The district revealed those numbers, including school-by-school choices, and that you can find here.
Another 25 percent of students will be learning remotely during the spring, while 21 percent had not revealed their choices at the end of the sign-up period.
The district said those decisions will be made at the school level with students and their parents.
Another sign-up period will take place during the spring semester, but no dates or other specifics were announced by the district on Thursday.
Like the fall, the school level with the highest percentages of face-to-face choices are for elementary school, at 60.9 percent.
In middle school, the face-to-face totals come to 53.5 percent, and for high school they’re 44.1 percent, also similar to fall figures.
In East Cobb, the schools with the highest rates of face-to-face choices are at Garrison Mill ES (85.9 percent), Keheley ES (85.8), Mt. Bethel ES (84.3), Tritt ES (83.5) and Hightower Trail MS (80.5).
On the other end were Brumby ES (38.6 percent), Eastvalley ES (40.3 percent), East Cobb MS (44.2), and Wheeler HS (37.3), although schools with lower face-to-face figures also had high numbers of students who hadn’t made a choice.
Three of the six high schools in East Cobb have a majority choosing face-to-face for the spring: Lassiter (67.8 percent), Pope (67.6) and Walton (57.6).
But nearly a third of students at Walton and Wheeler hadn’t made a choice.
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Pope athletic director Josh Mathews with the Greyhounds softball team after winning the 2019 Georgia 6A state championship. (ECN file)
Information from the Cobb County School District:
The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) recently announced that Josh Mathews, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Pope High School, has been recognized as a Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA).
To earn the CMAA, Josh demonstrated exemplary knowledge, contributions, and on-going professional development in the field of interscholastic athletic administration. He put in many hours of his own time to earn this certification. The process included a thorough evaluation of his educational background, experience, NIAAA Leadership Courses, and professional contributions. He also had to create and submit a final presentation project.
“This is a very big deal,” said Cobb Schools Director of Athletics Don Baker. “There are only a little over 1,000 in the country, and Josh is the only one in our county with this distinction. It is a testament to Josh’s hard work and dedication to the field of athletic administration.”
Mr. Baker also received his certification as a Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA). He hopes to complete his CMAA early next year. “Both Don and Josh are now part of an elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism,” said NIAAA Executive Director Mike Blackburn.
“Gaining the CMAA designation was a goal of mine as an athletic administrator, and achieving a goal is always satisfying,” said Josh. “I appreciate those who helped me walk through my years in athletic leadership. There is no substitute for learning from others who have lived the same experiences. I would encourage more of our Athletic Directors to go through these certification processes.”
When asked how this distinction would benefit the Pope sports community, Josh immediately lightened the mood. “It means that when they receive an email from me, there will be an extra initial in the signature,” he said, smiling.
“Seriously though,” he continued, “the key takeaway from obtaining this certification is the professional development and the athletic operations required to complete it. Serving at Pope is a humbling honor because of the great people in this community—from our students to our staff, to the parents, the alumni, and so many other supportive community members. Our family truly loves being a part of the Pope Family.”
“Cobb Schools is very proud to call Josh Mathews one of its own,” said Don Baker proudly. “His passion for athletics and the Pope community is unmatched, and he does a great job leading the Greyhounds each and every day. We are lucky to have him in our District.”
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Over the last two weeks there have been 241 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the Cobb County School District.
Last week the district didn’t provide its usual weekly update due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but on Friday provided new numbers that show nearly 1,000 cases that have been reported overall.
There have been 962 cases confirmed by Cobb and Douglas Public Health since July 1 in the Cobb school district.
A total of 675 of those cases among students and staff have been reported since students began returning to campuses in early October.
The most recent report includes confirmed COVID cases at 67 schools in the 113-school Cobb district. They are being reported at 37 elementary schools, 16 middle schools and in 14 of the district’s 17 high schools.
All of them are reporting 10 or fewer cases, as has been the case since the district began providing the weekly updates.
Also on Friday, the Cobb school district updated health and safety resource information, including quarantine guidance, that you can find here.
In East Cobb the following schools have confirmed new COVID cases over the last two weeks:
Elementary: Addison, Brumby, Davis, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Keheley, Mt. Bethel, Mountain View, Murdock, Nicholson, Rocky Mount, Sedalia Park, Shallowford Falls, Timber Ridge, Tritt;
Middle: Daniell, Dickerson, Dodgen, East Cobb, McCleskey;
High: Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry, Wheeler.
The newest figures for the Cobb school district come as community spread of COVID-19 continues to increase in the county and Georgia.
That figure dropped to around 100 early in the fall, but has been steadily going up.
On Friday, Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, issued a “surge alert” expressing concern about “an alarming number of cases being reported to public health this week. The timing is right for the beginnings of the results of any activities over the Thanksgiving break.”
More than 27,000 COVID cases have been reported in the county since March, and another 346 cases were reported on Thursday.
No schools or classes in the Cobb school district have been closed for COVID reasons since the return of face-to-face learning. During a Cobb Board of Education meeting in November, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said he would determine possible action along those lines on a case-by-case basis, and does not anticipate returning to all-virtual learning.
The fall semester ends on Dec. 18 and the spring semester starts on Jan. 6.
Parents of Cobb school district students had until last Friday to choose between in-person and remote learning options for their children for the spring semester.
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Submitted information and photo from the Cobb County School District:
Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public has proudly recognized Dodgen 8th Grader, Abhijeet Ghosh, as one of the 30 national finalists of the 2020 virtual Broadcom MASTERS science & engineering competition. Abhijeet was selected as a finalist in this national competition after completing an entry based on his Dodgen science fair project completed last spring. His project went on to win at the county level and beyond. Abhijeet recently participated in finals week of the competition. During the competition, Abhijeet presented his research to judges and the public and competed in team STEM challenges.
In recognition of Dodgen supporting Abhijeet as a Broadcom MASTERS finalist, the Broadcom Foundation and the Society for Science & the Public are proud to awardDodgen Middle School with $1,000 for each finalist named in the Broadcom MASTERS. The award will be used to support the development of excellence in science, math, or engineering education at Dodgen.
More on the Broadcom Foundation and the Society for Science and the Public can be found here.
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Lisa says 63,000 students submitted their work for the contest, and Abigail’s work is the only one from a student in Georgia.
Her exhibit is called “Do you see right through me?” and the subject explores anxieties and inner securities when not taking proper medication.
She used acrylic paint, magazine paper, digital images, and a permanent marker. Says Abigail’s Lassiter art teacher, Suzette Spinelli:
“Abigail is a student that can mentally visualize something from real life into a profound work of art. Her experience is not the final art but a trigger for a new idea. This helps her create art that becomes higher-level, incorporating critical thinking skills that she thrives upon.”
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In the first Board meeting since all Cobb students have had the choice to return to face-to-face learning, the Cobb Schools Board of Education voted to approve the following legislative priorities for the 2020-21 school year: educational access, financial sustainability, and accuracy in accountability.
“With all that has happened to public education since COVID-19, these legislative priorities are even more important than normal. During a pandemic when everything will be more complicated than ever, the needs of our students and teachers are how we came to these priorities and are who we will be supporting going into this legislative session,” said Cobb Schools Board Chair Brad Wheeler.
As demonstrated since March, policies, and funding to support educational access for all students, in both remote or face-to-face classrooms, is more important than it ever has been. Steps to ensure educational access for all students include strengthening the teacher pipeline, sustaining the teachers’ retirement system, and maintaining or increasing Title I allocations. Fully funding classrooms for students and teachers by funding the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula is the most important part of keeping Cobb Schools financially sustainable. Although due to COVID-19, instruction has looked different this year, the costs for the buildings, utilities, teachers, and staff are called “fixed costs.” To support these fixed costs, the way schools are funded—which is based on Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)—should be based on counts equal to or greater than those taken in March 2020. The school board also determined that financial sustainability, now and in the future, depends on funds not being diverted from public education. As with the other two legislative priorities, the BOE’s final priority has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dramatically impacted the way students learn. Accuracy in accountability focuses on reducing the impact of standardized testing, ensuring flexibility around CCRPI, and applying charter waivers to SWSS Systems.
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Sam Patterson, a 2017 graduate of Walton High School, has received a Rhodes Scholarship.
A senior at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he’s one of 32 American students awarded the prestigious scholarship each year, which supports graduate study at the University of Oxford in England.
Here’s more from UMBC about Sam and what he wants to study at Oxford and his plans beyond that:
Patterson will pursue an M.Sc. in the Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance program at Oxford focusing on the economics of transportation. This research area will take full advantage of his three undergraduate degrees from UMBC. This spring, Patterson will earn bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and statistics and a bachelor of arts in economics.
A Meyerhoff Scholar and member of the Honors College, Patterson has steadily nurtured his interest in transportation economics at UMBC and through intensive summer internships. He conducted research supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at Harvard University with the Harvard Leadership Alliance and at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Most recently, at the National Bureau of Economic Research, he evaluated trends in transportation changes in urban centers due to the pandemic.
A strong network of support has been a cornerstone of Patterson’s UMBC experience. “From the Meyerhoff Scholars program to the Honors College to Dr. Householder to Naomi Mburu [UMBC’s first Rhodes Scholar] to my recommenders and mock interviewers and beyond, I’ve never had so many people on my team before, pushing me to achieve something I’m pursuing,” Patterson shares.
A transformative opportunity
Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Patterson’s education and internships have taken him around the U.S. However, he has never traveled abroad, so the Rhodes Scholarship offers a unique opportunity for him to broaden his perspective by studying in the U.K. and visiting other European countries. He hopes to further deepen his understanding of challenges—and potential solutions—related to a range of transportation systems.
“I’m so excited to go to the U.K.! I think it will do wonders for my research when I experience the European perspective on public transportation and its place in society and sustainability,” Patterson says. “There are so many brilliant academics at Oxford that I’m raring to meet. I just feel so fortunate to be where I am and to be going where I’m going.”
After Oxford, Patterson already has plans to attend Harvard University for a Ph.D. Before he gets there, though, Patterson and his mentors have no doubt the Rhodes experience will be transformative.
“The Rhodes Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for exceptional young people with the potential to make a difference for good in the world. Sam has that mixture of grit and excellence that is the best of what UMBC represents,” Householder says. “His experience in the U.K. will enrich not only his academic path, but also his personal journey in so many profound ways. I can’t wait to see what he will accomplish.”
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For the second week in a row, more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the Cobb County School District.
The district posted this week’s update on Friday noting an additional 106 cases this week, for 721 overall since July 1. All the cases are confirmed by Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
The cases are for staff, teachers and students but aren’t broken down further.
When elementary schools students began returning for face-to-face instruction on October 5, there had been 287 cases to that point.
Since then, 434 cases have been reported as the reopening continued. Here’s how those figures have risen week-by-week:
He said Cobb and Douglas Public Health officials told him the virus isn’t spreading in the schools, and any decisions to close classrooms or schools will be made on a “case-by-case basis.”
He said there was a school that caused some concern, but health officials determined multiple cases weren’t related and the school remained open.
No Cobb schools or classrooms have been closed since students returned in October.
“There is not going to be trigger or a number or a level,” Ragsdale said to the school board, prompting an exchange with board member Jaha Howard.
Ragsdale said over the summer, when the county’s 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people was spiking extremely high—nearly 400—that was his baseline for deciding to start the year all-virtual.
The reopening began after that number dropped close to 200, and for a while in Cobb it hovered around 100, which is considered “high community spread.”
That average is now back in the mid-200s, and Ragsdale said Thursday that “we are in a different time than we were in the summer.”
Since face-to-face learning resumed, teachers have had to instruct students in their classrooms and those at home simultaneously.
Connie Jackson of the Cobb County Association of Educators told school board members Thursday that “right now, our teachers are so overworked. They are at their breaking report.”
She asked that the district provide a written policy about how it’s following data during the pandemic, giving teachers the option in the second semester of teaching all-virtual if they have medical conditions that make it unsafe to teach from school, and provide bus drivers with masks for students who don’t have them.
Parents of Cobb school district students have until Nov. 29 to choose their child’s learning option for the spring semester, and Ragsdale said it’s possible a second window could open up for that purpose depending on any possible COVID case spike over the winter.
On Friday, the district is sending home with students a “symptom letter” written by Cobb and Douglas Public Health advising families on how to reduce the spread of the virus and stay safe during the Thanksgiving holidays.
Here’s the test of that message:
Dear Parents and Caregivers of Cobb County School District Students:
The Fall season has brought cooler weather, but also a rise of 100% over the last few weeks in COVID 19 cases in our county. We were already in the high transmission category, but this new rise in cases jeopardizes all the progress that has been made to this point. Not only are we seeing very high transmission rates, but our hospitals are now nearing capacity. Surges in many states throughout the nation show us that we have not yet controlled this virus. We in public health are deeply concerned with cold weather moving us indoors, the anticipated holiday travel, and the COVID fatigue that has made our community to be less likely to wear masks or keep our distance from others.
The importance of keeping our children in school is indisputable. At this critical juncture, we need to work together to keep that a reality for us all.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health (CDPH) is working with the school staff and parents to contain isolated cases of COVID-19 throughout the schools. Due to federal HIPAA laws, we try our best to protect the privacy of the affected individuals in each case. We wanted to take this time to remind of you of best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please remember, DO NOT send your children to school when they have symptoms of COVID- 19. These symptoms include, but are not limited to:
Cough
Shortness of breath
Fever
Muscle aches
Sore throat
Headaches
Congestion/runny nose
Diarrhea
We have received multiple reports of parents sending their children to school while sick. We understand the burden of having to keep children home when they are sick, but sending sick children to school can endanger other children and staff, as well. Free Covid-19 tests are provided by CDPH in the form of nasal self swabs and results are available within 1-2 days.
Also remember that any child who is in direct contact with a family member positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes ACCUMULATED, over 24 hours during the isolation period is a close contact and should not be sent to school. They must quarantine. Not doing so, endangers the health of other children and the community at large.
These orders are in accordance with O.C.G.A. §§ 31-2A-4(4) and 31-12-4, Chapter 511-9- 1 of the Rules of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
We also ask that you all help us to contain the spread of COVID-19 within our community. Wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing, and avoiding crowds of people will go a long way in winning this battle.
Please contact us at www.cobbanddouglashealth.org for more information on COVID-19 or to sign up for a free test.
For additional information, please visit the Georgia Department of Public Health website:
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A strongly divided Cobb Board of Education engaged in more vitriolic rhetoric Thursday after the board’s Republican majority approved two measures a black Democratic member said were examples of “systemic racism.”
Jaha Howard
During a board work session Thursday afternoon, the board voted to abolish a newly-approved committee to examine naming policies for Cobb school district schools and buildings.
The board also approved a measure requiring a four-vote majority for board members to place items on the meeting agenda.
The votes were both 4-2, with the four Republicans—all white males—voting in favor: Chairman Brad Wheeler, vice chairman David Banks, David Chastain and Randy Scamihorn.
The two voting against were Charisse Davis and Jaha Howard, both black Democrats.
Board member David Morgan, a black Democrat from South Cobb, was absent from the work session.
The naming policy committee was approved by a 4-3 vote in August at the behest of Morgan, who said there is not a school in the 113-school Cobb district named after an African-American.
The naming policy committee was to have included school board members and citizens, and Wheeler was the only Republican to vote in favor of it.
But he said at Thursday’s work session that he had “reconsidered” his vote because he thought that naming of schools should be a matter for elected board members, not an appointed committee.
“We shouldn’t delegate board authority,” Wheeler said. Nothing has happened since the August vote, and the committee had not been formed.
Jaha Howard, a first-term Democrat from the Campbell and Osborne clusters, lashed out, saying the board was being asked “to undo something that hasn’t been done.”
Howard said getting rid of the committee amounted to “systemic racism,” and ignored Wheeler’s explanation that he changed his mind after seeking community feedback.
Howard said it was still racism, and pressed Wheeler to say if he thought it was fair that there’s a school in the district named after a Confederate general (Wheeler HS).
Wheeler, who’s generally mild-mannered, took strong objection to Howard’s allegations of racism.
“That’s your opinion, not mine,” Wheeler said angrily. “We can change a vote.”
He also told Howard that “I am not a Confederate,” and ruled him out of order, reminding him he was chairing the meeting.
Matters got more acrimonious from there, when Scamihorn proposed a measure requiring board members to get a board majority before placing items on meeting agendas.
Scamihorn didn’t describe what he was proposing, but said it was needed to streamline the length of board meetings and do away items that that weren’t relevant.
Previously, board business items needed the approval of three members, the chairman or the superintendent to be placed on the agenda.
Scamihorn’s measure was not included in the board’s meeting agenda packet; when East Cobb News asked a district spokeswoman for a copy of his proposal, she said it wouldn’t be available until Friday.
Howard and Davis both objected strenuously to Scamihorn’s proposal, saying it smacked of censorship.
“This board doesn’t want any dissenting opinions,” Howard said, calling Scamihorn’s proposal “a rubber stamp for the superintendent.”
Banks interrupted him, and for a while he and Howard tried to shout over one another.
Davis quickly accused Banks of “spewing racist trash” but has not directly addressed him at meetings as Howard has done.
The board also was unable to come to a consensus about an anti-racism resolution this summer after some of the Republican members objected to language demanded by Howard that “systemic racism” exists in the Cobb County School District.
At Thursday’s work session, Howard said Scamihorn’s proposal was “a maneuver to silence the minority.” Banks objected again, before Wheeler gaveled him down.
He and Davis both then decried what they said was censorship aimed specifically at them.
“This same thing is playing out again,” Howard said, once again accusing his colleagues of systemic racism. “It’s extremely short-sighted and disgusting.”
He said he was disappointed in his colleagues and the superintendent, and said that “all of our voices matter.”
He also noted the timing of the measures, coming right after Wheeler, Scamihorn and Banks were all re-elected, maintaining the board’s Republican majority. Morgan, who did not seek re-election, will be succeeded by Democrat Tre’ Hutchins.
Davis asked of her Republican colleagues: “What are you afraid of?” She cited the school communities of a number of schools—including several in East Cobb—whose interests she said she could not advocate for if Scamihorn’s proposal were approved.
Addressing his response through Wheeler, Scamihorn said “I’m going to take it as a rhetorical question, but I don’t know what we need to be afraid of.”
He added that there was “no attempt to censor” any board member.
After the work session, Howard fired away on his Facebook page, saying that “systemic racism will support a person who doesn’t want to openly discuss safety during a freaking pandemic partially because outspoken Black people are the ones asking tough questions.”
He also said “systemic racism tells a colleague to essentially ‘shut up and dribble.’ ”
Several Wheeler High School students who support changing the school name spoke to board members during their Thursday evening meeting, condemning the vote to abolish the naming policy committee.
“It seems that you are actively working to silence what’s been started,” said Sydney Spessard, a senior. “It’s shameful that you don’t have the decency to follow through” to create the committee.
“Systemic racism is not an opinion. It is a reality,” she said.
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Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that decisions on closing classrooms or schools in the district due to COVID-19 cases are being addressed on a “case by case” basis.
During a Cobb Board of Education work session, Ragsdale said “there are no metrics” for determining those decisions, unlike countywide public health data he relied on this summer.
No classrooms or schools in the Cobb County School District have closed since students returned for face-to-face learning in October and early November.
Ragsdale said “I’m not looking to take the district back to 100 percent virtual,” a reference to some online speculation that such an option was being considered.
He said there was a school that posed enough of concern about COVID cases that Cobb and Douglas Public Health was asked examine case data there.
He said when contact tracing details revealed no “linkage” between cases, the decision was made to keep open the school, which he did not identify.
“There is not going to be trigger or a number or a level,” Ragsdale said in response to a question by school board member Charisse Davis about how possible closings are being addressed.
He said that he’s in regular contact with Cobb and Douglas Public Health, which has concluded that the schools are not spreaders of the virus, compared to restaurants, churches and other activities and events indoors.
A case-by-case approach is a different criteria than what Ragsdale had used in keeping schools online at the start of the school year, and then gradually reopening for in-person learning.
In the late summer he said that overall COVID cases in Cobb needed to drop to a 14-day average of 200 people per 100,000 population. At that point, that average was in the 300s.
“We are in a different time than we were in the summer,” Ragsdale said. “We have to be adaptable in this process.”
The district has been updating COVID-19 case figures every Friday. As of last week 328 of the 610 reported cases since July 1 have occurred since students returned to schools.
Last week’s total of 105 cases was the biggest one-week jump since students returned, and came two weeks after the return of high school students, the final phase of the reopening.
There were 53 schools that had reported cases last week, including 13 of 17 high school campuses.
The school district updates those figures at this link every Friday.
Ragsdale didn’t refer to any of that in his remarks, but urged parents to visit the district’s website for “factual” information about COVID information and protocols, instead of social media.
That sparked a testy exchange between Ragsdale and board member Jaha Howard, who thought that suggestion “does not seem sufficient, not by a longshot.”
Parents of students in the Cobb school district have until Nov. 29 to decide spring semester learning options, and Ragsdale said there could be another window in the spring due to rising cases expected over the winter.
“We’re seeing cases spike up but not in the schools,” Ragsdale said.
Earlier in the fall, Cobb’s overall 14-day average of cases per 100,000 fell briefly to under 100, which is considered high community spread. But that number has been steadily been going up since October, and as of Thursday it stood at 244.
Howard said this was the first he was hearing “that we’re not using those data points” and asked that board members get communications with data that is being utilized, instead of just going to the district’s website.
Then board member Randy Scamihorn interrupted, and Howard objected, and chairman Brad Wheeler upheld Howard’s complaint.
Howard said he was frustrated that not only as a board member but as a parent that he didn’t know more than what was on the district’s website.
Ragsdale told him that “there is a lot of uncertainty that we’re dealing with on a daily basis,” and that he was reluctant to disclose the possibility of another choice window in the spring, since that information that will be bandied about on social media and elsewhere.
He said while no decision has been made about that, it is still being considered, and that not all discussions within the superintendent’s cabinet are for public consumption.
Ragsdale has been a frequent critic of social media, and in recent days chatter on some social media platforms has included claims that the district’s COVID-19 case counts are being underreported.
At every school that has reported COVID cases, the district maintains that fewer that 10 cases have occurred in each week of reporting. The only exception is Harrison High School, which reported exactly 10 cases last week.
Ragsdale said that with Thanksgiving coming up next week and the holiday season approaching, all school district families will be getting a “symptom letter” on Friday written by Cobb and Douglas Public Health urging students and staff who have COVID symptoms to stay home.
It’s part of a message of caution Ragsdale said is needed “to maintain our due diligence during the holidays.
“We can be thankful but at the same time we need to be cautiously thankful.”
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The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Cobb County School District rose sharply this week, with 105 new cases added to the totals as the first data has come in since the return of high school students to campuses.
Those new cases have been reported at 53 of the district’s 112 schools, including most of the high schools.
According to the district’s weekly Friday update, there have now been 615 confirmed COVID cases among students teachers and staff since July 1.
At all of the schools with new cases, 10 or fewer cases have been reported, as has been the case since the district began releasing figures in October. This week’s total is the biggest one-week increase.
Friday marked the end of the second week of campus return for high school students, who were the last component of the district’s phased reopening that began in October.
Of the 17 high school campuses in the district, only four did not have any confirmed COVID cases—Sprayberry, Osborne, Pebblebrook and the Cobb Horizon School.
When elementary students returned in the first phase in early October, there had been 287 COVID cases reported.
Since then, there have been 328 reported cases, which don’t break down specific numbers of students and staff.
The new figures come as Cobb County and Georgia are reporting new spikes in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
As of Wednesday, there have been 23,547 COVID cases reported in Cobb County, as various reporting metrics have been on the rise. A total of 480 people in Cobb have died from the virus, the second-highest number in Georgia behind Fulton County.
On Nov. 2, the seven-day moving average of cases in Cobb according to date of onset had risen to 94.3, the highest figure since early September.
Even more critically, the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people has nearly doubled over that time.
That’s down from 222 cases per 100,000 on Wednesday. Public health officials consider 100 cases per 100,000 to be what they call “high community spread.”
It’s a key metric used by Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale in his decision to start the school year online. By the late summer, the 14-day average had grown to nearly 400.
By the time that figure had fallen to a little more than 200, the decision was made to allow face-to-face learning.
In September, Cobb’s 14-day average dipped below 100 for just a couple of days, and has been gradually climbing ever since.
Georgia DPH also reports that there have been 1,487 new cases in Cobb County over the last two weeks.
Of the Cobb schools with new COVID cases, 17 are in East Cobb, including five of the six high schools:
Middle Schools: Daniell; Dodgen; East Cobb; McCleskey; Simpson
High Schools: Kell; Lassiter; Pope; Walton; Wheeler.
As the district’s new update was announced, we got a message from a Dickerson Middle School parent noting that no cases had been reported there in this week’s update. But she got a “low-risk” note that went out to the school community indicating that someone had reported positive.
From the e-mail that went out to Dickerson parents:
“All health and safety measures have been in place and we will continue to isolate individuals with symptoms or a diagnosis of COVID-19, identify close contacts, and clean and disinfect the school building.”
The letter noted that the school underwent two days of deep cleaning this week—schools were closed Tuesday for election day and Wednesday is a non-instructional day—and stressed there’s not much more information that can be provided:
“I want to reiterate, this LOW RISKletter is being provided in an abundance of caution so you may assess and monitor your child’s symptoms and act accordingly. Please continue to monitor your child’s health daily for fever and symptoms of respiratory illness.
“In this particular situation, if your child had been identified as a close contact, you would have already been notified by the school, receiving additional advisement, including quarantine dates.
“I know not having additional information may be frustrating and makes us all uneasy, however I want to safeguard our email boxes and front office from being bombarded with questions we are unable to answer. Again, the school is not allowed to provide any additional information regarding our student/teacher/staff member who tested positive for COVID-19.”
The parent has sent a message to the district, adding this comment: “I don’t feel confident in the data you are publishing if you are not including confirmed cases in your counts. I would like to know why this case (and possibly others) is not being counted.”
A spokeswoman for the Cobb school district said there has not been a confirmed case at Dickerson among students or staff so it was not included in the COVID statistical update.
She said she could not explain further who that person was, but said that when such an occasion occurs, Cobb and Douglas Public Health asks the district to send the “low-risk” message.
“We encourage all students, staff, and parents to follow the guidance and detail that is available which will be found in the letters they receive from Cobb & Douglas Public Health,” the Cobb school district spokeswoman said.
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We noted earlier this month that parents of students in the Cobb County School District will be able to choose face-to-face or remote learning options from Nov. 15-29.
As that portal opens on Sunday, the district has provided some further information about the process, which operates the same as it did for the fall semester.
The spring semester runs from Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 through Wednesday, May 26, 2021, and the district says you can change your selection anytime during that Nov. 15-29 period at the Cobb Learning Everywhere portal.
After that, those decisions will be final, as they have been for the current semester. Per a district release, here are the selection steps:
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 user name 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.
As we continue to be committed to offering you choice, Cobb’s commitment to health and safety will continue as well. You can learn more about Cobb Schools’ enhanced health and safety protocols, which are keeping Cobb’s students as healthy and safe as possible, by clicking here.
We recognize that this school year has already been full of challenges. We know we cannot address every way COVID-19 has impacted your lives, but we can continue to give families safe and healthy face-to-face and remote classroom options for as long as public health conditions in Cobb County allow.
We sincerely thank you for your support and partnership as a member of the Cobb Schools Team and look forward to supporting your student(s) for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year.
Data released by the district before students returned to classes indicated that 52 percent of all students chose face-to-face learning, including 58 percent in elementary school, 54 percent in middle school and 42 percent in high school.
Two high schools in East Cobb reported the highest percentage of students who have gone back to classrooms: Pope (70.6 percent) and Lassiter (63.3 percent).
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In observation of Veterans Day, members of the Rocky Mount Elementary School choir came together—online—to offer a musical tribute to those serving in the U.S. armed forces.
The school is among those in the Cobb County School District that has had an in-person Veterans Day celebration in the past, so the students recorded this virtual rendition of “Veterans We Love You.”
According to a release from the Cobb County School District, the 35 students—from third through fifth grade—worked for weeks to get the song just right: “They may not have been able to meet in person for practices like in the past, but they wanted to keep the music alive.”
The district said the choir, under the direction of music teacher Andrew Geocaris, has been meeting on Wednesdays—which is a day for catch-up and independent learning this year.
He gave them individual feedback, and students submitted their solo performances through FlipGrid. Geocaris then compiled the final video with some light audio and video editing “to maintain the most authentic performance possible in the virtual medium.”
Here’s more from their teacher:
“I love the enthusiasm our students show when they have the chance to be a part of something new. Time and again, when a new club or opportunity arises, our students are eager to be a part of the next exciting moment at Rocky Mount. I often find that our students’ enthusiasm feeds my own, giving me both the energy and inspiration to come up with new ideas for the classroom and for chorus.”
He said he was worried that after having gone virtual in March, his students might have felt some screen fatigue, but said he was pleased more students signed up for the fall virtual choir than had taken part in the spring.
“Even if it means one more Zoom call, our students crave the feeling of connection and community that the fine arts provide.”
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The Cobb County School District said Tuesday that its Class of 2020 senior class—marked with interruptions due to COVID-19 closures—has posted a graduation rate of 88.6 percent, its highest ever.
Those graduates also surpassed the Georgia graduation rate of 83.8 percent.
According to a release issued by the district, 10 of the 16 high schools had graduation rates of 91 percent or higher, including three in East Cobb.
Lassiter was second in the district at 97.6 percent; Walton was third at 97.5 percent; and Pope was fifth at 95.8 percent.
Kell’s graduation rate of 92.4 percent is 3.1 percent higher than 2019, and is one of the biggest improvements in the district.
Over the last five years, Cobb’s overall graduation rate has climbed 7.2 percent, and the other two East Cobb high schools have seen continued progress.
Sprayberry’s graduation rate of 89 percent is up 17 percent from 2015, and Wheeler’s was 89.5 percent this year. That’s up 2.8 percent from last year, part of a gain of 10.1 percent over the last five years.
The graduation rates are based on federal calculations of the number of students in a senior class who are enrolled for at least one day during an academic year.
The district compiled what it calls the “real” graduation rate of students who enroll over one, two, three and four years (see chart above).
“No matter the challenges this year, our teachers and principals have helped a record number of Cobb students reach the graduation stage,” said Cobb Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale in a statement.
Said Dr. Chris Richie, Lassiter principal:
“Over the years, we’ve had a focused collaborative effort to make sure all of our students are working toward their academic goals. The message begins in our feeder schools and is reinforced throughout our community. Setting college and career-ready goals is a consistent theme that our students, parents, teachers, and community embrace. Graduation rate is a tremendous reflection of the great work and values that our entire learning community places on education.”
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Cobb Board of Education member David Banks was targeted in both the primary and general election this year, criticized as being out of touch and insensitive to minority concerns in the Cobb County School District.
The East Cobb Republican had his closest challenge yet on Tuesday from Democratic first-time candidate Julia Hurtado. She said Cobb County has “outgrown” Banks, a retired technology consultant whom some have accused of falling asleep during school board meetings.
After trailing through election-day results, however, Banks bucked the absentee-balloting trend that favored Democrats in Cobb County and pulled out a 2,639-vote win to earn a fourth term.
He was one of three incumbent Republican males who won re-election over Democratic women, meaning that the GOP will hold on to its 4-3 majority on the Cobb school board.
Banks won 21 of the 27 precincts in Post 5—which comprises the Pope and Lassiter clusters, and some of the Walton and Wheeler areas—and captured 52 percent of the vote, which was the lowest for him since he first was first elected in 2008.
“I was expecting 70 percent, but a win is a win,” said Banks, the board’s vice chairman this year. (Full results can be seen by clicking here.)
Chairman Brad Wheeler of West Cobb also had a close contest, but was able to win by 1,800 votes, also against a first-time Democratic candidate.
The Democratic wins in countywide races didn’t filter down to the three contested school board races (another board seat was secured in the primary by Democrat Tre’ Hutchins, who will succeed outgoing member David Morgan from Post 3 in South Cobb).
Banks couldn’t resist stirring up the partisan pot in victory.
“I really hope people aren’t trying to believe in socialism,” he said. When asked who those people might be, Banks said “anybody who voted for Democrats. Why cut your own throat?”
Banks spent little and campaigned even less, using the reach of his e-mail newsletter and distributing some yard signs to get out the word about his campaign.
He was dismissive of Hurtado, whose daughter is a Sedalia Park Elementary School student.
“I didn’t pay any attention to what she said,” Banks said.
He did mention a concession statement Hurtado posted on social media, saying that she contacted Banks after the election results were in, and reminded him, among other things, that “I am going to be the airhorn that wakes him up every time he snoozes on our kids and our teachers.
“We’ve built an unprecedented movement and have already ignited so many important conversations that were never part of East Cobb before; I know we’ll continue to make change together, even if we have to go around him to do so.”
She lashed out not just against Banks.
“The men who will be keeping their seats on the school board couldn’t stick to the issues because they didn’t have anything productive to contribute to the conversation. They chose to focus on partisan politics rather than stuff of substance; I thought we as a community had evolved past that, but the demographics just aren’t there yet. These men went negative because they only know how to lead through fear.
“They spread misinformation and ran poorly-produced attack ads against a bunch of moms. In a school board race. They should be ashamed of themselves. I hope they’ll consider their very narrow wins as a referendum on this behavior. There may not be more of us yet, but there are too many of us to ignore, and we won’t tolerate this kind of behavior. Our kids deserve better.”
Among the attacks against Hurtado was a video ad that quoted her in an online candidates forum, saying she supported changing the name of Wheeler High School and favored revisiting the county’s popular senior tax exemption from school taxes.
Banks said he wasn’t involved in the ad, but didn’t like what he said was a “nasty” response from Hurtado, a “nasty threatening statement she made.”
Davis said Banks was “spewing racist trash,” including comments he made about Cobb being endangered by “white flight” he cited in other metro Atlanta school districts.
He reiterated that concern after his re-election victory, and said that with a continued Republican school board majority, the Cobb school district can continue to have a “forward-thinking learning environment.
“If it had gone the other way, we’d be headed in the direction of Atlanta and DeKalb,” Banks said.
He said the biggest challenge the Cobb school district faces now is “how we manage getting back the learning process. We can do this more than one way.”
With the Cobb school district offering face-to-face and remote options for students this year, Banks said better integrating those programs will be critical.
He does support full face-to-face learning at the elementary school level, but believes there can be more of a mix of virtual options at the middle- and high school levels.
“Virtual doesn’t work for everybody,” he said. “Our job will be to figure out what works best for each student. There are many opportunities we haven’t explored yet.”
Hurtado thanked Davis and Jaha Howard, another board member Banks has lashed out against over the last two years. He’s not optimistic the tenor of a fractious Cobb school board will improve anytime soon.
“As long as those two Democrats continue to create chaos and not work for the best interests of the students, I don’t see anything changing,” Banks said.
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The Cobb County School District has reported more than 500 COVID-19 cases among students and staff since July 1, according to new figures posted on Friday.
The district has been updating that figure weekly since the first week of face-to-face learning began last month.
When elementary students returned in the first phase of reopening, there had been 287 COVID cases reported.
Since the campuses reopened for classes, there have been 223 reported cases, which don’t break down specific numbers of students and staff.
The current week’s total is 67 more than last week and includes cases reported at 32 elementary and middle schools.
Ten or fewer cases were reported at each school, which has been the case since the district began posting. The district does not disclose the exact number at each school when the threshold is at or under 10.
Nine of those schools are in East Cobb, including three that had no reported previous cases.
They are Addison ES, Sope Creek ES and Dodgen MS.
Other East Cobb schools with reported cases this week, and which have reported cases in previous weeks, are Brumby ES, East Side ES, Tritt ES, Daniell MS, East Cobb MS and Mabry MS.
Cobb high school students returned for face-to-face learning on Thursday; previously the district began posting COVID case figures for elementary and middle schools at the end of the second week of students’ return to campus.
As of Thursday there have been 22,836 COVID cases in Cobb County since March, and 469 deaths. In East Cobb, more than 5,000 cases have been reported and nearly 100 deaths.
At one point the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 population in Cobb dropped just below 100, which is considered high community spread.
As of Thursday, that two-week figure is 171 cases per 100,000 people. That’s been a key metric used by Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale. He ordered the start of the school year to be all online when that average was in the 300-400 range, then called for a phased reopening when the average dropped between 100-200.
In explaining its COVID reporting procedures, the Cobb school district said that in accordance with student and health privacy laws, “the Georgia Department of Public Health recommends refraining from publicly publishing numbers of cases or quarantined students or staff that are less than 10 unless the number is 0.”
Cobb and Douglas Public health will “communicate confirmed cases to affected students/staff/ parents,” according to CCSD protocols.
Those guidelines also state that those who test positive “will isolate until 10 consecutive days have passed from their positive COVID-19 test and they are asymptomatic.”
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High school students who chose to face-to-face instruction for the fall semester will return to campuses on Thursday in the Cobb County School District, the final phase of the district’s reopening plans.
At the same time, the district announced that the period for signing up for learning options for the spring semester will take place between Nov. 15-29.
Parents can choose remote or face-to-face as they did in the fall semester, but once that choice is made their children must stick with that selection.
As the 2020-21 school year heads into the second semester, Cobb Schools is making preparations to continue teaching and learning in a safe and healthy environment. Just as in the Fall, families will have the opportunity to choose the environment that works best for them: face-to-face or remote learning.
The district is saying that “specific instructions, including login directions, will be provided to parents before the choice window opens.”
Parents are asked to visit the district’s Learning Everywhere portal to guide their decisions, including sample learning schedules, learning models, meal plans, transportation, after-school programs, enhanced health and safety protocols, and expectations for students and teachers.
Data released by the district before students returned to classes indicated that 52 percent of all students chose face-to-face learning, including 58 percent in elementary school, 54 percent in middle school and 42 percent in high school.
Two high schools in East Cobb reported the highest percentage of students who will be going back to classrooms: Pope (70.6 percent) and Lassiter (63.3 percent).
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The Cobb County School District is reporting 61 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 this week, including seven schools in East Cobb that previously had no cases.
According to the district’s weekly update on Friday, confirmed cases among staff and students were reported in 30 schools.
That’s the most in any week since the district began revealing weekly updates in September.
Overall there have been 443 confirmed cases since July 1.
All of the schools reporting cases this week have 10 or fewer cases, as has been the case since the district began breaking down the numbers. Those breakdowns don’t indicate how many students and how many staff members have confirmed cases.
The East Cobb schools reporting cases this week are as follows:
Bells Ferry ES
Brumby ES
East Side ES
Murdock ES
Powers Ferry ES
Shallowford Falls ES
Tritt ES
Daniell MS
East Cobb MS
This is the third time that COVID cases have been reported at Shallowford Falls and the second time for Powers Ferry.
Middle school students returned to in-person classes in Cobb last week, and high school students will be coming back Nov. 5.
The district also said this week there is a confirmed COVID case within the Pope High School football program. The Greyhounds’ varsity games this week and next have been cancelled, all football activities have been suspended and contact-tracing has been taking place.
The rate of reported COVID-19 cases has been edging upward in recent weeks in Georgia, including in Cobb County. At one point the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 population dropped just below 100, which is considered high community spread.
As of Thursday, that two-week figure is 129 cases per 100,000 people. That’s been a key metric used by Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale. He ordered the start of the school year to be all online when that average was in the 300-400 range, then called for a phased reopening when the average dropped between 100-200.
Cobb has had 22,059 cases of COVID-19 since March and 457 deaths.
In explaining its COVID reporting procedures, the Cobb school district said that in accordance with student and health privacy laws, “the Georgia Department of Public Health recommends refraining from publicly publishing numbers of cases or quarantined students or staff that are less than 10 unless the number is 0.”
Cobb and Douglas Public health will “communicate confirmed cases to affected students/staff/ parents,” according to CCSD protocols.
Those guidelines also state that those who test positive “will isolate until 10 consecutive days have passed from their positive COVID-19 test and they are asymptomatic.”
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta, many of our students, families, and staff continue to be without power and are recovering from the impact this hurricane has had on their homes and schools. At this time, many schools are still without power and, to make sure every student can enter a healthy and safe classroom, all classes will be canceled on Friday, October 30th.
Local school and central office staff will work remotely.
Essential employees will receive specific instructions from their respective Executive Cabinet members.
Elementary after-school program is canceled, and extracurricular activities will continue as scheduled if power conditions allow.
If you have any specific school or extracurricular related questions, please contact your local school or coach.
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Several students at Wheeler High School said Wednesday they want to “start a dialogue” about possibly changing the school’s name in the wake of online petitions that were started over the summer.
Several students and their faculty adviser met on a Zoom call that included invited media representatives (including East Cobb News), as they organize around an effort that includes an online survey and possibly a rally in the spring semester.
All of the students spoke in favor of changing Wheeler, named after Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate general in the Civil War.
East Cobb News first reported in June that online petitions had been created to change both Wheeler and Walton. The latter is named for George Walton, a Georgia signatory to the Declaration of Independence who was a slave owner.
The petitions came about in the wake of the George Floyd death in May and Black Lives Matter protests that followed this summer.
The Wheeler petition, started by a group called “Wildcats for Change,” has more than 4,600 signatures, including Cobb Board of Education member Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters.
The Wheeler student petition is a separate effort that includes a website with background information and a survey for current students to fill out.
The mission statement reads in part:
“A name change would be a statement that Cobb County stands with its students against racism and white supremacy, and fights for inclusion and diversity. Now is the time to make change for good.”
The Wheeler students also have spoken during a public comment period before the Cobb Board of Education in favor of changing the name.
Caroline Hugh, a Wheeler student government co-president, said on the call “we are a product of our time” who said she never thought about taking action until the online petitions surfaced.
Wheeler opened in 1965, just as the Cobb County School District integrated. For Hugh, a senior, the timing “is one of the biggest problems” she has with the Wheeler name.
“It was made clear that they didn’t want to integrate,” said Wheeler senior Sydney Spessard, who said even as a student at East Cobb Middle School she was made to feel the stigma about going to school in a majority-minority attendance zone.
She said she has been asked “often” if she felt unsafe at a school with a significant black student enrollment.
“I sensed the atmosphere of racism,” said Spessard, who is white.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, Wheeler had a black student body of 811 out of a total enrollment of 2,159 as of March 5.
Last month school board member David Morgan expressed a desire to change board policy about naming and renaming of schools, and wants to create a committee to take up the issue.
He didn’t mention Wheeler by name, but said there isn’t a school in the 112-school Cobb district that’s named after an African-American.
That sparked the Wheeler student leaders to do research—they’ve been in touch with Davis—and they’ve e-mailed other board members about the issue. The board hasn’t formally created a committee to examine its naming policy.
Jake McGhee, a Wheeler senior, said he did some research on Joseph Wheeler a couple years ago, and “didn’t know there was anything we could do until this summer, when I saw the change.org petition.”
Wheeler, who grew up in Georgia, was readmitted to the U.S. Army after the Civil War and served in Congress from Alabama. He’s one of the few Confederate officers buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The students didn’t mention that portion of Wheeler’s biography in their meeting Wednesday and it’s not included on their website, which has links to other schools named after Confederate leaders and the Wheeler plantation in Alabama.
Cameron Ward, a Wheeler Latin teacher, said on the call that “the students have done all of the work” and found that the district doesn’t have a policy for renaming an existing school, only for naming new ones.
“We just want the dialogue started,” said Ward. “We want to be able to find out what the community wants.”
Hugh said she wants the school board to “re-evaluate” the Wheeler name, which she said “does not represent our student body. It’s a bad representation of us as a student body.”
When East Cobb News asked the students if they’ve had discussions with other current students who may want to keep the Wheeler name, Hugh said the student government wants “to make sure it’s a two-way communication.”
She said “they just want it to be a dialogue. That was the whole problem in 1965—people at the top deciding.”
Spessard was clear about where she stands on the matter:
“I want to be proud of our diversity,” she said. “But when we walk into a building that’s named after [Wheeler] you can’t feel that pride.”
She said the students are planning to speak out again before the school board at its Nov. 19 meeting. They tried last month, but weren’t aware the board had resumed meeting in person, and she was dismayed some board members weren’t wearing masks.
“We have a lot to say,” Spessard said. “But every time we try we are stopped one way or another.”
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