job fair for staff support positions

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The Cobb County School District is hiring for support staff positions for the 2022-23 school year and it holding a job fair next week for applicants.Campbell High School lockdown

The job fair will take place next Thursday, June 9. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy, 114 Windy Hill Road.

Positions to be filled include bus drivers, food and nutrition workers, school nurses, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, custodians and and more. Hiring supervisors will be available to talk to candidates one-on-one.

Candidates may apply online by completing a Cobb Schools job application in advance. Cobb school district staffers will be at the fair to assist those who cannot apply before the hiring event.

Registration for the job fair can be completed by clicking here. Admission is free.

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National Merit Scholarship winners include Pope, Sprayberry students

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This spring we’ve noted that a number of Walton and Wheeler students have been named recipients of National Merit Scholarships.East Cobb National Merit Scholarship Program

They’re included in the latest batch of winners announced on Wednesday, recipients of scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 provided by the university of their choice.

Two others are from Pope and Sprayberry high schools, as part of a group of eight students from the Cobb County School District and 18 overall.

Nearly 7,500 high school seniors will receive National Merit Scholarships for undergraduate college worth nearly $28 million.

Applicants took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as an initial screening, followed by the naming of more than 16,000 as semifinalists, chosen on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.

They were the highest-scoring program entrants in their state. Those reaching the finalist stage fulfilled additional requirements, including an essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions.

They also had to display a superior academic record, be endorsed and recommendec by their high schools and earn an ACT or SAT score to confirm their qualifying test performance.

A final round of NMS recipients will be announced in July.

Madeleine M. Stewart, Pope High School
Probable career field: Wildlife Conservation
National Merit University of Tennessee Scholarship

Bradley Scott, Sprayberry High School
Probable career field: Real Estate Development
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

Fevin Felix, Walton High School
Probable career field: Computer Science
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

Ryann A. Jacobson, Walton High School
Probable career field: Theater
National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship

Sungwon Kim, Walton High School
Probable career field: Dentistry
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

Carson D. Felton, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Chemical Engineering
National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship

William P. Jewel, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Biology
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

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Rocky Mount, Tritt students receive Kiwanis ‘Silver Pen’ awards

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Kiwanis Golden K Silver Pen Awards 2022
L to R: Dr. Sage Doolittle, Assistant Principal, Rocky Mount ES; Dianna Simmons, Preston’s teacher; Pamela Lagason, mom; Preston Lagason, Silver Pen Award winner; Henry Raper, dad; Jim Perry, Past President Golden K Kiwanis; Peggy Fleming, principal.

Fourth grade students from Rocky Mount, Tritt and Acworth elementary schools have been named recipients of the Silver Pen Award of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K.

The students are Preston Lagason of Rocky Mount, Ainsley Rowe of Tritt and Olivia James of Acworth.

Students were asked to write about how COVID-19 affected them, their families, their school and their relationships.

“We were pleasantly surprised at the level of engagement and the quality of the writing the subject stimulated,” the Golden K noted.

“We heard over and over from faculty and administration how engaged the kids were and how much thought and effort they put into these writing assignments. Kiwanis got kudos for inviting the kids to work through some of their feelings and experiences. In one school, the paper was so good that the Assistant Principal copied it and distributed it to all teachers.

“The kids obviously went through far more than even we were hearing about on news broadcasts. And it changed who they were. But the surprise to us was that they came through COVID with hope and determination. They caught the light at the end of the tunnel, as we were all still complaining about how dark the tunnel was. Our kids are resilient, and they have shown it in our post-COVID interactions with them and the comments they incorporated in their Silver Pen assignments.”

Here are excerpts from some of the responses:

“Wearing a mask was a tremendous change for me, because when I wear a mask, I get sores on my nose and those really hurt.”

“The aggressive protests during COVID made me scared that things were really getting out of control. This added to my levels of concern with my mental health and increased my fear, anxiety, and depression.”

“I was not allowed to see friends or even family members that lived out of state. My Grandma got real sick and died and none of the family was allowed to be with her. I was so lonely being isolated from family and friends. I can’t imagine how lonely that was for her.”

“I had countless times of pain, suffering, struggles, trouble, and sorrow. I could not eat. It was hard to get through the day.”

“COVID ruined a lot of stuff for me, my family, my friends, and my school. COVID was an awful virus. No one liked it, and I hope it never returns.”

“The skills I learned in the middle of the pandemic were a much-needed boost to my outdated self. Tons of computer programs gave me the skills I have today.”

“I decided it was not the end, so I didn’t give up. I pressed on, even through times of mass pain. It was my only hope. I decided to make a comeback – to strike from the shadows, and to truly press on. I eventually came out victorious and was able to get back to living my life.”

“COVID 19 has made an enormous impact on my everyday life because I would not be who I am today, and would not know what it would feel like to have something crazy be going on like this. I am so glad that my family and I were okay.”

Noted the Golden K in summary:

“Our kids hurt deeply, but they bounced back, too, not to where they were but to a new way of doing life. From what we heard, most of them are doing that fairly well, perhaps better than we are.”

The Silver Pen presentations also were posted on YouTube and can be watched by clicking here.

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Inspiring Cobb seniors include Lassiter, Walton, Wheeler students

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Tadiwa Zinyongo, inspiring Cobb senior

Tadiwa Zinyongo was the last member of Walton High School’s large graduating class to receive his diploma Wednesday during commencement exercises.

As shouts of joy rank out from this year’s seniors at the KSU Convocation Center, Zinyongo shook his head a little, smiling.

Like many of his Walton classmates, he graduated with honors. But beyond the world of academics, Zinyongo stood out in many ways during his high school career.

Tadiwa Zinyongo, Walton HS
Tadiwa Zinyongo, Walton HS

He’s among the “inspiring seniors” chosen by the Cobb County School District from a number of high schools, whose graduations concluded on Friday.

They were chosen not only for their success in the classroom and in extracurricular and community activities, but also in how they perservered and helped impact other students.

Zinyongo, who will be attending Boston University as a Posse Foundation Scholar, has been vigorously involved in campus activities at Walton.

He was a member of the Raiders track and field team, the Walton Robotics Club and was president of the Walton Debate Club.

As a junior, Zinyongo honed his debate skills by taking part in debate tournaments in the Harvard Diversity Program. When he returned, he developed a debate curriculum and led outreach to other high school debate clubs.

But in the community, he has been just as busy, co-founding a non-profit called The Fight for Freedom, which raises money and awareness for sex trafficking and advocates for increased funding and services for sex traffic survivors.

Andrea Garzon Pena, Lassiter HS
Andrea Garzon Pena, Lassiter HS

Andrea Garzon Pena moved from her Venezuela in 2017 and attended Palmer Middle School and Mabry Middle School as she and her brother lived with a family friend until their mother arrived.

After starting at Lassiter High School, some stability arrived, and she eased into a number of academic and athletic pursuits.

“She has always worked hard and challenged herself in the classroom by taking upper-level Honors and Advanced Placement courses,” Lassiter counselor Liz Clarke said.

An honors graduate, Pena played varsity volleyball and was involved in chorus, the Step Team and Project HOPE. She will be attending Wingate University on a full-ride scholarship.

While he was in the 8th grade, Amblessed Nzenwata moved with his family to the United States from Nigeria, and suffered a loss in the family due to an airplane crash.

Amblessed Nzenwata, Wheeler HS
Amblessed Nzenwata, Wheeler HS

He was motivated to become an aeronautical engineer as a result, and as a student in the AVID program at Wheeler High School (previous post here) he received the support to excel in his studies.

Nzenwata took many AP and Honors classes at Wheeler, played three varsity sports, held down a part-time job and was on the co-ed cheer team with his twin sister Blossom.

They were named Wheeler’s homecoming king and queen. More than 40 colleges have offered him acceptance.

The Cobb school district said this week, as graduations ended, that its Class of 2022 of more than 8,000 students earned more than $106 million in scholarships.

More than 78 percent of graduates will be attending college, and combined the senior class logged more than 100,000 in community service hours.

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Cobb schools announce 2022 valedictorians and salutatorians

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Cobb Vals and Sals 2022
From L-R valedictorians Kunling Tong (Walton), Mark Wellman (Lassiter) and Keegan Ryan (Sprayberry)

The Cobb County School District on Tuesday announced the Class of 2022 valedictorians and salutatorians, and students from East Cobb schools had some of the highest grade-point averages in the county.

Overall, the valedictorians in the Cobb school district combined for an average GPA of about 4.7, with salutatorians just short of that threshold.

Six seniors in Cobb schools had grade-point averages above 4.8. Two of them are from Walton, valedictorian Kunling Tong (her 4.883 is tops in the county) and salutatorian Daniel Liu (4.867).

Wheeler valedictorian Maxwell Jiang has a GPA of 4.803, and the other three are from Campbell High School.

What follows are the vals and sals from the six East Cobb high schools, their grade-point averages, college choices and intended majors.

Seven of the vals and sals from East Cobb are headed to Georgia Tech, with two bound for Princeton and one each headed to UGA, Duke and Cal Tech.

Sprayberry valedictorian Keegan Ryan will be enrolling in Columbia University in a dual bachelor’s degree program with Trinity College of Dublin, Ireland. She will be studying classics, ancient history and archeology.

Kell High School
Valedictorian —Emmanuela Omole, 4.734, Princeton University, economics and international affairs.
Salutatorian—Cooper Gates, 4.656, Georgia Tech, neuroscience

Lassiter High School
Valedictorian—Mark Wellman, 4.76, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Anna Patel, 4.754, Georgia Tech, neuroscience

Pope High School
Valedictorian—Harshita Khazanchi, 4.778, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Keira Cullinan, 4.768, University of Georgia, bioengineering and business

Sprayberry High School
Valedictorian—Keegan Ryan, 4.75, Columbia University and Trinity College Dublin, classics and ancient history and archeology
Salutatorian—Jeremy Thomas, 4.708, Georgia Tech, biomedical engineering

Walton High School
Valedictorian—Kunling Tong, 4.883, Duke University, pre-med
Salutatorian—Daniel Liu, 4.867, Princeton University, economics

Wheeler High School
Valedictorian—Maxwell Jiang, 4.803, Georgia Tech, undecided
Salutatorian—Sujit Iyer, 4.791, Cal Tech, undecided

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2022 graduation dates, times and more for East Cobb high schools

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Lassiter graduation, Cobb schools 2020 graduation schedule

A week-long schedule of commencement exercises for the Cobb County School District gets underway on Monday, with most schools once again holding their graduations at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center.

All six high schools in the East Cobb area will be having graduation ceremonies there, as most schools did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the last two years, graduation took place outdoors at McEachern High School.

But with the return to KSU, the Cobb school district also is reverting back to some of its previous features.

Those include live-streaming of all graduation ceremonies at this link. DVDs of graduation events also can be ordered and purchased at this link; the cost is $30 for the DVD and for shpping.

The Cobb Horizon School will the first graduation ceremony, with Kell High School the first traditional high school to graduate its Class of 2022:

  • Monday, May 23: Kell High School, 7:30 p.m., KSU
  • Wednesday, May 25: Lassiter High School, 3:30 p.m., KSU
  • Wednesday, May 25: Wheeler High School, 7:30 p.m., KSU
  • Thursday, May 26: Walton High School, 10 a.m., KSU
  • Thursday, May 26: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m., KSU
  • Friday, May 27: Pope High School, 2:30 p.m., KSU

The Cobb County School District and KSU also have issued the following information about security and parking for graduation events.

There will be metal detector screenings for all persons entering the Convocation Center, and all bags must be clear totes or small clutch bags.

Graduates will report to the Siegel Recreation Center for line-ups, which will take place on the basketball courts.

That’s a change from previous commencements at KSU, but there no changes for parking locations.

You can find more graduation information by clicking here.

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Eastvalley, Powers Ferry, Rocky Mount ES get new principals

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Three more elementary schools in East Cobb will have new principals for the 2022-23 school year.Elayna Wilson, Powers Ferry Elementary School

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved the appointment of new principals for Eastvalley, Powers Ferry and Rocky Mount schools, among numerous personnel changes.

The new Eastvalley principal will be Dr. Whitney Spooner, who has been an assistant principal at Sope Creek Elementary School. She is replacing Kendall Foster, who has been named principal at Norton Park Elementary School.

Lindley Middle School principal Elayna Wilson has been named the new principal at Powers Ferry Elementary School, succeeding Patrice Jones.

Rocky Mount Elementary School principal Peggy Fleming is retiring, and the district has named Dr. Cheri Vaniman, an assistant principal at Nicholson Elementary School, to succeed her.

All three of those appointments will take effect July 1, when the Cobb County School District’s academic and fiscal year begins.

The retirement of longtime Brumby Elementary School Dr. Amanda Richie was made in April, but her successor has not been appointed.

The Cobb school board also made other personnel announcements, including the following at schools in East Cobb:

  • Stephen Joel Atchison, assistant principal, Murdock Elementary School, resignation;
  • Bradley Cohen, assistant principal at Bells Ferry Elementary School, reassigned to assistant principal, Addison Elementary School;
  • Jamie Davies, assistant principal, Mt. Bethel Elementary School, resignation;
  • Ashley Ford, assistant principal at Smyrna Elementary School, reassigned to assistant principal, Mt. Bethel Elementary School;
  • Courtney Kelly, assistant principal, Big Shanty Elementary School, reassigned to assistant principal, Nicholson Elementary School;
  • Elizabeth Marsili, assistant principal, Bells Ferry Elementary School, reassigned to assistant principal, Kennesaw Elementary School;
  • Tresa Snow, Coordinator, South Cobb Early Learning Center, reassigned to assistant principal, Sope Creek Elementary School;
  • Carrie Lowery, Technology Training Integration Specialist, Chief Technology Division, appointed to assistant principal, Dodgen Middle School;
  • Dr. Kacie Phipps, assistant principal, Griffin Middle School, reassigned to assistant principal, East Cobb Middle School;
  • Bradley Adkins, teacher, Sprayberry High School, appointed to assistant principal, McEachern High School;
  • Jeffrey Burch, Athletic Director/Administrative Assistant, Centennial High School, Roswell, to become assistant principal, Kell High School.

The board also voted to approve additional one-year contracts to the members of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s cabinet. They’re the various department heads, and after a motion was made to accept them all together, board member Jaha Howard made a substituted motion.

He wanted the contract of John Floresta, chief strategy and accountability officer, to be considered separately.

That office is responsible for accountability, research and grants, communications and events and venue management.

Howard did not say why he was making his motion, and it failed.

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Cobb school board approves FY 23 budget, Wheeler renovations

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The Cobb Board of Education unanimously adopted a fiscal year 2023 budget on Thursday that will provide what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said is the biggest salary increase in the history of the Cobb County School District.Cobb County School District, Cobb schools dual enrollment summit

The record $1.4 billion budget, which takes effect July 1, includes pay hikes between 8.5 and 13.10 percent for non-temporary employees.

The raises were included as the Cobb tax digest is expected to grow by more than 10 percent in 2022, and follows $2,000 bonuses for teachers that were approved by the Georgia legislature.

“This is something every team member does not take lightly,” Ragsdale told board members after the vote, expressing his appreciation on behalf of the district’s more than 18,000 employees.

The district will use $29.5 million in budget contingency to fund the budget, roughly half of which is funded by the state through the Quality Basic Education Act.

More budget information can be found by clicking here.

The board also passed, by a 7-0 vote, a measure for the district to hire an architect for classroom renovations at Wheeler High School.

The district will spend $309,111 for Gardner Spencer Smith Tench & Jarbeau of Atlanta to conduct architectural design to upgrade STEM and CTAE classrooms and make other modifications, including upgrading elevated walkways between buildings and converting tennis courts.

Board member Jaha Howard asked Marc Smith, the district’s chief technology and operations officer, if the scope of the work included changing the name of Wheeler—”a Confederate general.”

Board chairman David Chastain said “that’s not part of the agenda item.”

Howard is one of three Democrats on the board who has tried to press for consideration of the Wheeler name change, but they haven’t had the votes to get the matter placed on a board agenda.

A first-term member from Post 2 in Smyrna, Howard is not seeking re-election this year. He is among the Democratic candidates for Georgia School Superintendent who will be on the primary ballot next Tuesday.

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Cobb school board scheduled to adopt fiscal year 2023 budget

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The Cobb Board of Education is scheduled to adopt a fiscal year 2023 budget of $1.4 billion at its monthly voting session Thursday night.Campbell High School lockdown

The budget proposal includes what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said is a record salary increase for for full-time, non-temporary employees, ranging from between 8.5 percent and 13.1 percent.

A public hearing on the budget took place last month, and the board adopted a tentative budget.

Another public hearing is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, followed by the voting session at 7 p.m.

The board will hold a work session starting at 2 p.m., followed by an executive session.

Agendas for the board work session and business meeting can be found here. The meetings also will be live-streamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

Public comment periods will take place at the start of each meeting; speakers must sign up in advance by clicking here.

The Cobb tax assessor is projecting that the county’s tax digest will grow by more than 10 percent in 2022.

Roughly half of the Cobb school district’s budget comes from local property taxes, and the state provides most of the rest through the Quality Basic Education Act.

The budget documents have been posted on the district’s website at this link. The 2022-23 budget takes effect on July 1.

The board also will be asked to approve the hiring of an architect to make renovations at Wheeler High School.

The work will include conversion of traditional classrooms for STEM instruction, and upgrades at the Wheeler STEM magnet building.

The district is recommending the Atlanta firm of Gardner Spencer Smith Tench & Jarbeau at a cost of $309,116, which is 5 percent of the construction contract.

That item will be presented at the work session and scheduled for a vote in the evening.

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Preliminary work underway for Walton HS athletics complex

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Walton athletic complex construction begins

Construction fencing has gone up around the new Walton High School athletic complex, and some basic excavating and groundwork is getting underway.

When the Cobb Board of Education approved the $6.738 million contract in March, a rendering wasn’t available.

A Walton student who’s interested in an architecture career got in touch with us to find out more, then passed along the above architectural plans that he found on the school website.

The complex will be the new home for Raiders’ baseball and tennis teams. Access will be on Providence Road for tennis (at the left of the rendering, and Pine Road for baseball (at the bottom), with about 80 parking spaces.

The Cobb school board spent $5.65 million to acquire property for the complex, which was planned after several sports teams were relocated due the construction of the new Walton classroom building that opened in 2017.

The Walton softball and tennis teams have been playing home competitions at Terrell Mill Park since 2014.

The softball team has since moved back to the former site of the baseball team, which is playing home games this season at the East Cobb Baseball complex near Kell High School.

Construction of the Walton sports complex is expected to be completed by December.

Walton athletic complex construction begins

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4 East Cobb students earn $2.5K National Merit Scholarships

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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has awarded $2,500 scholarships to students nationwide, including four from high schools in East Cobb. East Cobb National Merit Scholarship Program

According to a press release, the recipients are “finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.”

It’s the second of four rounds of scholarship announcements for the Class of 2022, and the funding comes from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s own funds.

Future recipients will be announced in June.

The $2,500 scholarship recipients from East Cobb schools are as follows:

  • Chinmay P. Joshi, Walton High School—Probable career field: Medicine
  • Aadi Katta, Walton High School—Probable career field: Computer Science
  • Satya S. Tetali, Wheeler High School—Probable career field: Biochemistry
  • Oluwaseminire A. Oloyede, Pope High School—Probable career field: Medicine

For more information on the National Merit Scholarship program, click here.

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U.S. News ranks 6 East Cobb high schools among nation’s best

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Lassiter High School graduation rate

All six high schools in the East Cobb area have been ranked among the top 40 percent nationally by U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual Best High Schools marks last week.

The Cobb County School District said in a release that 13 of its high schools are in the top 40 percent of more than 18,000 schools nationwide.

Walton High School is ranked No. 2 in metro Atlanta, No. 4 in Georgia and No. 174 in the country.

Lassiter High School comes in at No. 7 in metro Atlanta and No. 10 in the state, while Pope is No. 16 in metro Atlanta and No. 20 in Georgia.

Wheeler High School is ranked No. 34 in metro Atlanta and No. 42 in Georgia, while Sprayberry is at No. 57 in Metro Atlanta and No. 69 in Georgia.

Kell High School is ranked No. 61 in metro Atlanta and No. 75 in Georgia.

The rankings were developed based on graduation rates, test scores and college readiness metrics, among other factors.

All 16 of Cobb’s traditional high schools were recently named AP Honor Schools by the Georgia Department of Education.

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13 Wheeler HS students earn scholarships in AVID program

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Wheeler HS AVID students earn scholarships
Wheeler AVID students explain their success to members of the Rotary Club of East Cobb.

The Advancement Via Individual Determination or (AVID) program was started at Wheeler High School in 2017 by the Rotary Club of East Cobb to assist students who are from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education and/or may become the first members of their families to attend college.

The Cobb County School District announced this week that 13 Wheeler seniors in the current AVID program have been accepted to college and have received more than $5 million in scholarship offers.

In addition to rigorous coursework, AVID students also receive additional academic, social, and emotional support as they prepare for college.

“One of the AVID seniors earned millions in scholarships and another more than $350,000 in scholarships. Two other AVID graduates totaled up $40,000 and $37,000 in scholarship offers,” the district announced in press release.

“After graduating from Wheeler, the AVID students plan to major in sports medicine, political science, biology, forensic science, psychology, chemistry, international business, and more. One is set on being a pediatric surgeon, while another aims for law school.”

The students recently met with Rotary Club members, who have donated more than $60,000 since the program started.

“We all migrated from Nigeria to the U.S. to chase the American dream, student Amblessed said. “It’s a lot of pressure because we traveled all this way, but we have to succeed. I was under a lot of stress.”

AVID teacher Rachel Lewis told the Rotarians that “you are singlehandedly providing them with an opportunity they would not have otherwise had, and I thank you for that.”

AVID began with two students, and reached 90 this year. The district said 67 rising freshmen have already applied to be part of the program in the fall.

“I’m really grateful for every single person and the [Wheeler] program and teaching staff, everyone and all the people that have supported us,” Wheeler senior Ayomide said. “It’s been some of the greatest years of my life.”

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Kell HS student earns $30K ‘For Atlanta’ college scholarship

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Kell HS earns For Atlanta scholarship
Kell High School senior Kaelynn Kelly, left, meets singer-songwriter Clairo after an Atlanta concert.

Kaelynn Kelly, a senior at Kell High School, has been awarded a $30,000 college scholarship from the singer-songwriter Clairo.

The base of the “For Atlanta” scholarship was $20,000, and the entertainer added an additional $10,000 with proceeds from merchandise sales at some of her Atlanta performances.

The scholarship was launched with bold.org, which works to reduce student debt, and is open to high school and undergraduate college students from the Atlanta area.

Scholarship applicants were to explain how they’ve overcome obstacles and how Clairo’s music inspired them.

Kelly, who has a twin sister and was was born with cerebral palsy, wrote an essay about her childhood and the physical therapy she still receives, as well as the ankle foot orthosis that she wore for several years:

“Clairo’s song Alewife reminds me and my sister’s relationship. Arelynn was and still is my anchor. In the lyrics, ‘I met you by surprise. You were hangin’ out all the time. But you know you saved me from doin’ something to myself that night.’ It makes me ponder the thought that Arelynn and I were not supposed to be twins and it was a surprise.”

Kelly also was treated to a Clairo concert in Atlanta and back stage visit (photo above).

After graduating from Kell, Kelly is planning to attend Kennesaw State University and study cyber security.

She concluded her essay by saying that physical therapy “is something I will have to do for the rest of my life, and I am okay with that. My cerebral palsy is extremely meaningful to me because it is a part of who I am. My parents helped me understand my potential and assisted me in finding the strength to prove to myself that I am more than just my disorder.”

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McCleskey MS holds international night with food, culture and more

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McCleskey MS International Night

Photos and information submitted by the Cobb County School District:

The food and cultural traditions of nearly 20 countries were on display recently at McCleskey Middle School, which held an International Night.

Attendees sampled the cuisines from Germany, Slovenia, Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Panama, Denmark, England, Jordan, Iran, and other nations.

Music, dance and other cultural traditions were highlighted during the festivities.

McCleskey paraprofessional Doug Hale said that “obviously, it shows everybody here that you are welcome here, that you mean something, that you matter. You might be the only Ecuadorian here, but it matters to us.”

English and Language Arts teacher April Staropoli said that “I also think it builds community. People come together, and it builds community.”

McCleskey MS International Night

McCleskey MS International Night

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Walton, Wheeler students receive National Merit scholarships

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Two students each from Walton and Wheeler high schools in East Cobb have been named recipients of corporate-sponsored scholarships by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.East Cobb National Merit Scholarship Program

The scholarships are provided by corporate organizations from a variety of industries and are awarded to the children of their employees or who are students who live in communities the companies serve or are planning to pursue college majors the sponsor encourages, according to an NMS release.

The specifics of each scholarship were not announced, but typically range between $1,000 and $10,000 for four years of undergraduate study. Recipients can use the funds at the college of their choice.

Neerav Ravirala of Walton, whose probable career field is molecular biology, was named the recipient of a Walgreen Co. scholarship.

Another Walton student, Franklin Zhao, has been awarded a Siemens scholarship with the intent of studying physics.

Pranav R. Devarinti of Wheeler is interested in the computer science field and is a recipient of an ADP Henry Taub Memorial Scholarship.

Also from Wheeler is Kyle Hampton, who will receive a General Dynamics Corp. scholarship with a probable career field in industrial design.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation said the recipients were chosen after filling out an extensive application, presenting academic testing results, providing information about extracurricular and community activities and writing an essay.

More recipients will be announced later this spring, with an estimated 7,500 students receiving more than $28 million in scholarship aid.

The National Merit Scholarship program is in its 67th year. For more information click here.

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