East Cobb Schools Archives

Cobb school board formally approves fiscal year 2022 budget

June 17, 2021 1:23 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board approves budget — *East Cobb parent Heather Tolley-Bauer addresses the school board during a public budget forum.*

The Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday to adopt an operating budget for fiscal year 2022.

The Cobb school district’s 2022 budget of $1.2 billion includes an employee pay raise ranging between 4 and 8.6 percent.

The budget proposal holds 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).

It was the second vote in as many weeks by the board on the budget, which held a special-called meeting Thursday after concerns that its action last week was improperly done.

The school board held a public budget forum before the vote on Thursday, following complaints that it had not abided by the state open meetings law last week.

Last Thursday’s budget forum was not live-streamed or recorded, due to what the district said were technical issues.

Because of COVID-19 safety protocols, members of the public were allowed into the board meeting room only one at a time if they were speaking during the public comment period, and were escorted out once they finished.

But the state opens meetings law states that when public meetings aren’t available for viewing, they must be fully open to the public.

Among those calling for a do-over were East Cobb parent Heather Tolley-Bauer, who’s a founder of a citizens group called “Watching the Funds—Cobb,” which scrutinizes Cobb school district finances.

Tolley-Bauer, who lives in Post 5 (represented by board member David Banks) was one of two people who spoke at Thursday’s public budget forum. While she didn’t specifically address the FY 2022 budget, she told board members that her group “will continue to provide a watchful eye” not only on the budget, but federal funding sources, SPLOST spending “and every single expense.

“Because no matter what, funds used to make purchases all come from the taxpayers, many of whom support our work.”

The group has more than 1,000 followers for its Facebook page, which is regularly updated with Cobb school district finances and school board activities.

It sprung to action last spring and was critical of the Cobb school district spending $12 million for handwashers and special UV disinfecting lights as COVID-19 safety measures. The district cancelled its contract for the lights in March after lights at Argyle Elementary School malfunctioned, and as the Cobb District Attorney’s Office began looking into the matter.

“As we move into the 2021-22 budget year, we continue to seek real and responsible fiscal stewardship that can only come from transparency and meaningful two-way communication with the stakeholders,” Tolley-Bauer told the school board Thursday.

Board members had little discussion about the budget during their special-called meeting before voting 5-0 to adopt it (board members Jaha Howard and Tre Hutchins were absent).

You can watch replays of both Thursday meetings by clicking here.

Unlike FY 2021, there’s no federal CARES Act funding in the new budget, which takes effect July 1. Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

Cobb school board to redo budget hearing, final adoption

June 16, 2021 9:34 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board Critical Race Theory ban

The Cobb Board of Education will conduct a public hearing Thursday morning on the fiscal year 2022 operating budget and hold a special-called meeting to vote on budget adoption.

The budget hearing begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by a special-called meeting at 11 a.m. for budget adoption. Both meetings will be live-streamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

Those wishing to speak in person during the hearing can do so at the board meeting room at the Cobb County School District’s main office, 514 Glover St., in Marietta.

The Cobb school board had voted without discussion last Thursday to adopt the budget during its monthly business meeting, but the final budget hearing that’s required by law wasn’t open to the public.

The district routinely live-streams its public meetings, but this one wasn’t, so what’s taking place on Thursday is basically a do-over.

According to state open meetings or “sunshine” laws, when a meeting isn’t live-streamed (which isn’t required) the meeting must be open for the public to attend in person.

However, since the Cobb school board returned to in-person meetings last fall, the public has not been allowed to do that, except for those making public comments, in accordance with district COVID-19 safety protocols.

Persons who have addressed the board have been allowed in the meeting room one at a time, and then have been escorted out.

In addition to the school board, the only other people who’ve been allowed inside the board room during meetings have been the superintendent and members of his cabinet, as well as the board’s legal counsel.

The MDJ reported last Thursday that its reporter was not allowed inside the board room for the budget hearing when the live-stream was not available.

Last September, the Cobb school board twice came under fire for not airing public comments on its live-stream when conducting meetings in a virtual setting.

The district’s explanation was that it wanted to verify public speakers according to its commenting policies as being Cobb County taxpayers or individuals with a stake in the school district (parents, teachers, students, etc.)

The Cobb school district will be allowing more members of the public to attend in-person meetings with relaxed restrictions starting in July.

Under state law school boards must hold three public budget hearings. The Cobb school board held the first two in April and May.

The Cobb school district’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget of $1.5 billion includes an employee pay raise.

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).

Unlike FY 2021, there’s no federal CARES Act funding. Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

Special review of Cobb school district slated for August

June 15, 2021 1:19 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District said Tuesday a special review by its accrediting agency is scheduled for August.

In a release, the district said the review by Alpharetta-based Cognia will take place Aug. 15-18, and will focus on three specific standards set by the accreditor:

Governing authority
Equitable opportunities
Student peformance

The fourth area of examination during the review, the district said, “will also involve interviews between Cognia and individual board members, the Superintendent, District staff, principals, teachers, and community members.”

Cognia announced the special review in April after three Democratic Cobb school board members and several dozen citizens approached it, complaining the board’s Republican majority and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale were ignoring their concerns on several academic and governance issues.

The three Democratic board members said their request to Ragsdale to discuss early literacy, educator and employee support, and board governance training 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 a Jan. 21 letter to Cognia by the three Democratic members.

Those members include Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters in East Cobb.

The district’s initial response claimed that a special review “can negatively impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment and retention,” and cited similar situations in recent years in the DeKalb and Clayton school systems.

In its release Tuesday, the Cobb school district acknowledged that more than 50 citizens have complained to Cognia.

The district said it has spent more than 600 hours preparing for the review and “believes that transparency in this process is important and will update our community again as new information becomes available in August.”

Cobb school budget, social media and public comment policies OK’d

June 11, 2021 4:28 PMJune 11, 2021 12:37 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2022 budget of $1.5 billion that includes an employee pay raise.

The vote was passed without discussion as part of the board’s consent agenda on Thursday night. The raises range from 4 percent to 8.6 percent for full-time and other non-temporary employees.

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).

Unlike FY 2021, there’s no federal CARES Act funding. Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

During a work session Thursday afternoon, the school board adopted a new social media policy that governs public comments by district employees (you can read it here).

The policy states that “District employees must use Social Media respectfully and ethically to avoid harming the reputations and careers of themselves and colleagues, as well as the reputation of the District and the education profession as a whole.”

One provision would prohibit employees “from making statements on crisis situations or emergencies on behalf of the District without appropriate permission from the District’s Communications department or District leadership.”

Teachers and other employees also will not be allowed to make or accept online connection requests with students, message with them or post photos or videos of students on their personal social media accounts.

Employees will be allowed and encouraged to post “good news/what’s happening at your school” news, event reminders, congratulating students and colleagues and making notifications, including for emergencies.

Also Thursday, the school board voted 4-3 to require members of the public who wish to speak during public comment periods at board meetings to sign up online.

The public will be invited back to attend board meetings for the first time since February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cobb property owners and parents, students and other stakeholders in the Cobb school district are allowed to speak during public comment.

The new registration policy will continue a 30-minute public comment policy before each board meeting, with up to 15 speakers addressing the board for two minutes each.

Public speakers will still have to show a photo ID once they arrive for the public comment period, and those who didn’t make the cut will be placed on a standby list.

“If you’re not who you signed up as, you won’t be allowed to speak,” said said Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who said the move was done as a courtesy to the public.

The board’s three Democrats voted against the new measure, expressing concern that the policy also includes a provision for the board chairman to prioritize speakers, especially if an item is on the meeting agenda.

Tre Hutchins, one of the three Democrats, wondered what would happen to those who wanted to speak about changing the name of Wheeler High School, an issue that the board’s four-member GOP majority has declined to place on the agenda.

Ragsdale said the first 15 people allowed to speak, first-come, first-serve, regardless of topic.

New principal appointed at Simpson Middle School

June 11, 2021 3:54 PMJune 11, 2021 9:16 AM by Wendy Parker

Simpson Middle School principal, Dr. LaEla Mitchell — *Dr. LaEla Mitchell*

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved a number of new principal appointments for the 2021-22 school year, including for Simpson Middle School in East Cobb.

Current principal Dr. Ansley Daniel has been reassigned as principal at Lost Mountain Middle School effective July 1.

The new Simpson principal is Dr. Mari LaEla Mitchell, who has been an assistant principal at Hillgrove High School for the past four years.

Here are some other appointments approved Thursday:

Dugan, Alison, Principal, Baker Elementary School, resignation effective July 31st, 2021.
Jones, Jeffrey, Appointment to Principal, Baker Elementary School from Assistant Principal, Chalker Elementary School effective June 11th, 2021.
Mitchell, Dr. Mari LaEla, Appointment to Principal, Simpson Middle School from Assistant Principal, Hillgrove High School effective July 1st, 2021.
Nyeste, Dr. Lenora, Principal, Lost Mountain Middle School, retirement effective July 1st, 2021.
Williams, Dr. Lisa, Appointment to Director (.49), Leadership Management, Human Resources Division from Performance Management Coordinator (.49), Human Resources Division effective June 11th, 2021.

In May the school board approved the appointments of new principals at Addison and Murdock elementary schools and Hightower Trail Middle School in East Cobb.

Cobb school board bans Critical Race Theory; Democrats abstain

June 11, 2021 3:35 PMJune 10, 2021 4:24 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board Critical Race Theory ban

The four Republican members of the Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the Cobb County School District.

The three Democrats on the board—all of them African-American—abstained from the vote, accusing the all-white GOP majority of placing political interests ahead of educational concerns.

“I abstain from this nonsense,” said board member Jaha Howard, one of the Democrats.

The vote followed an explosive 45-minute discussion that included heated interruptions between Republican chairman Randy Scamihorn and Democrat Tre Hutchins.

(You can watch the work session here; the CRT resolution discussion begins at the 2:20:20 mark.)

Scamihorn presented a resolution during a board work session Thursday afternoon that prohibited the teaching of Critical Race Theory “by that name and any other name” as well as instruction in Cobb schools of the 1619 Project, which The New York Times published in 2019 as a historical critique of slavery in America.

Hutchins, the newest board member who represents Post 3 in South Cobb, protested that expansive language, saying that Critical Race Theory has never been taught in Cobb schools and “is not a real thing” in district schools.

He also worried that some current aspects of the Cobb curriculum, including “No Place for Hate” and Social Emotional Learning, could fall under the CRT umbrella.

Scamihorn countered that Critical Race Theory—which developed in academia and legal circles in the 1970s to argue that racism is America is systemic and structural—has been all over the news in recent weeks, and that bodies like the Georgia Board of Education and the Cherokee school board have voted to restrict it.

“Now we can throw anything at it because we saw it on TV,” Hutchins said. “That’s dangerous. This feels like we’re furthering an indictment against the great teachers we have.”

That set off an extended, testy exchange, with the two board members raising their voices to interrupt one another for several minutes.

Scamihorn said that CRT is being taught in Cobb schools because he’s seen district teachers mention that they have on social media. At one point, he told Hutchins that “you have besmirched our teachers.”

Hutchins responded that “this is the worst thing that we could ever do,” and their harsh words escalated from there, as he and Scamihorn argued over the details of their discussions about the resolution over the last week.

Other school boards and mostly Republican governors and GOP-led legislatures in a number of states have taken aim at CRT and The 1619 Project, which The New York Times adapted into school curriculum that has been introduced in some school districts.

The lead essay by Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones—who won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary—argues that the American Revolution was fought to preserve slavery.

Prominent historians took issue with that claim, and when Hutchins asked Scamihorn to explain the newspaper’s project further, the latter said it’s “a revisionist history and history should be thorough.”

As for being asked to define CRT, Scamihorn referred to comments from parents heard at the May Cobb school board meeting about having “Marxist” roots and that “it pits one group against another.”

Hutchins said those were interpretations only, and that CRT “can be interpreted in a number of ways. It has nothing to do with education in the first place.”

The CRT resolution is the latest wedge issue along racial and cultural lines that has deeply divided the Cobb school board over the last two years.

The board could not agree to a consensus on an anti-racism resolution last year, and the four school board Republicans also voted to abolish a newly-approved committee in November to examine naming policies for Cobb school district schools and buildings.

Charisse Davis, a Democratic board member who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, said that “it’s become that politics are okay apparent in our district as long as they align with some people’s politics.”

She said CRT “has become a conservative talking point for some people who have no idea what it is, and they certainly haven’t been worried about for the last 40-plus years it’s been around.”

She told of minority parents who’ve complained about receiving threats, racist assignments, bigoted comments and “feeling as if the district does not care that they are part of the One Team.”

Davis noted that Cobb schools became fully integrated in 1970 and that previous school boards actively fought it.

“Anyone that cannot understand the impact that that would have should not be in the business of educating,” she said.

Referring to language in the resolution (which has not been made publicly available), Davis said that “to say that this board encourages a diversity of viewpoints is laughable.”

Republican board member David Chastain, who represents the Kell and Sprayberry clusters, said CRT is a cultural concept that has been debated “at the highest levels of academia.”

He said that he supports a resolution banning CRT because of the confusion over it.

“I try to think about what’s best for our children,” and said he’s concern about the effect of how something like CRT might be taught on students in the younger grades.

“Our kids typically aren’t developing abstract thinking skills until middle or high school anyway,” he said. “This is an adult issue, I don’t think it’s a kids’ issue.”

Some parents spoke on the subject during a public comment period at the start of the work session.

Anja Siedzierski, who was born in Poland and is a mother of two daughters in Cobb schools, said during her childhood in a Marxist country she was taught to “hate America” in government schools, and said CRT “is a dangerous ideology.

She asked “can we go back to teaching kids love and respect?” regardless of background. “Critical Theory is not the way to do that.”

Jennifer Susko, a counselor at Mableton Elementary School who thinks the district hasn’t done enough to address racism, said the resolution is a “maddening choice” and “a lie about history.”

“We’ll watch all white people tell black people that racism is not that big deal,” she said, referring to the board Republicans.

Budget, Critical Race Theory on Cobb school board agenda

June 9, 2021 3:42 PM by Wendy Parker

*Randy Scamihorn, Cobb school board chairman*

The Cobb Board of Education will tackle the controversial topic of Critical Race Theory during a work session on Thursday.

Board chairman Randy Scamihorn placed the item on the agenda with the wording “for potential action” but declined to elaborate, telling East Cobb News he’s doing this “for the board to have a discussion.”

The work session begins at 1 p.m. Thursday, the first of the board’s monthly meetings for June.

The board also will hold a public budget forum at 6:30 p.m., preceding a 7 p.m. business meeting at which it is expected to adopt a fiscal year 2022 operating budget.

You can view the agendas for all the meetings by clicking here.

The meetings will be livestreamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

After the work session there is a scheduled executive session.

But it’s at the afternoon meeting that figures to draw the most attention, especially the Critical Race Theory item.

Last month, Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced that he has no intention of introducing the subject into the Cobb County School District curriculum.

At the same time, the Cherokee County Board of Education voted to ban the teaching of CRT during a packed meeting.

The Georgia Board of Education, at the behest of Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr, voted last week to do the same.

Some Cobb parents have been using the public comment period at board meetings to denounce CRT, with one telling the school board last month that “we need an honest conversation about race, this isn’t it. This is indoctrination.”

Critical Race Theory has come up recently in Georgia and other states, but the concept was developed in the 1970s by academics and legal scholars who argued that racism in America is systemic and structural.

Several books have been published on the topic advancing CRT, but the current wave of political action is being taken up by Republican elected officials.

The Cobb school board has a 4-3 Republican majority and has clashed on a number of topics over the last two years, including an anti-racism resolution last summer.

The four school board Republicans also voted to abolish a newly-approved committee in November 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.

After the Cobb CRT comments last month, Charisse Davis, one of the three black Democratic board members, noted that “the Critical Race Theory (CRT) debate has been bizarre…mainly how it became a scripted conservative talking point 40+ years after its inception.”

A group calling itself Concerned in Cobb County School District is gathering outside the district office before the Thursday school board meetings “to to challenge the Superintendent’s harmful position on Critical Race Theory and talking about race/racism at all. We also aim to demonstrate support for the three board members who are attempting to ensure an equitable education for ALL students.”

The school board will consider a proposed FY 2022 budget of $1.5 billion that includes an employee pay raise.

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.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition announces winners

June 9, 2021 3:00 PMJune 9, 2021 9:27 AM by Wendy Parker

Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition

Back in March we posted about some East Cobb students who had created a virtual contest for Cobb students in the scientific endeavor of crystal growing.

The group is called STARS (for Structural Nucleic Acid Anticancer Research Society), which formed in 2019 in conjunction with students at Timber Ridge Elementary School.

STARS parent Susanna Huang got in touch to announce the winners of the 2021 Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition that the groups hosted together.

The group created introductory videos to share various effective crystal growing methods with students as well as to teach the principles of crystallography. Toward the end of the crystal growing competition season, the STARS Team created another series of videos that explained the crystal submission steps, further facilitating the submission process for students.

The winners are:

Brooke Bloxom for the title of Most Exciting Experiment
Most Elaborate Experiment
Elliott Neveln for the title of Clearest Crystal
Jahnavi Bhargava for the titles of Most Natural-Looking crystal and the Best Quality Crystal
Johnny Dickerson for the title of Best Crystal Shape
Ms. Judy Osborne for the title of Most Inspiring Crystal
Michael Duke for the title of the Most Innovative Crystal
Steven Huang for the title of Most Impressive Notebook Entries
Ryoma Takagi for the titles of Most Detailed Lab Notebook and Largest Creative Crystals

Medals of Scientific Excellence:

Elliott Neveln for winning the Best Salt Crystal Award for the K-2nd grade division because his salt crystal alone had the highest clarity and his salt crystal alone had an almost perfect cubical shape.
Steven Huang for winning the Best Salt Crystal Award for the K-2nd grade division because his hand-written lab notebook was the most detailed and reflected much thoughtfulness and intuition.

Some other award winners:

Best Creative Crystal Award for the K-2nd division because his creative crystal looked like a real, natural crystal, with colors of blues and glints of shiny specks.

Michael Duke for winning the Best Creative Crystal Award for the 3rd-5th grade division because his creative crystal was the largest in his grade division and because his lab report was very thorough with detailed observations and conclusions.Ms. Judy Osborne for winning the Best Creative Crystal Award for the teacher division because her crystal was beautifully cultivated, and the quality of this crystal was very evident.

Ryoma Takagi for winning the Championship of the entire 2021 Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition for his solid mastery of growing aluminum potassium sulfate, exceptional observation and note-taking skills, and immense diligence, creating a 15 paged lab notebook with 176 data points, tracking the growth of 10 massive alum crystals before putting the data points into Excel graphs and charts to make the crystal growth trends even the more so evident.

The STARS team wrote in to say that over the summer they’re having a free, virtual summer camp to provide students with hands-on experiments and to teach students important note-taking and observational skills to further prepare them for the fall crystal growing competition.

Check their website for further details by clicking here.

Cobb schools to continue summer meal kit distribution service

June 5, 2021 2:15 PMJune 5, 2021 9:14 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

School may be out for the summer, but Cobb Schools will continue to dish out food for students through July 21. Just as they did during the school year, Cobb’s Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) team will provide meal kits for students at no charge, thanks to waivers from the USDA.

Families will be able to pick up the meal kits for children ages 0-18 on Wednesdays from 9-11 a.m. at one of six school locations. Check here on pick-up day to verify the location and time and make sure your location is still available.

Cobb Schools Summer Meal Kit Pick Up Locations, which are subject to change:

Clarkdale Elementary School

Clay Harmony Leland Elementary School

Daniell Middle School

King Springs Elementary School

North Cobb High School

Smitha Middle School

Meal kits will include food for breakfast and lunch to help fuel student success on the go. When families arrive at one of the six designated school locations, they will tell the Cobb Schools FNS team member how many meal kits are needed, and the team member will place the meal kits in the trunk or backseat of the car. The FNS team is proud to offer meal kits with items that can be reheated at home. Reheating instructions and a menu will be provided in meal kits for appropriate consumption of meals.

Summer Meal Kit Reminders:

Meal Kits are available at no charge to all children ages 0-18.

Children do not need to be enrolled in the Cobb County School District, Summer School, or Summer Learning Quest to receive Meal Kits at no charge.

Check back here on pickup day to ensure your location is still available as a pickup location.

The last day of the Cobb Schools Summer Meal Kits pickups will be July 21st.

Families may pick up meal kits for children at one location.

Children do not need to be present in the car.

For students that are enrolled in Summer School:

Meals will be provided on-site at no charge.

Additional drink and snack items will be available for purchase in school cafés.

Families with additional questions can email Meals@cobbk12.org or call the Cobb Schools FNS team at 770-426-3380.

Golden K Kiwanis honors 2021 Silver Pen Award winners

June 3, 2021 2:35 PMJune 3, 2021 9:30 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information and photo:

May of 2021 was the month to honor fourth graders from three elementary schools in Cobb County. Talented fourth grade students from Rocky Mount, Acworth, and Tritt Elementary Schools received the now prestigious Silver Pen Award.

The Silver Pen Awards, now statewide programs, were presented by Jim Perry, past president of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K and Co-Chair of the Silver Pen program as the officers of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K were in attendance for the presentations.

As explained by Jim Perry, “Over 25 years ago, Jack Boone started what was called ‘The Silver Pen Award for fourth graders and all the elementary schools could participate. We gave the kids either a story or an essay question to write about. Each classroom had a winner, and the winning entries were sent to the administration. The administration would then forward them to the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K, where a panel of judges, including educators, made the final selection for the school-wide winner.” Each Silver Pen Award winner received a bag containing: a Silver Pen, a roll of 25 one dollar golden coins, and a special engraved plaque that reads: Silver Pen Writing Award presented by The Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K.

This year’s Silver Pen writing winners are: Aubrey Smothers from Acworth Elementary School, Anna Raciborski from Rocky Mount Elementary School, and Adriana Fernandez from Tritt Elementary School.

Each school as well as parents are very proud of this year’s Silver Pen Award winners, since many exceptional entries were submitted and competition was tough!

Congratulations to all the winners and everyone sincerely hopes that the winning students will continue on with their writing skills.

12 more East Cobb students earn National Merit Scholarships

June 2, 2021 1:29 PMJune 2, 2021 9:10 AM by Wendy Parker

The following students from East Cobb high schools have been named recipients of National Merit Scholarships that are financed by the colleges and universities of their choice.

Criteria for the scholarships is explained by the NMSC:

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official. From the Semifinalist group, some 16,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2021.

The recipients listed below include their high schools, college destinations and likely career fields indicated on their scholarship applications:

Sai Anoop Avunuri, Walton, University of Georgia, computer science;
Eric Brewster, Walton, University of Florida, finance;
Caroline G. Brooks, Walton, University of Georgia, criminology;
Matthew L. House, Wheeler, University of Georgia, computer programming;
Caroline K. Hugh, Wheeler, University of Chicago, urban/city planning;
Anushka Jain, Wheeler, Emory University, quantitative analysis;
Alexander W. Krupp, Walton, Arizona State University, computer science;
Samuel A. Maloney, Wheeler, University of South Carolina, political science;
Allison D. Mawn, Sprayberry, University of Georgia, journalism;
Aniketh S. Tadepalli, Wheeler, University of Alabama-Birmingham, medicine;
Charles M. Yu, Wheeler, Purdue University, aerospace engineering;
Aidan C. Payne, Lassiter, University of Alabama, applied mathematics.

Masks optional in Cobb schools for summer, 2021-22 year

June 1, 2021 7:38 PMJune 1, 2021 6:08 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District on Monday updated its COVID-19 health guidelines to make face masks optional starting June 7.

That’s the start of the district’s summer schedule, and a release issued Monday afternoon said the masks-optional policy will continue for students and employees for the 2021-22 academic year, which begins Aug. 2.

“Any individual wishing to continue wearing a mask while attending school and/or school events should feel free to do so,” the district said.

The district’s decision came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Monday announced new guidelines saying that fully vaccinated people could go without masks both indoors and outdoors.

On May 13 Cobb schools dropped the mask mandate for vaccinated staff and students for the last two weeks of the 2020-21 school year, and also did not specify any proof of vaccination procedures.

“Fully vaccinated” status applies to individuals two weeks after they receive the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the sole dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Cobb school district opened the 2020-21 school year online-only until October, then imposed a mask mandate for all students and staff on campuses, as well as for extracurricular activities, including outdoor sporting events.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, the Cobb school district has reported a total of 5,224 cases of the virus among students and staff.

The weekly figures have been dropping sharply since the first of the year. For the week of Jan. 15, that total was 470, the highest for any week in the district.

During that time, three Cobb school teachers and classroom staffers died, including a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School on the day of a Cobb Board of Education meeting.

Public commenters urged the district to go back to online-only classes and some admonished Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and board members David Chastain and David Banks of East Cobb for not wearing masks at meetings.

But the district did not change its hybrid learning options.

By the first of March, the weekly case count figures had dropped roughly in half. By late April, they were under 100 a week, and in the final week of the school year in late May a low of 44 new cases was reported.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, one-third of all Georgians are considered fully vaccinated (7.368 million doses) against COVID-19.

In Cobb County, 35 percent are fully vaccinated (264K with second doses) and 42 percent haved received one dose (317K).

Some Cobb parents filed a lawsuit against the district for its mask mandate, saying it was negatively affecting the breathing of their children and was creating “separate but unequal” learning environments.

A federal judge in Atlanta rejected their request for a temporary restraining order for the rest of the 2020-21 school year, and last week the parents dropped the lawsuit after Ragsdale said he expected the coming school year to be masks-optional.

The district will offer virtual learning for students for the coming school year but has not indicated how many of them have chosen that option.

For the spring semester, nearly two-thirds of the district’s 107,000 students attended classes in person.

Pope transgender student granted graduation wish

May 27, 2021 1:20 PMMay 27, 2021 8:07 AM by Wendy Parker

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:

Soren Tucker

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.”

Cobb school parents fighting mask mandate to drop lawsuit

May 27, 2021 2:40 PMMay 26, 2021 6:20 PM by Wendy Parker

The attorney for Cobb school parents fighting the Cobb County School District’s mask mandate said Wednesday they’re dropping their lawsuit.

Rob Madayag, Cobb school board candidate — *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.”

Cobb school district expands summer enrichment schedule

May 26, 2021 2:06 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

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.

3 Wheeler students named National Cyber Scholarship winners

May 26, 2021 1:52 PMMay 26, 2021 9:44 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information: Wheeler students Cyber Scholarship winners

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.

Cobb schools announce 2021 valedictorians and salutatorians

May 25, 2021 5:24 PM by Wendy Parker

Madeline Maurer, Pope, 2021 Cobb vals and sals — *Madeline Maurer, Pope High School*

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, 2021 Cobb vals and sals — *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, 2021 Cobb vals and sals — *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

Wheeler (Saturday, May 29, 7 p.m.)
Valedictorian—Mehul Kalia, 4.797, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Manav Shah, 4.773, Stanford, humanities

The entire group of East Cobb valedictorians and salutatorians is shown in the slideshow below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cobb County high school graduations stretch over two weeks

May 25, 2021 5:01 PMMay 22, 2021 2:02 PM by Wendy Parker

Lassiter graduation, Cobb schools 2020 graduation schedule

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.

Transgender Pope senior asks for preferred name at graduation

May 21, 2021 5:20 PM by Wendy Parker

Soren Tucker, transgender Pope senior — *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?”

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.”

Soren Tucker 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.”

Cobb school superintendent spurns ‘Critical Race Theory’

May 21, 2021 1:34 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school superintendent Critical Race Theory — *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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