Updating our story last week about Soren Tucker, a transgender student at Pope High School who wanted his preferred name announced at Wednesday’s graduation:
His wish was granted.
Lily Smith, a fellow Pope senior who started an online petition that has gathered more than 21,000 signatures, announced that the Cobb County School District had agreed to the request.
“It is unclear if there will be changes that affect the future and county policies, but we won this victory!” Smith wrote on Tuesday.
Tucker, who has identified as male for the last two years, will still have his legal female birth name on his diploma, as is the protocol for the Cobb County School District.
A Cobb County School District spokeswoman said Wednesday, shortly before the commencement ceremony, that Pope principal Thomas Flugum met with Tucker and his family for the first time on Tuesday.
“They had a great conversation and the student and parent’s preferences were taken into account during Pope’s graduation ceremony,” the spokeswoman said. “While official school business requires the use of a student’s legal name, all of our schools take student and family preference into account during informal school activities.”
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The attorney for Cobb school parents fighting the Cobb County School District’s mask mandate said Wednesday they’re dropping their lawsuit.
Rob Madayag
Rod Madayag told East Cobb News he’s filed a notice to dismiss a federal lawsuit because “the school district indicated that it was going to be mask optional next year, which is all our clients wanted in the first place.”
The dismissal notice comes three weeks after a federal judge denied the suing parents their request for a temporary restraining order to end the mandate during the Cobb school district academic year that concluded Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the district said it was relaxing its mask mandate for the “fully vaccinated” and announced that “we fully expect to start the 2021-2022 school year with masks as optional.”
Five parents filed a lawsuit in April in Cobb Superior Court, but it was remanded to federal court (you can read that notice and the suit by clicking here).
In their suit, the parents claimed the Cobb school district’s mask mandate—which applied to students, teachers and other staff—has effectively created two “separate, but unequal” learning environments, one in-person, and one virtual.
In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that the district’s contract tracing procedures violate students’ right to privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as well as the equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
They also claimed CDC guidance for students wasn’t based on scientific data showing mask-wearing is safe for them because there isn’t any.
“People are surprised to learn that there are zero studies cited or conducted by the CDC that show that it is safe for a child to wear a mask for 8 hours a day, every day,” Madayag said.
“It is a shame that people were so flippant about putting kids in masks for 8 hours without making sure it was safe. What kind of message does that send to our kids?”
Some of the plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that their children have suffered from constricted breathing, including a Walton High School student with ADHD.
Madayag said he will be working with parents to press for state legislation to prohibit policies along those lines in the future.
Gov. Brian Kemp also is expected to sign an executive order prohibiting local school districts from imposing mask mandates when the 2021-22 school year begins. The order would not prohibit staff and students from wearing masks if they choose.
A Cobb school district spokeswoman told East Cobb News there are no further updates for now on a final decision about masks for the next school year, which begins Aug. 2.
As for the lawsuit, she said in a statement that “when this lawsuit began, we said we looked forward to the facts of this case being argued in court, not social or traditional media. As the case being dropped shows, our comments from one year ago are as true as they are today.”
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Cobb Schools has traditionally made several summer learning options available to students and parents through its Summer Link program. While Link is still available, the Cobb Academic Department has also been busily working behind the scenes to bring many other programs to life in 2021.
Learning gaps have become a national concern during the COVID pandemic. Many students have not been able to get the attention and help they need while learning online. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unique,” said Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Lawson recently in a presentation to the Board of Education. “This means there are no historical events which directly parallel it, and the research indicators we would use to guide our response to it are limited.”
The Student Learning and Recovery Plan is Cobb’s answer to helping fill these learning gaps. Consisting of many different programs based on individual needs and grade level, the Learning and Recovery Plan is designed to help both students and parents utilize a portion of their summer break to get caught up in various areas.
Our district also offers the Cobb Course Refresher, which allows high school students to gain a greater comfort level with certain course content. The Cobb Course Refresher allows students to review course lessons online. This includes content for courses taken in 2020-2021 or for classes they will take during the 2021-2022 school year.
While every school has its own academic response and will vary, the District has created five major areas for local schools to implement and make available to its learning community. Up-to-date information on District summer programs can always be found on the Summer Programs page of the District website.
In addition to traditional summer school for high schoolers to make up missing credits, Cobb continues to offer its Virtual Academy (CVA) as an option over the summer. CVA and the Summer Link programs are open to Cobb’s Middle and Elementary students.
Cobb is also offering several programs by “Invite Only,” such as the Summer Enrichment Academy (for certain Elementary-aged students) and the Summer Learning Quest (for certain Middle and High School students) which are both making their debut this year.
Parents should consult their local schools’ website and newsletter for more specific information and schedules. For example, Riverside Elementary is offering “Building Bridges for Success” over the summer, which includes reading, writing, and math, as well as hands-on activities like photography, art, and robotics.
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After a rigorous 48-hour online competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF), three Wheeler High School students were named Scholars in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC). Jenna Bond, Archishma Goli, and Christina Nikolova were among the top 540 highest scoring students who met the eligibility criteria for a $2,500 Scholarship to a U.S. college of their choice.
A fourth Wheeler student, Natalie Ajemian, was named a finalist in the competition. The Cobb students are all members of Wheeler’s Girls In Cyber Security Club, which is sponsored by teacher Jennifer Callison-Bliss.
In recognition of their achievement, all four Wheeler students earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy –a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification –valued at more than $3,000.
The Wheeler students competed against 5,000 high school students in a cybersecurity competition designed to challenge its participants to solve computer security problems and/or capture and defend computer systems. Only 10% percent of the 50,000 students nationwide who sought to qualify for the NCSC met the requirements.
“The National Cyber Scholarship Competition recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity prowess and who wish to pursue a career in a growing field in critical need of their talent,” noted David Brown, executive director, National Cyber Scholarship Foundation. “The NCSF mission is to identify and develop the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.”
There are several qualification pathways for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, including CyberStart America, a free online program that helps students discover their interest in cybersecurity and develop their talent and skills. The NCSC offers 600 college scholarships to top-ranking competitors. Additionally, National Cyber Scholars, along with competition 1,000 finalists, are invited to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy. To learn more, visit: National Cyber Scholarship Foundation.
The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) is a national nonprofit whose mission is to identify, nurture and empower the next generation of cybersecurity experts; and eliminate the cybersecurity skills gap in the United States. NCSF aims to support the entry of thousands of talented students into the cybersecurity industry by providing enrichment opportunities, world-class training, and scholarships to fund the degree-level study.
CyberStart America is a free national program for high school students, aiming to uncover hidden cyber talents and to identify and develop the next generation of cyber superstars. CyberStart’s immersive gamified learning platform can take students from zero cybersecurity knowledge to possessing the skills necessary to compete in a national-level Capture the Flag challenge in a matter of weeks. Students new to the field with a strong aptitude and students with an existing interest in the field can use the platform to train and qualify for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, allowing them to compete for life-changing college scholarship opportunities.
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The Cobb County School District on Tuesday announced the Class of 2021 valedictorians and salutatorians, and students from East Cobb schools had some of the highest grade-point averages in the county.
Overall, graduating seniors in the Cobb school district combined for an average GPA of about 4.7. Cobb salutatorians are very close with a 4.63 average.
Three valedictorians and one salutatorian from Cobb high schools posted GPAs higher than 4.8. In total, 12 valedictorians and nine salutatorians earned GPAs above 4.7.
Madeleine Maurer of Pope High School tallied a GPA of 4.845, second-highest in Cobb, and will be attending the University of Pennsylvania.
Mehul Kalia, Wheeler High School
Not far behind her is Mehul Kalia of Wheeler High School, who has a GPA of 4.797. He’s headed to Georgia Tech to study computer science
All graduations are taking place this year at Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School over the next two weeks. Dates and times for the East Cobb schools are listed below with their vals and sals:
Kell (Wednesday, June 2, 7 p.m) Valedictorian —Alaina Westee, 4.563, Kennesaw State, biochemistry Salutatorian—Riley McClure, 4.484, U of Georgia, psychology
Lassiter (Tuesday, May 25, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Gloria Wu, 4.768, Georgia Tech, business administration; Salutatorian—Malia Trask, 4.741, Georgia Tech, aerospace engineering
Grace Yan, Walton High School
Pope (Wednesday, May 26, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Madeleine Maurer, 4.845, U of Pennsylvania, tbd Salutatorian—Gregory Park, 4.786, Georgia Tech, tbd
Sprayberry (Friday, June 4, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Olivia Sternagle, 4.719, U of Georgia Honors College, biology Salutatorian—Yousuf Azeem, 4.625, Georgia Tech, computer science
Walton (Friday, May 28, 9 a.m.) Valedictorian—Grace Yan, 4.769, MIT, computer science and brain and cognitive science Salutatorian—Sheena Lai, 4.767, Stanford, undecided
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Because all 17 high school graduations in the Cobb County School District are being held in a single location, those commencement exercises will take place over the next two weeks.
The Cobb school district announced in February that due to COVID-19 considerations, Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School will be the venue for all schools.
That’s the largest-capacity stadium in the Cobb school district, and where delayed 2020 graduations took place last July.
Here’s what the Cobb school district posted earlier this month about how those graduations will be taking place:
“Ceremonies are scheduled Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, with Saturday, June 5, reserved for making up ceremonies postponed due to inclement weather. Ceremonies are not scheduled on Sunday, May 30, or Memorial Day, Monday, May 31. Ceremonies are only scheduled for mornings and afternoons to avoid the heat of the afternoon.
“Tickets will be limited due to public health guidance. Specifics about ticket allocations and distribution will be provided by the individual high schools in late March. To accommodate family and friends who are unable to attend, each ceremony will be streamed live.”
And here’s the graduation schedule for the six high schools in East Cobb:
Tuesday, May 25: Lassiter High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26: Pope High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28: Walton High School, 9 a.m.
Saturday, May 29: Wheeler High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 2: Kell High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 4: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m.
More graduation details, including links to livestreams of commencement exercises, can be found by clicking here.
Earlier this week Cobb school officials unveiled a draft list for what would be a Cobb Education SPLOST VI sales-tax referendum that calls for the construction of a special events facility.
Until the pandemic, most Cobb high school graduations took place at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center. Some schools have had graduations on their own campuses, including Wheeler, as well as large church sanctuaries in the county.
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Soren Tucker posted a Hamlet-like photo on his Instagram page on his 18th birthday.
Since changing his first name as a sophomore at Pope High School, Soren Tucker says he hasn’t encountered many issues with identifying as transgender since then.
Born female, Tucker for the last two-plus years has gone by a family name from his mother’s side of the family, which is of Norwegian ancestry. He says he has largely been supported by other students and teachers at Pope.
Soren Tucker is the name listed under his senior photo in his yearbook, and as an active member of Pope Theatre He even performed in a male role last fall in the club’s presentation of a one-act play entitled “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Soren Tucker’s senior photo in the Pope yearbook.
But when Pope holds its commencement exercise Wednesday, Tucker’s birth name will be on his diploma, and more than likely will be uttered during Pope’s roll-call of graduating seniors.
That’s because Cobb County School District policy requires diplomas and graduation call-lists to include a student’s legal name.
Tucker, who turned 18 last fall, has not yet begun the process of legally changing his name, and is just now beginning to explore that process.
He said “I do plan on walking [to receive his diploma], but I’m not sure what I will do” if he does not hear his preferred name.
Tucker, who declined to reveal his birth name in an interview with East Cobb News, said he’s still hoping to have Soren listed on the call list, if not the diploma.
Lily Smith, a friend of Tucker’s, has begun an online petition that in just a few days has generated more than 13,000 signatures.
“Despite being fully supported and correctly recognized by students and staff, the administration refuses to recognize Soren by his name,” Smith wrote in her appeal. “This is a BLATANT act of transphobia, and the students of Pope High School do not and will not stand for hate, prejudice, and discrimination against their students. PLEASE sign and help us right this wrong.”
A spokeswoman for the Cobb County School District reiterated the naming policy in response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, saying legal names are used for all official school business.
“If any student or family changes a student’s legal name, we update that student’s official record which impacts, among other examples, their schedules, transcripts, and diplomas,” the spokeswoman said.
When asked how he came to identify as transgender, Tucker said that for many people like him, “you just always know something’s not right.”
He said he’s trying to be happier in his life, and making a name change is “the easiest thing” he says he can do to become more comfortable at this point in his transition.
When asked if he’s planning on hormone treatment or surgery in the future, Tucker said that “generally, I prefer to live in the present.”
Tucker’s near-future includes enrolling as a freshman this fall at Kennesaw State University, where he plans to major in theatre performance and where he can use his preferred name.
Tucker says undergoing a name change is more than symbolic.
“It comes from knowing that something isn’t right,” he said. “It holds a lot more meaning than just a name. Transgender people just want to be regarded for who they really are.”
An honor Tucker received as a Pope senior includes his preferred first name.
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Cobb school board members heard plenty from parents Thursday about Critical Race Theory, masks and an upcoming accreditation review.
After highly-charged comments from parents Thursday and a response from a school board member on the subject of Critical Race Theory, Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale weighed in on the increasingly controversial topic.
At Thursday’s Cobb Board of Education meetings, Ragsdale said that “as long as I am Superintendent, I will commit to keeping any theory or curriculum, which is not part of Georgia’s standards, out of every Cobb County classroom.”
Those comments were included in a statement the Cobb County School District issued Friday morning, prefaced by asserting that “Ragsdale made it clear that the staff in Cobb Schools will continue to focus on keeping Cobb’s schools, schools.”
The statement included links from the Cobb school district’s performances in standardized tests and other academic indicators.
“District data clearly indicates that the Superintendent’s laser-like focus on success for each Cobb student is working for our students, families, and county,” the CCSD statement reads.
A number of parents addressed the Cobb school board at Thursday’s meetings about Critical Race Theory, which asserts that racism is a social construct and has led to “systemic racism” that pervades law, policy, culture and other aspects of American society.
At Thursday night’s board meeting, parent Jeff Clark said that while “we need an honest conversation about race, this isn’t it. This is indoctrination.”
He said that “radical members of this committee [school board] are holding our children hostage. . . . Let us teach Dr. King’s message, not Mao’s.”
At a Thursday afternoon work session, East Cobb parent Amy Henry called Critical Race Theory “child abuse. . . . You’ve awokened Mama Bears all across Cobb. But we’re not woke, we’re just awake.”
“Woke” is a slang term used by racial and social justice activists in making references to social awareness.
Earlier Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr wrote a letter to the Georgia Board of Education asking that it “take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards or curriculum.”
Kemp and Carr are among the latest Republican office-holders and conservative political activists to blast Critical Race Theory, and there are bills in some state legislatures to prohibit teaching it in public schools.
On Thursday, the Cherokee County School Board voted to ban the teaching of CRT in a packed meeting in which some attendees chanted “no CRT.”
Some Cobb parents making critical comments of CRT also accused the three Democrats on the school board for threatening to undermine the academic quality of the school district with their request for a special review by its accreditation agency.
Two of those Democrats, Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis, have been pressing for the Cobb school district to create the position of Chief Equity Officer to oversee, among other things, diversity issues.
No such position has been suggested by Ragsdale or the four Republicans who make up the school board majority.
The Cherokee school board also voted Thursday not to proceed with a “diversity, equity and inclusion” program that is being adopted by corporations, non-profits as well as K-12 and higher education institutions, including Georgia State University.
Cobb school board members didn’t respond to the public comments about CRT during their meetings.
But late Thursday night, Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, wrote on her Facebook page that “the Critical Race Theory (CRT) debate has been bizarre…mainly how it became a scripted conservative talking point 40+ years after its inception.”
She said in response to comments from Cobb school parents that “I would struggle to give you a complete definition of all that CRT entails and let’s admit that three people on a board of seven would not be responsible for CRT (OR the mask decision you don’t like for that matter). And please stop sharing MLK quotes in the arguments against CRT. MLK was considered a radical and paid for it with his life.”
In her post, Davis also linked to a story in Boston Review called “The War on Critical Race Theory” that was shared by Maureen Downey, an education journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“This week’s discussion of critical race theory, prompted by the crowds showing up at local school board meetings decrying what they consider the application of CRT in their schools, has led to comments by folks who only show up when we are discussing racial issues,” Downey wrote.
Over the last two years, Cobb school board members have openly clashed on racial topics. They couldn’t come to a consensus on an anti-racism resolution last summer in the wake of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis.
School board member David Banks of East Cobb said during his re-election campaign last fall that he considered “white flight” the biggest long-term challenge facing the Cobb school district, leading to accusations by Davis that he was “spewing racist trash.”
After the November elections, the four school board Republicans voted to abolish a newly-approved committee to examine naming policies for Cobb school district schools and buildings.
Among those facilities targeted for a name change is Wheeler High School, named after a Confederate Civil War general.
Howard accused his GOP colleagues of “systemic racism” for that vote and for requiring a board majority to place items on the board’s meeting agendas.
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A rebuild of Sprayberry High School and annexes for several elementary schools in East Cobb are among the possible projects on a draft list for the proposed Cobb Education SPLOST VI draft list that was revealed Thursday.
During a Cobb Board of Education work session, Dr. James Wilson, a planning consultant for the Cobb County School District, outlined the major projects (as seen in the graphic above).
Referring to Sprayberry, he said that “a rebuild of major portions of that school” are needed for a 38-year-old campus whose last upgrade was a decade ago with a new auditorium.
A new career and technology building is earmarked at Sprayberry in the current SPLOST V period, but a construction timeline hasn’t been announced.
Wilson said the school board will be asked in September to approve a construction project for a new Sprayberry gym, which is included in the current SPLOST V collection period.
A parents group has been publicly pushing for a Sprayberry rebuild this spring, pointing out that other high schools in East Cobb have been recently getting rebuilds and major facilities improvements.
New annexes are proposed at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb, and an addition and modifications are being proposed for Bells Ferry Elementary School.
The draft list includes a commencement and special events center for the 112,000-student school district, a second career academy in the north Cobb area, athletic facility improvements, security and technology upgrades and the ability to build “undesignated classrooms,” where they’re needed but whose exact locations aren’t known now.
Wilson said a major emphasis of SPLOST VI—if it’s approved by Cobb voters in November—would be major infrastructure improvements at many schools and including 18 areas of work.
Details of the draft list were to be posted on the Cobb school district’s website. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the draft list won’t be modified much before a final list is presented in June to the Cobb school board, which will be asked to pass a resolution calling for a November referendum.
SPLOST VI would begin in 2024 and would collect a one-percent sales tax for five years, generating nearly $900 million for school facility, maintenance and technology expenses.
The draft list calls for a rebuild for the main building at Sprayberry, which relocated to the northwest intersection of Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road in 1973.
“It’s not going to be the entire school,” superintendent Chris Ragsdale said, adding that language that was consistent with recent projects at Walton, Osborne, Pebblebrook and Campbell high schools.
“It’s something that at least a couple people are pleased to hear it,” said school board member David Chastain, who represents the Sprayberry attendance zone, noting the lobbying by the parents’ group that has included several rallies on campus to bring attention to their efforts.
When school board member David Banks asked whether possible land purchases might be considered for Sprayberry, Ragsdale said that specifics won’t be discussed publicly (acquisitions are allowed to be discussed in executive session) and that “we’re always looking” for land for school facilities throughout the county.
Rebuilds of the main buildings on the campuses of Walton and Wheeler High School in East Cobb have taken place in recent years.
Ragsdale said the Walton project was the most challenging because it has the smallest land area of any high school in the Cobb school district.
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The Cobb Board of Education’s monthly meetings on Thursday include a required public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2022 operating budget.
The public hearing begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, before the scheduled 7 p.m. voting meeting. The school board also will hold a public work session starting at 1 p.m.
All the meetings take place in the board’s meeting room at the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover St., Marietta.
All of the public meetings will be livestreamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24An executive session is scheduled between the work session and budget hearing.
The budget proposal proposes holding the line on the school district’s property tax rate of 18.9 mills and using $51 million in reserve funding to reach a balance (budget summary here).
Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.
The school board tentatively adopted the budget in April for the purpose of advertising public hearings.
The final public hearing and formal budget adoption is scheduled for June 10.
More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here, including general fund and other fund overviews and line-item details, and video presentations of previous budget presentations to the school board.
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The Cobb County School District announced late Thursday afternoon that fully vaccinated students and staff no longer have to wear masks or practice social distancing.
The Cobb schools announcement states the following:
Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance;
Fully vaccinated people can refrain from testing following a known exposure unless they are residents or employees of a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter.
The announcement didn’t state whether people not wearing masks on Cobb school campuses or for related activities would have to show a proof of vaccination.
The current academic year ends in the Cobb school district on May 26.
This week the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use for the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15.
The Cobb school district said that students and staff who wish to continue wearing masks may still do so, and that as “our cases are continuing to trend down and vaccinations are trending up, we fully expect to start the 2021-2022 school year with masks as optional.”
The first day of school is Aug. 2.
The Cobb school district imposed a mask mandate for all students and staff when in-person instruction began in October.
In March, several parents sued the district to drop the mask mandate, but their request for a temporary restraining order was denied last week in federal court. The lawsuit remains pending, according to Robert Madayag, one of the parent group’s attorneys.
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Hightower Trail Middle School was recently crowned Georgia champion of the 7th annual Vocabulary Bowl, which tested more than 1.3 million students across the country.
The contest is sponsored by Vocabulary.com, which will recognize all 50 U.S. state and 9 Canadian provincial winnerswith championship banners.
This year Pope High School of East Cobb was the Georgia runner-up after being the 2019-20 state champion.
Hightower Trail also finished 10th overall among middle schools. Here’s principal Laura Montgomery on how her students improved their Vocabulary Bowl prowess while improving their literacy skills:
“Increasing vocabulary, which aids in effective communication, is part of our daily goal of addressing 21st Century Skills as a STEM school. The students at HTMS worked hard this year to practice their vocabulary using Vocabulary.com. Throughout the year, teachers assigned practice lists related to the books we read and things we study in other classes. Students answered a variety of questions for practices involving context, definitions, and even pictures. Some students even explored and practiced additional lists related to their interests—astronomy, civil rights, and even baseball. In the end, HTMS students mastered over 113,000 words on the program! It’s impressive, mind-boggling, staggering, and awesome!”
Here’s more about the 2020-2021 Vocabulary Bowl:
Total students participating: 1,300,000+ million students
Total schools participating: 43,500+
Total words mastered: 36,600,000+
K-12 students from 50 U.S. states, U.S. territories and 9 Canadian provinces participated
Students earn points for their school by mastering words on Vocabulary.com
See the full results of this season’s Vocabulary Bowl here.
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced winners of its $2,500 Merit Scholar program, part of a continuing series of announcements this spring.
The recipients included seven high school seniors from East Cobb, and the winners from each state are judged to have “the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”
According to the NMSC, “the number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.”
They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who examined academic records, including difficulty level of subjects studied
and grades earned, scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the Finalist, and a recommendation from a high school official.
The East Cobb recipients have each been awarded $2,500 scholarships from the organization’s funds:
Avi Balakirsky, Walton HS. Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering;
Shourya Jasti, Fulton Science Academy. Probable career field: Business;
David P. MacDonald, Wheeler HS. Probable career field: International Relations;
Ryan J. Meredith, Pope HS. Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering;
Cecelia E. Pumpelly, Campbell HS. Probable career field: Public Health;
William M. Shutt, Lassiter HS. Probable career field: Engineering;
Sanjay Srihari, Wheeler HS. Probable career field: Computer Science.
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State School Superintendent Richard Woods recently announced the names of the 2021 Georgia Scholars, which includes 20 students from Cobb Schools. In total, there were only 323 graduating seniors recognized as 2021 Georgia Scholars statewide.
The Georgia Scholars from Cobb represent the following schools: Campbell High School, Harrison High School, Hillgrove High School, Kell High School, Pope High School, Sprayberry High School, Walton High School, and Wheeler High School.
Through the Georgia Scholar program, the Georgia Department of Education identifies and honors high school seniors who have achieved excellence in school and community life. Students eligible for Georgia Scholar recognition are high school seniors who exhibit excellence in all phases of school life, in community activities, and the home. Each Georgia Scholar receives a seal for their diploma.
These students have carried exemplary course loads during their four years of high school; performed excellently in all courses; successfully participated in interscholastic events at their schools and their communities; and have assumed roles in extracurricular activities sponsored by their schools. Click here for a full list of Georgia Scholar program requirements. Note that the SAT and ACT score requirement was waived this year, as some students could not take or retake these exams due to the pandemic.
“As a state, we can all draw inspiration from the resilience and determination of the class of 2021,” Superintendent Woods said. “Like their counterparts in the class of 2020, they dealt with the sudden shutdown of in-person schooling in March of last year. Then they persevered through a school year that was, of necessity, unlike any we have ever seen before – and still, they found a way to excel. I am extremely proud of each 2021 Georgia Scholar and can’t wait to see what this outstanding group of students accomplishes.”
The Georgia Scholar program is managed by GaDOE’s Excellence Recognition Office and local coordinators in each public school system and private schools throughout the state.
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From L-R: Kendra Brooks, Murdock ES; Dr. Hannah Polk, Hightower Trail MS; Jill Spiva, Addison ES.
At least three public schools in East Cobb will be getting new principals for the coming 2021-22 school year, and the Cobb County School District has compiled the following profiles.
Their appointments were recently approved by the Cobb Board of Education.
Brooks has been an assistant principal at Sope Creek Elementary School and has been in Cobb schools for her entire 20-year educational career. In this Q and A, she describes her personal philosophy, what she calls “For Children – Through Teachers.”
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They’re the board’s Democratic members who sent a letter to Cognia, the accrediting agency, in January, saying the school board’s Republican majority and school district superintendent have ignored their concerns on several academic and governance issues.
They specifically wanted the board to discuss “early literacy, educator and employee support, and board governance training,” but said they never got a reply, and the matters were never placed on the board’s meeting agenda.
The recall group, which has more than 300 people signed up, said “the actions of the 3 Cobb Board members have put our schools in a terrible place. To suggest our schools should lose their accreditation demands we recall these board members.”
One of the commenters to that group posted that they were “happy to help identify leftists who try to join the group” and another said “Bet they are DEMOCRATS!”
Sandy Burke, the group’s creator and administrator, responded that “Although they are . . . This issue goes far beyond political parties. It has been my experience that mature leaders always care more about the greater good for their community. 100% of Cobb will be negatively impacted if the schools lose their accreditation.”
The district announced the review Thursday night, and quoted Superintendent Chris Ragsdale as saying that “determinations made through a Special Review Team can negatively impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment and retention, as occurred in Clayton and DeKalb counties in 2008 and 2011. Impacts can also negatively affect a county’s economy, property values, and bond credit ratings.”
On Sunday, Davis, Howard and Hutchins took issue with parts of the district’s response.
“We find it necessary to say, contrary to what has been recently stated by the district, nowhere in Cognia’s letters does it mention ‘allegations of political disagreements’ nor ‘intra-personal (sic) behavior’ within the board of education,” they posted on their Facebook pages. “We do not know what the basis is for the district’s characterization of Cognia’s concerns. The accreditation standards under review are about the board satisfying its responsibilities, and the district adequately addressing student achievement.”
The school board has been divided largely along partisan lines over the last two years on a number of matters, including racial and equity concerns, as well as recent spending on safety products related to COVID-19.
One of Davis’ supporters commented that “accountability is often difficult to come by but it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t happen. I applaud you for taking the necessary steps to represent your districts and to insure accountability and adherence to standards.
“You three were elected to represent and lead, not to be dismissed or silenced.”
Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, was elected to Post 6 in 2018, unseating Republican two-term board member Scott Sweeney. Howard also was elected in 2018 to an open seat in Post 2, which includes the Campbell and Osborne clusters.
Their elections closed the Republican majority from 6-1 to 4-3.
Davis and Howard will be up for re-election in 2022. Hutchins was elected in November to an open seat in Post 3, which is the South Cobb and Pebblebrook clusters.
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A lawsuit filed by parents against the Cobb County School District for its face mask mandate has been moved to the federal court system.
The district’s attorneys filed a notice of removal on Tuesday in Cobb Superior Court, where five parents had filed their lawsuit (you can read the notice and the suit by clicking here).
A hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday before Cobb Superior Court Judge James Bodiford before the notice of removal was filed.
The suit, filed on April 9, says the district’s mask mandate and contract tracing procedures violate students’ right to privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as well as the equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Another claim by the plaintiffs about “separate but equal” treatment for students unable or unwilling to wear masks is “analogous” to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 that outlawed racial segregation in public schools, according to a filing by Brandon Moulard, the district’s attorney.
The lawsuit was filed against the seven members of the Cobb Board of Education and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who issued the mask mandate before the start of the 2020-21 school year, and seeks injunctive relief.
The suit has been shifted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, located in Atlanta.
In recent months some parents have been vocal about relaxing the mask mandate, and some spoke out at Thursday’s school board meeting.
One of them was John Hanson, the father of students in West Cobb schools and who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
“Please give families back our freedom to be treated equal when we choose not to wear a mask,” he said during a public comment period. “Please stop the toxic policy that’s infected our school district.”
Other parents asked the board and Ragsdale to consider relaxing the mandate for the next school year, but no announcement has been made about whether the policy will continue.
In its weekly COVID-19 case update on Friday, the Cobb school district announced 107 newly confirmed cases among students and staff, the lowest since early March.
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Charisse Davis represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters on the Cobb Board of Education.
The Cobb County School District will undergo a special review by its accrediting agency at the request of three members of the Cobb Board of Education, who contend the board’s majority and superintendent have ignored their concerns on several academic and governance issues.
In a release issued Thursday night, the district said that Cognia, an Alpharetta-based accreditor, will conduct the special review, which centers on three matters.
In its release, the Cobb school district said that “determinations made through a Special Review Team can negatively impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment and retention, as occurred in Clayton and DeKalb counties in 2008 and 2011. Impacts can also negatively affect a county’s economy, property values, and bond credit ratings.”
Board members Charisse Davis, Jaha Howard and Tre’ Hutchins—all black Democrats—said they sent a letter in January to the full seven-member board and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale requesting a discussion on “early literacy, educator and employee support, and board governance training,” but never got a reply.
“The continued silencing of board members who would like to not only talk about positives, but also publicly address challenges, continues. The three of us remain concerned that our governing body is not adhering to the leadership standards set forth by Cognia,” read the Jan. 21 letter by the three Democratic members, which the district included in its release.
Specifically, they wanted the board to discuss the following:
enhancing our governance training by bringing in a third party to help us navigate our differences for the sake of our students and staff
specific agenda items related to teacher and staff support and safety improvements during this pandemic
specific agenda items related to the study and expansion of targeted literacy interventions
Davis, Howard and Hutchins said in their letter to Cognia that their initial letter was completely ignored.
“While there are so many great things about CCSD, such as high SAT scores and graduation rates, we are also a district that has work to do,” their letter to Cognia continued. “We are grappling with many of the same challenges as other districts, including closing opportunity gaps for students, keeping staff and students safe, and adjusting to changing demographics. The most recent data from the GaDOE reports that over 45% of our 3rd grade students are reading below.”
The Cobb school district release also included a response by Ragsdale, who sent a lengthy letter to Cognia defending the district’s record on all three issues.
Ragsdale said he was “surprised and disappointed” to have heard about the complaints, which included others from unspecified parties.
“The communication I received from Cognia centered upon allegations of political disagreements and intra-personal behavior within the board of education,” Ragsdale wrote.
“While these are serious concerns, an unscheduled Special Review seems to be a very unusual response, particularly following the extension of our accreditation and the possible adverse effects of a Special Review to the District’s students, faculty, staff, and community. Given this, the District is taking this Special Review very seriously.”
Ragsdale said the district has met board governance training standards, but did not address the Democratic members’ request for a third-party intervention.
Of the literacy issues, Ragsdale said the Cobb school district “has successfully maintained continuity of learning and support for students through a variety of strategically planned, designed and implemented initiatives,” including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He acknowledged that “we know there is room for growth and improvement in all areas, including Board governance. To that end, we have recently appointed a new interim general counsel with deep experience in accreditation and school board governance matters.”
The board governance issues figure to loom large in the special review.
Howard and Davis—who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters—have clashed with the board’s four white Republican matters several times in their first two years in office.
In 2019, the board majority voted to ban board member comments during public meetings after Howard made remarks about non-school issues, including local and national politics.
In November, the four Republicans approved a policy change requiring a board majority to approve board member requests to place items on meeting agendas.
In early 2019, Cognia—the successor organization to AdvancedEd and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools—extended the Cobb school district’s accreditation through 2024.
There’s not a timeline for the review, the district release said.
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“In a time that not only do they need it, but also for morale,” Ragsdale said in his remarks about the proposed pay raise.
All employees—around 18,000 in all—will get a baseline 4 percent raise, with those eligible for STEP increases receiving more, depending on their status and length of service.
He said the funding would not come from “one-time money”—a reference to $182 million in new federal CARES Act funding that is coming to the Cobb school district.
“We are confident that this is going to be financially sustainable moving forward,” Ragsdale said.
Brad Johnson, the district’s Chief Financial Officer, said more budget details will be released Friday on the district’s website.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Board of Education will be asked Thursday to tentatively adopt a fiscal year 2022 budget in order to schedule public hearings before a formal vote in June.
That tentative approval is scheduled for Thursday’s board business meeting at 7 p.m., and also will be discussed at a board work session that starts at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The Cobb County School District gets roughly half of its funding from the state.
The school board also will be asked to approve spending $5.78 million in current Ed-SPLOST V funds to purchase 52 new school buses with air conditioning.
During the work session, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale will discuss the district’s learning recovery plan, something numerous school districts have been implementing since COVID-19.
After the work session, the board will hold an executive session.
During the night meeting, Wheeler High School students said they will be speaking during the public comment period. They will be presenting a PowerPoint about research they’ve done on the topic, and according to group member Caroline Hugh, “it will also be very timely, considering the verdict on the Derek Chauvin case.”
That’s a reference to the Minneapolis police officer who was convicted Tuesday for the murder of George Floyd last May.
The name change initiative started last summer, with those favoring the change saying Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate Civil War general, is not an appropriate namesake for what’s become one of the most diverse high schools in the county.
In-person attendance at the board meetings is limited to district staff and public speakers. Both public meetings will be livestreamed here and can be seen on Comcast Cable channel 24.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
A spokeswoman for the Cobb County School District reiterated the naming policy in response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, saying legal names are used for all official school business.
