East Cobb Schools Archives

Cobb schools report 106 new COVID cases, lowest since Nov.

March 5, 2021 1:36 PM by Wendy Parker

This week’s COVID-19 update in the Cobb County School District is the lowest single-week total for new reported cases since the pandemic was on the rise in November.

The district is reporting 106 new cases among teachers and staff, the same number as the week of Nov. 20, when case totals in Cobb and Georgia began their late fall and early winter surge.

That was a month after Cobb students who chose in-person learning returned to their classrooms.

The 106 new cases bring to 4,066 the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the district since it began reporting them last July 1.

There were 7 new cases this week at Kell High School, the most of any school in the 112-school district, and Walton High School’s 3 new cases bring its overall total to 105, the most in the district.

There also are 50 schools this week that did not report any new cases. The figures do not break down between students and staff.

After an online-only end to the fall semester, the spring semester started in frazzled fashion in January, and during that period 3 Cobb schools teachers died from COVID-19, setting off emotional protests and calls for a return to virtual learning.

After 470 new cases were reported the week of Jan. 15—the highest for any week this school year—those numbers steadily began to drop. By Feb. 15, the new case total had fallen to 232, and was 229 last week.

The district announced last week it was making plans to distribute vaccines to teachers and staff.

In Cobb County, the rate of new COVID-cases has been declining sharply. According to Thursday’s Georgia Department of Public Health daily status report, the 7-day moving average of cases according to date of onset in the county is 160, the lowest since early November.

That’s for both PCR and antigen tests, and that combined 7-day moving average stood at 801 in early January.

The rate of community spread of the virus in Cobb also has dropped sharply, with a 14-day average of 234 PCR cases per 100,000. That number had been higher than 1,000 in January.

A two-week average of 100 cases per 100,000 is considered high community spread.

Cobb school bus driver appreciation event to donate PPE supplies

March 4, 2021 2:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school bus safety

East Cobb parent Mindy Seger is organizing a second bus driver appreciation drive to raise funds for PPE supplies for drivers in the Cobb County School District.

She was prompted into action when learning that not all of the district’s estimated 1,100 bus drivers and monitors have enough masks and other safety supplies in response to COVID-19.

The second driver appreciation event will take place at the Freeman Poole Senior Center (4025 S. Hurt Road, Smyrna) on Saturday, March 13 from 2-4 p.m.

That’s where the initial PPE pickup event took place last month. Seger and her fellow volunteers raised enough in donations and supplies for 100 bags to give away, but nearly 200 people showed up.

Seger said she wants to give away 500 bags at the next event “but that will take huge community support.” Here’s how you can help:

Items bit.ly/cobbbus
Money bit.ly/fundcobbbus

Here’s more about what Seger’s doing in a Fox 5 report.

Cobb schools cancels contract for UV disinfecting lights

March 3, 2021 7:57 PMMarch 3, 2021 7:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools COVID safety products — *Cobb schools had been installing UV disinfecting light systems on elementary campuses.*

The Cobb County School District said Wednesday it was cancelling a contract for ultraviolet light (UV) disinfecting lights in elementary schools after those lights at a school malfunctioned last month.

In a message to the “Cobb Schools Team,” the district said that it was discontinuing its contract with Cobb-based ProTek Life after the UV light system at Argyle Elementary School in Smyrna failed on Feb. 22.

The UV lights were designed to disinfect classrooms overnight as part of COVID-19 safety measures. They were to have a “fail-safe” element that would prevent the activity from taking place if a student or teacher entered a classroom.

The Cleanz254 lights disinfect classrooms daily after the school day is over. The process takes an hour overnight, and the vendor claims it kills 99.99 percent of all microbes in a classroom.

But the district said in its message that “it appears timing hardware and motion detectors did not work as described” and the UV lights went on in two offices at Argyle during the school day on Feb. 22.

“Although no students were present, one adult was present” and other UV lights “flickered on and off throughout the building in appeared to be attempts to turn on,” the district said, adding that no one appeared to be hurt during the incidents.

The message said an investigation into the problems began and while the problem was limited to one school, “the District’s high expectation and safety requirements were not met despite ProTek Life’s Assurances.

“We have determined ProTek’s hardware does not meet the safety requirement described in and required by our RFP process,” said the district’s message, which added that CCSD would be asking for a repayment under the terms of its contract.

(You can read the full letter by clicking here.)

The district expanded the UV lights contract to all 67 elementary schools after what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale called a successful proof-of-concept at three schools in the fall.

Only a few schools have had the UV lights installed thus far, including Murdock ES and Sope Creek ES in East Cobb.

The contract with ProTek Life was part of a $12 million request by Ragsdale in December with other vendors that included high-tech hand sanitizers.

The board voted to approve the contract, but some board members objected, saying they hadn’t seen any evidence that the products worked, and thought it was not the best use of funds.

One of those objecting members, Jaha Howard, was prevented from asking further questions of Ragsdale during the board meeting.

No information about the $12 million spending request, with the funds to come from the district’s reserve, was ever included on the board’s meeting agenda.

After that, a citizens group called “Watching the Funds—Cobb” organized to question and scrutinize school district spending, and was critical of the $12 million purchase.

The group also has questioned the district’s contract with AlertPoint, a Kennesaw company that manufactures an emergency alert system that’s been installed in all Cobb schools starting in 2017.

On Feb. 2, an alert went off throughout all Cobb school campuses that led to a brief Code Red, which the district said is being investigated as a deliberate cyber attack.

Recent news reports in metro Atlanta and south Florida said that Tony Hunter, a former AlertPoint employee, was indicted in Fort Lauderdale in January for alleged bid-rigging for a technology contract in his position as the information officer for Broward County schools.

A contract for school equipment there was won by David Allen, head of the Kennesaw-based EDCO, an education technology provider.

Allen, who also was the ProTek president and was the founder of AlertPoint, died of COVID-19 last month.

Hunter started work for AlertPoint in 2019 after leaving Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to the Florida charges and is out on bail, according to news reports.

In a report last week, WSB-TV reported that a potential vendor for the Cobb schools UV disinfecting lights contract expressed “concerns about installing a toxic system around kids.”

The TV station also cited unnamed sources who said that Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady is conducting an initial investigation into the Cobb school contracts after meeting with “whistleblowers.”

In its message on Wednesday, the Cobb school district said in announcing the ProTek contract cancellation that “we do not believe even a single failure to meet the high health and safety standard established in our RFP process is acceptable.

“Nothing is more important than the health and safety our our students and staff.”

Walton HS, East Cobb MS teachers named NASA Astronomy Ambassadors

March 3, 2021 1:18 PMMarch 3, 2021 11:03 AM by Wendy Parker

Walton East Cobb teachers NASA Astronomy Ambassadors — *L-R: Teachers Dana Evans of Walton HS and Shannon Ventresca, East Cobb MS.*

Submitted information:

Three more Cobb Schools science teachers will join the elite group of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors following an announcement by The SETI Institute. The Cobb teachers are the only educators selected from Georgia. The 2021 Class of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAAs) includes 30 educators from 10 states.

Cobb Schools 2021 NASA Ambassadors:

•   Shannon Ventresca, East Cobb Middle School

•   Tami McIntire, Palmer Middle School

•   Dana Evans, Walton High School

“We are so excited to continue our partnership with SETI and NASA for cycle 9 of the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Program. The selection of Shannon, Tami, and Dana to fly on SOFIA is just more evidence of why Cobb is the best place to Teach, Lead and Learn,” said Cobb Schools Science Supervisor Christian Cali, who joined Cobb’s 2019 NASA Ambassadors on part of their flight mission.

The professional development program for science teachers is designed to improve science teaching and increase student learning and STEM engagement. This year’s expanded AAA program includes not only high school teachers but also middle school and community college teachers.

“Over its history, our NASA-funded AAA program has impacted tens of thousands of high school students through the immersive and inspirational experience of their teachers,” said Bill Diamond, CEO of the SETI Institute. “This powerful STEM program will allow the SETI Institute to help bring NASA science into classrooms across the country.”

Last year, three Cobb teachers were also selected as NASA Ambassadors:

•   Doug LaVigne, Kell High School

•   Heather Guiendon, Walton High School

•   Starrissa Winters, Wheeler High School

Kennesaw Mountain High School’s Berkil Alexander and Philip Matthews both sported NASA flight jackets in 2019, as did Hillgrove High School’s Nikki Bisesi and Wheeler High School’s Season Stalcup.

Due to the challenges over the past 12 months, the 2020 Class, also referred to as Cycle 8, has not completed its mission as Ambassadors yet.

AAA teachers receive training in astrophysics and planetary science. Their training includes a week-long STEM immersion experience at a NASA astronomy research facility such as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). After their training, the AAAs teach a physical science curriculum module created by the SETI Institute that connects curriculum concepts to NASA- and SOFIA-enabled research. WestEd education consultants assess the impact of the specialized curriculum module on student STEM learning and engagement. Past evaluations of the AAA program have shown statistically significant improvements in performance and STEM engagement among students whose teachers participated in the program.

“We are grateful that NASA will be funding the AAA program through 2025 and are especially excited to be adding middle school and community college teachers and their students,” said Dr. Dana Backman, AAA program lead. “These teachers will use their professional development and SOFIA experiences to convey real-world content to their students that illuminate the value of scientific research and the wide variety of STEM career paths available to them.”

Cobb school COVID cases continue drop as vaccine prep begins

February 26, 2021 3:42 PM by Wendy Parker

The day after Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans to vaccinate school teachers in Georgia against COVID-19, the Cobb County School District said Friday it had briefed staff members with more details.

In a news release, the district said it would be working with Cobb and Douglas Public Health to implement a vaccination program, and that staffers will be eligible for vaccines starting March 8.

That program includes the creation of mass vaccination sites for district staff once vaccine supplies are sufficient.

Three educators in the Cobb school district, including a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School, have died since December due to COVID-19.

Those deaths led to emotional calls by some teachers and parents to go to all-remote learning.

School nurses, police officers and school staff 65 and older already have been able to get vaccinated through other providers.

Starting March 8, school employees can book an appointment for a vaccine at any public health agency in the state. But they’ll have to vie with others already on the eligible list for those vaccines, including people over 65, health care workers and first responders.

Cobb and Douglas Public Health has not been booking new appointments for the last three weeks due a shortage of vaccine supplies, and has said it may not get an increase until March or April.

The Cobb school district’s message to staff indicated that “as soon as vaccine supply is in hand, we will quickly schedule our mass vaccination drive-through events for Cobb educators. Specific dates, times, and locations will be made available once vaccine supply is in hand. At this time, only full-time and part-time school staff are eligible.”

Those appointments will be booked online and eligible individuals will be required to have an appointment to get a vaccine. The district said the vaccines are not mandatory.

Timber Ridge Elementary School teacher Laurie Weiner, who is older than 65, has received both doses of the vaccine. In the district’s release, she said that “I am appreciative of the seamless sign-up and procedures taken through the process. . . . Timber Ridge has implemented suggested guidelines as well. I feel more secure teaching my students since I have received both vaccinations.”

COVID-19 case rates in the Cobb school district continued their fall this week after staff and students returned from winter break.

The district announced in its weekly update on Friday that there were 229 new confirmed cases of the virus, the lowest weekly figure since before the Thanksgiving holidays.

On Feb. 12, before last week’s winter break, that figure was 232 new cases, which aren’t broken down between students and staff.

Kell High School in East Cobb was the only school in the 112-campus district to report double-figures in new cases, with 11 this week. There were nine new cases at Pope High School.

Since the district began compiling figures last July 1, there have been 3,960 cases reported. The district recently began indicating cumulative cases per school, and Walton High School and North Cobb High School have the most, at 102 cases each.

There have been 94 cases at Lassiter High School, 9 each at Pope and Kennesaw Mountain High School.

Cobb schools Code Red alert investigated as cyber attack

February 24, 2021 3:44 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District said Wednesday that its emergency alert system that was set off on Feb. 2, prompting a brief Code Red lockdown at all schools, was not a false alarm but a deliberate cyber attack.

The district said in a news release that what’s being investigated as a cyber crime by the Cobb Police Department is continuing.

Spokeswoman Nan Kiel said in the release that the district can’t reveal more details, but “we have been given permission to share the Technology Based Crimes Unit’s conclusion that the false alarm signal occurred through a targeted, external attack of CCSD’s AlertPoint system.”

AlertPoint is an emergency alert system which allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.

The system was implemented starting in 2017 and is one component of the district’s CobbShield emergency and safety program developed in recent years.

When an AlertPoint device is activated, alert information is relayed via computer and mobile devices to school-level administrators and security personnel, as well as at the school district office, within seconds.

The location and identity of the person sending the alert also is transmitted. When a “Code Red” alert is triggered, flashing lights, beeping sounds and voice messages ring out, and the intercom system indicates a lockdown situation is underway.

The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.

After the Feb. 2 incident in which AlertPoint was triggered at all 112 schools, the district said the cause was a systemwide malfunction and that no students or staff were threatened.

On Wednesday, however, the district said it immediately asked for police assistance in investigating the matter as a possible cyber attack.

“Fairly quickly, it appeared that the false alarm signal (1) was intentionally triggered rather than a malfunction, and (2) was uniquely limited to the AlertPoint system in CCSD,” according to the statement, which said the district then contacted police,

“We do not yet know the motives of those attacking the District’s AlertPoint system,” Wednesday’s district statement said, which did not indicate possible suspects.

“However, it appears the crime was committed to disrupt education across the District, create district-wide chaos, and produce anxiety in the District’s students, parents, and staff. This was not a ‘prank,’ nor will it be treated like one.”

Kiel said that anyone with information related to the cyber attack is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department’s Tip Line at 770-499-4111 or the CCSD Police Department’s Tip Line at 470-689-0298.

Wheeler group advocating name change to hold town hall

February 17, 2021 2:33 PM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler name change town hall

Wheeler High School students and others who are organizing to change the school name are having a virtual town hall meeting next week.

The Facebook group Joseph Wheeler Name Change said the town hall will take place next Tuesday, Feb. 23, starting at 8 p.m.

Students, parents, staff and the school community are invited to attend, and can register by clicking here.

The group was formed after a petition was created last summer to change the name of Wheeler. The school, which opened in 1965, was named after Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate Civil War general.

Students have been speaking during the public comment period before the Cobb Board of Education in recent months (see video clip below), but said school board leadership has not responded to their requests to meet, or to have the issue placed on meeting agendas for discussion.

School board member Charisse Davis of Post 6, which includes the Wheeler cluster, signed that online petition.

In December, the board’s four-member Republican majority voted along partisan lines to require a majority vote for members other than the chair to add agenda items.

“We fully value the time and work they put into serving the community but that does not mean we aren’t willing to hold them accountable in instances such as this,” the group said in a recent post.

“Not only do we want the board to hear what we have to say, we truly want to hear what they have to say as well. Ignorance is NOT the answer to building a better community nor a better Cobb.”

The group has said having the school named after Wheeler “does not reflect the values of our students today.”

They’ve said their research shows that the Cobb school board named the then-new high school on Holt Road at a time when the school district was beginning racial integration.

During its early years, Wheeler was a nearly all-white school, but as the area began to diversify, it’s become a majority-minority school.

According to the Georgia Department of Education, Wheeler had an enrollment of 2,038 students in October, with 861 black students, 478 Hispanic students and 308 students of Asian descent.

The Joseph Wheeler Name Change group, which said last fall it wanted to spark a “community dialogue” about the issue, said next week’s town hall will be open to anyone regardless of their point of view, and that the event was designed to have a “constructive conversation.”

Atlanta law firm alters scholarship program for HS seniors

February 17, 2021 1:31 PMFebruary 17, 2021 10:22 AM by Wendy Parker

Atlanta law firm scholarship program — *2019 Winners (Left to Right: Eric Rogers, Aditi Madhusudan (Second Place), Michael Goldberg, Joe Fried, Sherrod Crum (First Place) and Tanner Freise (Third Place).*

Submitted information and photo:

Twelve years ago, the personal injury law firm of Fried Goldberg in Atlanta, Georgia started the Scales of Justice Scholarship to provide scholarships to three high school seniors from the metro Atlanta area to help offset the costs of going to college. “At the time, we had middle school and younger children but could see how hard it was for high school kids to get into college and how stressful it was to pay for it,” said founding partner Joe Fried.

The scholarship is for high school seniors who are attending high school in Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton, or DeKalb county and has traditionally been based on an essay contest addressing a current legal issue with the top three applicants receiving awards ranging from $1,000 to $500. This year, applicants will submit a video entry, and the first-place winner will
receive $2500 and the second and third place winners $1000 each.

“We decided to bring the contest into the 21st century by taking video entries instead of essay contests. I think kids nowadays express themselves through videos and social media more than anything else, and we wanted to tap into that trend. We also increased the amount of the scholarships as the price of everything has definitely gone up over the past 12 years,” explained Fried.

Over the years, the winners have been seniors attending colleges ranging from Harvard to Kennesaw State. “It is always amazing to see the quality of the entries and to see where the winners will be going to college. We have had the first-place winner attend college at a local school and had them go to the biggest and most prestigious colleges in the country. It goes to show you how smart people are from all walks of life,” commented partner Michael Goldberg.

To apply for the scholarship, applicants should go to www.friedgoldberg.com/scholarship. The deadline for applications is March 19, 2021.

Golden K Kiwanis Club honors student with Silver Pen Award

February 16, 2021 4:08 PMFebruary 16, 2021 12:57 PM by Wendy Parker

Golden K Kiwanis Silver Pen Award

Submitted information and photo:

The Silver Pen Award is presented by the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K to an elementary school student in Cobb County for completing and submitting a creative writing response to a writing prompt. The 2020 Silver Pen winner is Jeremiah Perry from Rocky Mount Elementary School with the Cobb County School District in Marietta, GA. Jeremiah won the award last year when he was a 4th grader, but the pandemic delayed the recognition ceremony until February 2021.

As explained by Jim Perry, Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K (no relation to the winner), “The Silver Pen Award is designed to encourage creative writing.” Students read the beginning of an interesting short story, create an engaging end to the story, then submit it to their 4th grade teacher for review. Each homeroom teacher selects the top three entries from the class and the Assistant Principal chooses one finalist from each class. The four finalists are given “a numbered score” by former educators who are now members of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K. All the stories are submitted without names throughout the selection process, so the judges do not know which student wrote the story.

Jeremiah received the following special gifts: A Kiwanis Club Pen, a Silver Pen, twenty one-dollar coins, and an engraved plaque from the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K recognizing Jeremiah for his writing accomplishment.

Jim Perry spoke for all present (at the socially-distanced, outside awards ceremony on February 10, 2021) when he told Jeremiah, “We hope you will take that writing skill and put it to use throughout your life, because our whole purpose is to encourage good writers to be better writers. You did well.” Assistant Principal Dr. Sage Doolittle added, “Rocky Mount is so proud of Jeremiah! We are thrilled that he has embraced a love for creative writing and that writing passion will serve him well in the future.”

Pictured above representing the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K are: Jim Perry (Past President), Jim Farley (Past Kiwanis District 15 Lt. Governor), Aimee Mendel (President-elect), Margy Rogers (President), and Gene Schumacher (Committee Co-chair). Also pictured are: Dr. Sage Doolittle (Assistant Principal at Rocky Mount Elementary); Shani Childress (Jeremiah’s Teacher at Rocky Mount Elementary) and Marika Perry (Jeremiah’s mother). Not pictured is John Kone (Club Vice President).

Cobb schools COVID-19 case rates drop to pre-holiday figures

February 13, 2021 1:46 PMFebruary 13, 2021 10:14 AM by Wendy Parker

As the COVID-19 case rates have declined dramatically in Cobb County, they also have gone down significantly in the Cobb County School District.

The district’s weekly COVID update on Friday reported 232 newly confirmed cases of the virus among students and staff. That’s the lowest single-week tally since there were 106 new cases the week of Nov. 20, right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

For the first time in many weeks, any schools that reporting cases have 10 or fewer, even in high schools, which have had occasional double-digit numbers over the last few months.

The schools in East Cobb with the highest number of cases this week are Addison Elementary School and Walton High School, with 7 each.

Since July 1, there have been 3,731 cumulative COVID cases reported in the Cobb school district, which doesn’t break down numbers among staff and students.

High schools have the most total cases, led by 98 at Walton and North Cobb.

Since students returned for a phased reopening of in-person classes in October, weekly case rates climbed steadily, to 470 the week of Jan. 15, after the start of the spring semester.

The following week, all classes were held online, and two Cobb teachers who had been hospitalized with COVID died, including Cynthia Lindsey, a paraprofessional at Sedalia Park Elementary School.

This week’s figures were a steep drop from the 331 reported last week, which had been the lowest since mid-December.

COVID cases in Cobb have been falling since February. This week there have been 829 cases reported according to date of report, with only Thursday having more than 200 cases.

According to date of symptom figures, there have been 337 cases in Cobb, as some of those daily numbers are falling below triple digits for the first time since late October.

Earlier this week Dr. Janet Memark of Cobb and Douglas Public Health was encouraged by those figures, as well as community spread numbers that show a declining 14-day average of 371 cases per 100,000 people. That number had been above 1,000 per 100,000 last month.

Public health officials said 100 cases per 100,000 is considered “high” community spread.

They also say anything below a 5 percent test positivity rate is ideal. In Cobb that metric also has been falling, to a current 7-day moving average of around 9 percent. That number had been 17.8 percent on Jan. 1.

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale urged students, parents and staff to take precautions during the winter break week next week to continue to reduce the spread of the virus.

Cobb schools to seek SPLOST extension referendum in November

February 13, 2021 1:13 PMFebruary 12, 2021 4:32 PM by Wendy Parker

Eastvalley ES parents — *A portable classroom at Eastvalley ES, which is slated for a replacement facility in the current Cobb Ed-SPLOST V collection period.*

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday he will be seeking an extension of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax with a referendum in November.

What would be Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI would begin in 2024 and for five years would continue to collect a one-percent sales tax for school facility, maintenance and technology expenses.

Local legislation will be required this year to call for a referendum, which would take place in a light election year.

Ragsdale said a project list, called a “notebook,” and details about the process throughout this year will be coming soon.

That process includes public hearings about the project list. A total estimated cost of the five-year collection period, which would also raise funds for similar needs for Marietta City Schools, is to be announced.

At a Cobb school board work session Thursday, Ragsdale said there will be an even higher emphasis on technology, given the expanded remote learning options the Cobb school district has been providing this year due to COVID-19, and that figures to continue on a long-term basis.

“The pandemic has brought a new focus on technology,” he said.

That may include what Ragsdale calls a “one-to-one” initiative for devices, which Cobb students have received since the end of the last school year for remote learning.

The current SPLOST V collection period began in January 2019. The major facility projects include a new campus for Osborne High School and a rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School in East Cobb.

An architect was hired last February to design the new Eastvalley campus, which will be relocated to the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road. A construction timeline has not been announced.

The process of developing a SPLOST notebook—with public as well as staff and school board input—will take place throughout the rest of the year, leading up to a referendum.

“No other district creates a notebook like we do,” Ragsdale said. “It’s about prioritizing needs.”

The current $797 million SPLOST V was passed in March 2017. This year, the only elections in Cobb County are in its six municipalities.

“This District could not survive without Ed-SPLOST because that is what allows us to build the school buildings, school improvements, athletic fields, and technology our students and staff need,” a Cobb schools spokeswoman said in a statement to East Cobb News.

Divided Cobb school board extends superintendent’s contract

February 11, 2021 8:41 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school superintendent honored

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale received a new contract extension Thursday night.

But the vote wasn’t unanimous as it has been in the past.

After an executive session and by a 4-3 party-line vote, the Cobb Board of Education approved the extension for Ragsdale, taking his contract into 2024.

A year ago, Ragsdale got a 7-0 vote to extend his contract and a salary increase to $350,000 a year.

On Thursday, the four votes in support of an extension were from the board’s Republican members—David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb, Randy Scamihorn of North Cobb and Brad Wheeler of West Cobb.

The three Democratic members of the board—Charisse Davis of East Cobb and Smyrna, Jaha Howard of Smyrna and Tre’ Hutchins of South Cobb—voted against.

Board members didn’t discuss the extension before voting. Since they were elected two years ago, Davis and Howard have taken issue with Ragsdale on several issues, including equity matters and the district’s response to COVID-19.

In December, they opposed his recommendation to spend $12 million for special UV disinfecting lights hand sanitizers and other COVID-related safety equipment, saying that was a lot of money to spend from the district’s reserve funding for measures they said were proven.

Last month, Howard was blocked from asking Ragsdale about the district’s COVID response, which wasn’t on the board’s agenda despite the deaths of three teachers from the virus since Christmas.

Hutchins just began his tenure on the board, being elected in November to succeed three-term Democratic member David Morgan, who did not seek re-election.

Ragsdale, named Cobb superintendent in 2015 after serving as deputy superintendent and in other capacities, initially received a three-year contract, the maximum under state law. Since then he has received extensions without objections.

After the vote Thursday, Ragsdale thanked the board and said he looked forward to continue working “as one team.”

In a release issued by the district, board chairman Randy Scamihorn said that “as a Board, we are grateful to have a Superintendent and staff who provide steady, consistent leadership at the helm of one of the largest districts in the country. The common-sense approach to the challenges we face, along with consistently making decisions that prioritize our students and staff, makes our entire county better.”

The release cited improved test scores, improvements to teacher and staff salaries and technology initiatives to accommodate remote learning and enhance school security.

Cobb schools to offer virtual learning option for 2021-22

February 11, 2021 8:45 PMFebruary 11, 2021 3:18 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb K-5 reopening plans — *A demonstration of a virtual student completing classwork in real-time from home. Source: CCSD*

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday a virtual learning option will be offered in the Cobb County School District for the 2021-22 school year.

He made the announcement at the Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon, and said revisions to the current remote and in-person options are being revised.

“That is emphatic and definite,” Ragsdale said of continuing a virtual option.

He said hopes to have the modifications finalized by the end of the current school year in May.

He did not elaborate on what those changes may entail, except to say that “we are learning from mistakes” and “seeing the impacts” a dual learning system has had on students and teachers.

“We recognize the extreme level of difficulty for all team members this school year,” Ragsdale said.

While students have had a choice of how to learn, teachers have been required to teach from their classrooms, and to teach their in-person and remote students simultaneously.

That has led to complaints from teachers for instructional and health reasons. Following the COVID-related deaths of three Cobb school teachers since Christmas, some have renewed calls to allow teachers with health issues to work from home.

Ragsdale didn’t specify those matters in his remarks at the school board work session.

More than two-thirds of Cobb’s more than 107,000 students opted for in-person learning for the spring semester, a higher figure than slightly more than 50 percent in the fall.

But while Ragsdale said he is hopeful that COVID “will be in the rear view mirror” someday, that time is not now.

“I don’t know if the virtual option is not here to stay,” he said. “Some students excel in that environment.”

Parents of Cobb school district students have until the end of February to change their child’s learning option for the rest of the current school year.

Cobb schools to hold all 2021 graduations at McEachern HS

February 8, 2021 2:50 PM by Wendy Parker

After conducting socially distanced outdoor graduations for the Class of 2020 in July at McEachern High School, the Cobb County School District is doing the same thing for the Class of 2021.

The district has announced its graduation schedule, which goes from May 24 to June 4, and could extend to June 5 for weather reasons.

The district chose McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium last year because it has the largest football stadium seating capacity in the 17-high school district.

That plan was created after parents balked at original plans to have student-only graduations at Wheeler and Harrison high schools.

Before COVID-19, Cobb schools held most of its graduations indoors, at the KSU Convocation Center and some churches. Wheeler had been holding its graduations in Wildcat Arena.

This year’s schedule at McEachern is similar to 2020, and some details are still up in the air:

“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.

“More detailed information about the ceremonies including public health measures, venue information, parking, and streaming links for live viewing will be available through this web page by early May.”

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, 9 a.m.
Wednesday, June 2: Kell High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 4: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m.

Cobb schools to open choice window from Feb. 15-28

February 5, 2021 4:46 PM by Wendy Parker

On Friday the Cobb County School District said it would open another choice window for parents between in-person and remote learning from Feb. 15-28.

The options families choose will begin starting March 15 and will continue through the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

Students whose parents do not make a choice during the latest window will continue learning as they began with the spring semester in January.

The district announced in November another window would become available, given the uncertain status of COVID-19 in the county. Nearly 66 of Cobb’s 107,000 students reported for in-person classes for the spring.

But one week in January was all-remote due to growing COVID-19 case numbers and staff and students in quarantine.

On Friday the Cobb school district reported 339 new confirmed cases, the lowest figure since mid-December.

Here’s more from what the district released on Friday:

To make your classroom selection, families should follow the steps below:

1. Make sure the adult who first enrolled each student (the enrolling adult) completes the choice process. Attempting to complete the process as another adult will not work.

2. Use your preferred computing device to navigate to ParentVUE by clicking HERE or by opening the ParentVUE app on your mobile device.

3. Log in with your username and password. If you have forgotten your password, click the Forgot Password link on the login page.

4. Once you are signed in to ParentVUE, direct your attention to the left-hand side menu and select the Back to School Choice menu item.

5. On the Back to School Choice page, find each of your registered students listed, along with the two learning options (FACE-TO-FACE or continue FULL REMOTE) for each.

6. Choose the option that best fits the needs of your student(s) and family.

Cobb schools report 331 new COVID-19 cases; 18 at Walton HS

February 8, 2021 2:56 PMFebruary 5, 2021 1:30 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb ACT results — *Walton has reported 99 confirmed COVID cases since last July, the most in the Cobb County School District.*

As COVID-19 case rates drop in Cobb County, so have the numbers of confirmed new cases in the Cobb County School District—but only slightly.

The district reported on Friday 331 new cases, the lowest one-week total since 470 were confirmed the week of Jan. 15.

Since the district began reporting cases last July 1, there have been 3,499 cases among students and staff. Most have come since students returned for in-person classes in October.

Walton High School in East Cobb had 18 of this week’s new cases, the most for any school in the 113-school Cobb district.

Since last July, there have been 99 cases recorded at Walton, 85 at Lassiter, 83 at Pope and 74 at Kell. At Walton, 64 of those cases have been reported since Dec. 18.

Near the end of the first semester in December, 23 cases were reported in a single week at Walton, before the district announced classes would finish all-remote.

The Cobb school district does not break down the number of students and staff who get COVID, nor does it disclose how many individuals are out due to quarantine.

For a week in January, classes went all-remote due to what the district said were high absence rates for those testing positive and in quarantine.

That also came after the deaths of three Cobb school district teachers since Christmas, and pleas from other teachers to stay virtual.

Nearly two-thirds of the district’s 107,000 students are taking in-person classes during the spring semester that began Jan. 6.

Metro Atlanta school board members and superintendents, including from Cobb, have asked Gov. Brian Kemp to consider moving teachers up in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

But on Wednesday, he said during a press conference in Marietta that the state is running extremely short on vaccine supplies for everyone, including seniors.

“We want to expand the criteria, but it’s just not feasible now,” Kemp said.

The seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases has fallen in Cobb County from 576 on Jan. 12 to 275 on Thursday, according to the Georgia DPH daily status report

The level of community spread also has dropped significantly in Cobb, to a 14-day average of 562 cases per 100,000 people. In January, that figure was over 1,000.

Cobb reported 268 new cases on Thursday and seven deaths, following 11 deaths reported on Wednesday. Since the COVID pandemic began last March, there have been 51,668 cases in Cobb County and 723 deaths.

Cobb schools: ‘Brief lockdown’ lifted after tech malfunction

February 2, 2021 12:20 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District said Tuesday that all schools in the 113-school district were placed on a “brief lockdown” due to a systemwide issue with its AlertPoint emergency alert system.

In a social media message posted around noon, the district said that the lockdowns were lifted and “there was no threat to students or staff at any time. Teachers are teaching and students are learning.”

The message didn’t indicate how long the lockdowns lasted.

In 2017 Cobb schools began implementing AlertPoint, which allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.

The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.

Bells Ferry Elementary School in East Cobb was one of the first schools to use AlertPoint during a proof-of-concept period.

AlertPoint is one component of the district’s CobbShield emergency and safety program that has been developed in recent years.

Cobb schools revise quarantine guidance for close contacts

January 29, 2021 1:53 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District is reducing the quarantine period for asymptomatic staff and students who are considered “close contacts” of those with COVID-19 from 14 to 10 days, effective Monday.

In a statement issued Friday, the district said the decision was based on guidance from Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

What that means is that individuals who show no symptoms after 10 days of isolation and who have not been tested can return to school.

You can read the full statement by clicking here; the district noted that the Centers for Disease Control is still recommending 14-day quarantine period for asymptomatic people exposed to those with COVID-19 “to be safe.”

The district statement said that if an asymptomatic person experiences even one symptom of fever, chills, shortness of breath, coughing or loss of taste and smell and two symptoms from the following conditions: sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, a severe or very bad headache, new nasal congestion or a stuffy or runny nose, they should follow symptomatic guidance.

Cobb schools returned to classes this week after going all-virtual the week before, due to what the district said were high COVID case counts and high numbers of students and staff being out due to quarantine.

Also on Friday the district updated its weekly COVID case totals to include 384 new cases for the past week. Since last July 1 there have been 3,168 confirmed cases of the virus, with the vast majority coming since students returned to campuses in October.

The Cobb school district does not break down the number of students and staff who get COVID, nor does it disclose how many individuals are out due to quarantine.

Earlier this week three Cobb school board members sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp asking for teachers to be prioritized for the COVID vaccine, and two days later Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale joined other metro Atlanta superintendents in asking for the same.

But Kemp’s spokesman said there aren’t enough vaccines as it is for the current phase, which includes seniors and first responders.

At an emotional Cobb school board meeting last week, following the deaths of three of their colleagues, teachers asked to remain all-remote or to allow teachers with health issues to teach from home.

Since in-person classes resumed in October, teachers have been required to teach from their schools.

Wheeler student expanding virtual outreach tutoring program

January 28, 2021 2:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler student virtual tutoring program — *Wheeler senior Ishaan Chaubey in a tutoring session with a student from India.*

Wheeler High School senior Ishaan Chaubey began what he calls the Virtual Outreach Tutoring (VOT) program at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, and is looking to expand the program to help fellow students on a longer-term basis.

He wrote in to explain how VOT—website link here—developed, who’s been involved, and what’s next for the organization:

In March of 2020, after my school had become fully virtual, I saw that many of my peers were struggling in their academics due to the huge transition from in-person learning to a virtual learning setting. As a tutor for an after-school club before COVID-19, I also wondered how those students, who had struggled in their everyday academics, were coping with this new learning method as well.

One night, in a video call with friends, many of them complained that the mass-cancellation of so much in the community had eliminated any opportunity for their community service requirements. Hence, I decided to create an organization named Virtual Outreach Tutoring (VOT), which would provide free virtual tutoring to all elementary, middle, and high school students in a wide variety of subjects and also give high school students several opportunities for community service.

Currently, the VOT administrative team consists of myself, Jahnvi Bhagat (Senior at Wheeler High School) who is the lead administrator for Wheeler High School tutors, Rohan Mathur (Senior at Campbell High School) who is the lead administrator for Campbell High School tutors, Yasmin Sharifian (Senior at Lassiter High School) who is the lead administrator for tutors from Lassiter and other United States schools, and Jack Turbush (Senior at Wheeler High School) who helps in designing various promotional flyers for VOT. As for the number of tutors in our organization, we have approximately 120 tutors who help students in various subjects.

Today, my service initiative has greatly expanded, and my team and I have been able to help over 150 students across the United States and some from India and Germany. This initiative has also acquired significant recognition that it was recently featured on the Cobb County School District website and made an official tutoring option in the CCSD. In addition, various honor societies such as the Wheeler National Honor Society and the Campbell Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society have decided to make our virtual tutoring organization their official tutoring option.

Furthermore, with the help of several nonprofit organizations such as the United Way of Greater Atlanta, this virtual tutoring initiative has also inspired students to join as tutors from different states, such as New York, Texas, Florida, and Virginia, to help their communities. Today, along with providing free virtual tutoring, my team and I have conducted several Group AP Review sessions in the spring of 2020, aided students in SAT/ACT preparation, and produced a virtual musical performance to recognize the hard-work of healthcare workers fighting against COVID-19 for the AG Rhodes Health and Rehab Center in Marietta, Georgia.

For the production of the virtual musical performance, my team consisted of Charles Yu (Editor), Keaton Kotarba (Editor), Joseph Nguyen (Performer- Violin), Hannah Lee (Performer- Violin), and myself (Performer- Piano).

As time progresses, my team and I plan to continue this successful service initiative into college, and we also plan to appoint a new administrative team to lead and manage the tutoring service at the school level after our graduation. Finally, our collective vision for VOT is to remain persistent in helping numerous students by further expanding this initiative across the world and ensuring that each student has the necessary resources to genuinely succeed in their academic endeavor.

Ishaan says students at any level can get tutoring from VOT by going to the website, and that’s where any interested potential tutors can also sign up.

*Hannah Lee working with a student in Marietta.*

*A VOT group review session for AP chemistry.*

East Cobb church issues ‘For Our Teachers’ COVID pledge

January 27, 2021 3:48 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb UMC

An East Cobb church that’s been a site for COVID testing in recent weeks posted a message Wednesday urging support for teachers and efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.

On its social media channels, East Cobb United Methodist Church called for a “For Our Teachers” initiative following the deaths of three Cobb school teachers.

Last Thursday, nearly 100 teachers protested outside Cobb Board of Education meetings to demand all-virtual learning. Last week the district went fully remote but this week returned to face-to-face instruction.

A school employee chided two board members and Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale to wear masks during an emotionally-charged public comment period.

The board did not discuss COVID response at those meetings and Ragsdale only briefly mentioned the dead teachers by name during those meetings. Neither he nor board members David Banks and David Chastain of East Cobb put on masks.

Following “the blatant disrespect for teachers’ health and safety at last week’s school board meeting, silence for us is no longer an option,” said the East Cobb UMC message, which continues:

For our teachers, we listen.

They are saying this is the “craziest, most difficult, most frustrating school year” of their careers, and they feel “unsupported and unacknowledged” (a direct quote from a long-time county educator).

For our teachers, we pray.

We ask God to grant all educators the strength and perseverance needed during this difficult year.

For our teachers, we give thanks.

Thank you for the endless hours you have spent reworking the curriculum to fit modified and hybrid classrooms. Thank you for the extra time spent scrubbing desks and sanitizing markers. Your care and creativity do not go unnoticed.

For our teachers, we wear a mask.

Not just once-and-awhile, but every time we leave the house. We must #StopTheSpread.

For our teachers, we get the vaccine when we can.

Ultimately, this is the only way the dreadful pandemic will ever end.

For our teachers, we advocate.

We will contact our school board representatives and implore them to take the same actions we pledge to take.

For our teachers, we do better.

After all, our children would not have an education if it was not… For Our Teachers.

Add the “For Our Teachers” frame to your profile picture and join us in solidarity with educators everywhere: https://tinyurl.com/xz1n4lp2

Along with this, we invite you to post a tangible way you will support teachers in your community. You may model ours or create one of your own. #ForOurTeachers

In November, East Cobb UMC became a pop-up site for COVID testing by a private company, and that part of the church parking lot has been busy ever since. The public can drive up without an appointment to get a test. There are no out-of-pocket costs and insurance is accepted.

On Monday three Cobb school board members signed a letter sent to Gov. Brian Kemp demanding more safety measures at schools, including prioritizing vaccines for teachers.

On Wednesday, the Cobb school district announced that Ragsdale had signed a similar letter from metro Atlanta superintendents.

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