The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has awarded $2,500 scholarships to students nationwide, including four from high schools in East Cobb.
According to a press release, the recipients are “finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.”
It’s the second of four rounds of scholarship announcements for the Class of 2022, and the funding comes from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s own funds.
Future recipients will be announced in June.
The $2,500 scholarship recipients from East Cobb schools are as follows:
Chinmay P. Joshi, Walton High School—Probable career field: Medicine
Aadi Katta, Walton High School—Probable career field: Computer Science
Satya S. Tetali, Wheeler High School—Probable career field: Biochemistry
Oluwaseminire A. Oloyede, Pope High School—Probable career field: Medicine
For more information on the National Merit Scholarship program, click here.
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All six high schools in the East Cobb area have been ranked among the top 40 percent nationally by U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual Best High Schools marks last week.
The Cobb County School District said in a release that 13 of its high schools are in the top 40 percent of more than 18,000 schools nationwide.
Walton High School is ranked No. 2 in metro Atlanta, No. 4 in Georgia and No. 174 in the country.
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Wheeler AVID students explain their success to members of the Rotary Club of East Cobb.
The Advancement Via Individual Determination or (AVID) program was started at Wheeler High School in 2017 by the Rotary Club of East Cobb to assist students who are from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education and/or may become the first members of their families to attend college.
The Cobb County School District announced this week that 13 Wheeler seniors in the current AVID program have been accepted to college and have received more than $5 million in scholarship offers.
In addition to rigorous coursework, AVID students also receive additional academic, social, and emotional support as they prepare for college.
“One of the AVID seniors earned millions in scholarships and another more than $350,000 in scholarships. Two other AVID graduates totaled up $40,000 and $37,000 in scholarship offers,” the district announced in press release.
“After graduating from Wheeler, the AVID students plan to major in sports medicine, political science, biology, forensic science, psychology, chemistry, international business, and more. One is set on being a pediatric surgeon, while another aims for law school.”
The students recently met with Rotary Club members, who have donated more than $60,000 since the program started.
“We all migrated from Nigeria to the U.S. to chase the American dream, student Amblessed said. “It’s a lot of pressure because we traveled all this way, but we have to succeed. I was under a lot of stress.”
AVID teacher Rachel Lewis told the Rotarians that “you are singlehandedly providing them with an opportunity they would not have otherwise had, and I thank you for that.”
AVID began with two students, and reached 90 this year. The district said 67 rising freshmen have already applied to be part of the program in the fall.
“I’m really grateful for every single person and the [Wheeler] program and teaching staff, everyone and all the people that have supported us,” Wheeler senior Ayomide said. “It’s been some of the greatest years of my life.”
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Kell High School senior Kaelynn Kelly, left, meets singer-songwriter Clairo after an Atlanta concert.
Kaelynn Kelly, a senior at Kell High School, has been awarded a $30,000 college scholarship from the singer-songwriter Clairo.
The base of the “For Atlanta” scholarship was $20,000, and the entertainer added an additional $10,000 with proceeds from merchandise sales at some of her Atlanta performances.
The scholarship was launched with bold.org, which works to reduce student debt, and is open to high school and undergraduate college students from the Atlanta area.
Scholarship applicants were to explain how they’ve overcome obstacles and how Clairo’s music inspired them.
Kelly, who has a twin sister and was was born with cerebral palsy, wrote an essay about her childhood and the physical therapy she still receives, as well as the ankle foot orthosis that she wore for several years:
“Clairo’s song Alewife reminds me and my sister’s relationship. Arelynn was and still is my anchor. In the lyrics, ‘I met you by surprise. You were hangin’ out all the time. But you know you saved me from doin’ something to myself that night.’ It makes me ponder the thought that Arelynn and I were not supposed to be twins and it was a surprise.”
Kelly also was treated to a Clairo concert in Atlanta and back stage visit (photo above).
After graduating from Kell, Kelly is planning to attend Kennesaw State University and study cyber security.
She concluded her essay by saying that physical therapy “is something I will have to do for the rest of my life, and I am okay with that. My cerebral palsy is extremely meaningful to me because it is a part of who I am. My parents helped me understand my potential and assisted me in finding the strength to prove to myself that I am more than just my disorder.”
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Photos and information submitted by the Cobb County School District:
The food and cultural traditions of nearly 20 countries were on display recently at McCleskey Middle School, which held an International Night.
Attendees sampled the cuisines from Germany, Slovenia, Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Panama, Denmark, England, Jordan, Iran, and other nations.
Music, dance and other cultural traditions were highlighted during the festivities.
McCleskey paraprofessional Doug Hale said that “obviously, it shows everybody here that you are welcome here, that you mean something, that you matter. You might be the only Ecuadorian here, but it matters to us.”
English and Language Arts teacher April Staropoli said that “I also think it builds community. People come together, and it builds community.”
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Two students each from Walton and Wheeler high schools in East Cobb have been named recipients of corporate-sponsored scholarships by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The scholarships are provided by corporate organizations from a variety of industries and are awarded to the children of their employees or who are students who live in communities the companies serve or are planning to pursue college majors the sponsor encourages, according to an NMS release.
The specifics of each scholarship were not announced, but typically range between $1,000 and $10,000 for four years of undergraduate study. Recipients can use the funds at the college of their choice.
Neerav Ravirala of Walton, whose probable career field is molecular biology, was named the recipient of a Walgreen Co. scholarship.
Another Walton student, Franklin Zhao, has been awarded a Siemens scholarship with the intent of studying physics.
Pranav R. Devarinti of Wheeler is interested in the computer science field and is a recipient of an ADP Henry Taub Memorial Scholarship.
Also from Wheeler is Kyle Hampton, who will receive a General Dynamics Corp. scholarship with a probable career field in industrial design.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation said the recipients were chosen after filling out an extensive application, presenting academic testing results, providing information about extracurricular and community activities and writing an essay.
More recipients will be announced later this spring, with an estimated 7,500 students receiving more than $28 million in scholarship aid.
The National Merit Scholarship program is in its 67th year. For more information click here.
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Brumby Principal Amanda Richie (in black dress) at the 2018 ribbon-cutting for the new school campus on Terrell Mill Road.
The Cobb County School District announced Thursday that longtime Brumby Elementary School principal Dr. Amanda Richie is retiring.
The district’s human resources officer, Keeli Bowen, said Richie’s retirement is effective July 1.
Richie’s successor will be Sanda Alford, currently an assistant principal at Pitner Elementary School and a former assistant principal at Dickerson Middle School.
The news was announced after the Cobb Board of Education held an executive session where personnel decisions are discussed.
During a Thursday night voting meeting, the board voted 7-0 to approve a contract for $3.4 million and hire CGLS Architects Inc. of Atlanta to design the new classroom building at Sprayberry High School.
Although the funding for the Sprayberry rebuild is coming from the Cobb Ed-SPLOST VI that begins in 2024, starting the architectural planning work now is necessary, district officials told the board.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said that the project will be similar to those at Wheeler and Osborne high schools, which were rebuilt in increments.
He also said starting right away makes sense given a current project at Sprayberry to construct a new gymnasium and a new CTAE (Career, Technology and Agricultural Education) facility.
The board also approved a request to issue a formal “closeout” of the Eastvalley Elementary School campus on Lower Road.
That facility will remain open while a replacement school is constructed on the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road.
But a closeout declaration needs to be submitted to the Georgia Department of Education before construction can begin, according to Chief Technology and Operations Director Marc Smith.
The board also recognized four wrestlers from East Cobb high schools who won state championships: David Panone, Lassiter (Boys 6A traditional 138 pounds); May Prado, Lassiter (Girls All-Classification traditional 132 pounds); Joey Robinson, Pope (Boys 6A traditional 160 pounds); and Zyan Hall, Wheeler (Boys 6A traditional 170 pounds).
Hall finished his senior season with a 26-0 record and will be attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
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Brad Johnson, the Chief Financial Officer of the Cobb County School District.
The Cobb County School District is presenting a proposed fiscal year 2023 budget of $1.4 billion that will include what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said is the biggest salary increase for employees in district history.
At a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon, Ragsdale made the announcement, saying the raises for full-time, non-temporary employees will range from between 8.5 percent and 13.1 percent.
The proposed budget was then presented by Chief Financial Officer Brad Johnson, who said the millage rate will we staying the same—18.9 mills.
Roughly half of the school district’s budget comes from local property taxes, and the state provides most of the rest through the Quality Basic Education Act.
The budget documents have been posted on the district’s website at this link.
The board adopted a tentative budget Thursday evening, but another public hearings will take place next month before the budget is formally adopted on May 19.
Ragsdale said the number of work days for teachers will be reduced to 187 days and salaried year-round employees will work 237 days.
Part of that is due to Juneteenth being a county and state holiday in June.
But Ragsdale said that there will “not be diminished pay to go with the diminished days.”
Ragsdale, who has been superintendent since 2015, added that this is the second time during his tenure that the district has proposed a record pay raise.
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The Cobb Board of Education is beginning the process for adopting the fiscal year 2023 budget, and will start holding public hearings next week.
The first public hearing is scheduled for next Thursday, April 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office (514 Glover St., Marietta).
That’s before the board’s monthly business meeting at 7 p.m. The hearings also will be available for public comment on the district’s allocation of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funding.
Members of the public wishing to speak can do so at that time, and will be able to sign up between 6-6:25 p.m. Speakers will have between 1-5 minutes to speak, with time to be determined by the board chairman.
A tentative budget request is expected to be made to the board at a work session Thursday that starts at 2 p.m.
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Brumby Elementary School is the proud new owner of what may be the first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) work of art at a public school in the U.S.
“The Aku Mural” is the collaboration of Brumby, its foundation, the Cobb County School District and a local non-profit, PaintLove and artists to transform what had been a blank 1,100-square-foot retaining wall into an inspiration for students.
The muralist is Muhammad Yungui, and the artwork is designed to serve as a backdrop for school community events, including musical performances, cookouts and movie nights.
“The Aku movement seeks to serve as a source of inspiration for children to dream big and not allow limits to be set on their dreams,” the district release states. “While Aku inspires children to chase their dreams, he is also about building a community where members help and encourage the success of others.”
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Erik Tekenbroek, a senior at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy in East Cobb, has been named the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship by the Delta Community Credit Union.
The scholarship is based on outstanding academic achievement, community involvement and an essay submission.
Tekenbroek is considering Hillsdale College and Cornell University with plans to major in finance with a career goal of becoming a financial planner.
He is one of five students in Georgia to receive the Delta scholarship.
“We are proud to support these hard-working students so they may focus on pursuing their academic goals,” Delta Community CEO Hank Halter said. “We hope these students will, in turn, achieve their career aspirations and develop as leaders in their chosen professions who share our commitment to foster collaboration and prosperity in local communities.”
In addition to its Scholarship Program, Delta Community also offers an annual Philanthropic Fund, more than 160 free financial literacy classes and workshops annually through its award-winning Financial Education Center, and quarterly scholarships for students attending Historically Black Colleges or Universities.
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
10 students from Wheeler High School have been named 2022 Georgia Scholars by the state Department of Education.
All six high schools in East Cobb and several students from those schools have been honored by the Georgia Department of Education and state school superintendent Richard Woods.
The state last week released its list of 2022 Advanced Placement Honor Schools, and are broken out in six categories. Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are included in five of those categories, while Sprayberry is named in four categories.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are named among the AP Schools of Distinction, which have at least 20 percent of students taking AP exams and have at least 50 percent earning a score of 3 or higher.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry, Walton and Wheeler were named AP Humanities Schools (at least five students testing in an ELA course, two history/social science courses, one fine arts course and one world language course).
All six East Cobb high schools also were named AP Humanities Achievement Schools, including the description above and having with least 50% of all AP Humanities exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
Kell, Lassiter, Pope, Walton and Wheeler are AP STEM Schools, having at least five students testing in at least four AP STEM courses.
Those five also are AP STEM Achievement Schools (description above, and at least 50 percent of all AP STEM exams earning scores of 3 or higher).
In addition, Sprayberry was designated among the AP Access and Support Schools, which have at least 30 percent of AP exams taken by students who are African-American and/or Hispanic and 30 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
The Georgia Department of Education also has named its 2022 class of Georgia Scholars. They excel in the classroom, participate in athletics and/or other extracurricular activities and take part in leadership opportunities.
The Cobb school district has 23 students named Georgia Scholars, including 10 from Wheeler High School. Here are the students named from East Cobb schools:
Pope: Christine Werts
Sprayberry: Riley Smith, Hannah Fischer, Jeremy Thomas, Kelynn Johnson
Walton: Kunling Tong, Shruthi Maharajan, Isabel Buyers, Alexa Weston, Fiona Guo, Joseph Walter
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The Cobb County School District is continuing online registration for kindergarten and first grade for the 2022-23 school year.
There’s a special link to sign up for students who are new to the district. For parents who already have a child in the district, they can use their ParentVue accountto register additional new students.
The parents of new students must provide the following information:
Proof of residency: Home ownership documentation or lease/rental agreement; and current utility monthly statement;
Certificate of Immunization (Form #3231): Available from a Georgia physician or the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department;
Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutritional Screening Form 3300B:Available from a Georgia physician or the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department and must be dated within 12 months of the first day of school;
Proof of Birth Date: The school will accept one of the following documents: a certified copy of Birth Certificate, Military ID, Passport, Adoption Record, a religious record authorized by a religious official, an official school transcript, or an affidavit of age;
Social Security Card or CCSD waiver Form JBC-4: The state will require the social security number for students applying for the HOPE scholarship.
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The Cobb County School District will be paying a $2,000 bonus to all permanent full-time and part-time employees at the end of April.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the bonuses at Thursday’s Cobb Board of Education meeting and said the funding comes from the district’s allotment of federal CARES Act money.
Permanent employees include teachers and administrators, paraprofessionals and other staffers who are not hired on a seasonal basis.
The state of Georgia previously said it would be giving similar bonuses to bus drivers, custodians, and cafeteria workers.
The Cobb school district did not indicate in a release issued after the meeting the total cost of the bonuses.
The Cobb school district has given two retention bonuses to school bus drivers and monitors during the current school year to help prevent staff shortages.
The district’s website has nearly 200 open positions posted. The Cobb school district has nearly 18,000 employees and is the largest employer in Cobb County.
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Thomas Flugum, at left, attending the ribbon-cutting for the new Pope High School gymnasium in 2018.
The Cobb County School District announced Thursday that Dr. Thomas Flugum is retiring as the principal of Pope High School.
The news was announced after the Cobb Board of Education held an executive session where personnel matters are discussed.
Flugum’s retirement is effective June 1, according to Keeli Bowen, the Cobb school district’s chief human resources officer. His replacement has not been named, but new principal appointments are typically made in the spring for the following school year.
Flugum has been the principal at Pope since 2017, after arriving at the East Cobb high school in 2010 as a teacher and coach and later serving as an assistant principal.
He is a former Army officer and Cobb police officer who became a teacher and coach at a number of Cobb high schools. He was an assistant football coach at Sprayberry and Lassiter and was head football coach at Wheeler.
In October 2020, Flugum was charged with DUI in Woodstock in a case that is still pending in the Cherokee County court system.
Last year, he and Cobb school district officials came under fire from local Jewish groups after swastika graffiti was found in a boys bathroom at Pope. Flugum’s letter to the school community did not specify that it was an anti-Semitic incident; Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth later spoke to students on the campus.
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Walton High School tennis courts will be built on Providence Road, next to a new baseball stadium.
The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved construction projects for a replacement building for Eastvalley Elementary School and a sports complex near Walton High School.
The contracts recommended by Cobb County School District passed by 7-0 votes. The Eastvalley replacement facility will cost $36.7 million and the campus will be relocated to the former East Cobb Middle School site on Holt Road.
The Walton sports complex costs $6.738 million and will house the school’s baseball and tennis teams.
During a board work session Thursday afternoon, district officials said the Walton complex will have access points on Providence Road and Pine Road and will have 80 parking spaces.
The Walton complex has been delayed several months after residents in the nearby Independence Square subdivision expressed concerns about the baseball bleachers and public address system being located near their homes.
Jennifer Sunderland, who went public with those concerns, told East Cobb News on Wednesday that they have been addressed, “and we are pleased with the new design which moved home plate and concessions so they are not directly behind neighborhood homes.”
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at the work session that the configuration of the baseball field has been switched 180 degrees, with the outfield fencing being located closest to the homes.
Board member David Banks said he has safety issues about students using a crosswalk at Bill Murdock Road and Pine, which is a three-way stop.
He told by staff that the district is discussing the possibility of having a traffic signal at that location.
The Walton complex is expected to be completed by the end of the year, while the new Eastvalley campus is slated to open for the 2023-24 academic year.
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The long-awaited rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School could be a major step closer to fruition this week.
The Cobb Board of Education will be asked on Thursday to approve a $36.7 million contract for R.K. Redding Construction, Inc., of Bremen to replace the aging facility on Lower Roswell Road and relocate the school to the former East Cobb Middle School campus on Holt Road.
As we noted last October, the Cobb County School District released renderings of the new campus, which will include 136,110 square feet and 61 classrooms.
According to an agenda item for Thursday’s meetings, construction is expected to be completed by May 2023 and open to students for the 2023-24 academic year.
Eastvalley parents have been pressing the district about overcrowded conditions for years at the school, which was built in the early 1960s to hold around 400 students.
This year Eastvalley has more than 700 students and more than a dozen trailers, whose conditions have been called “deplorable.”
Funding would come from the current Cobb Ed-SPLOST V, as would a new sports complex for Walton High School.
The district also will be asking the school board on Thursday to approve a $6.738 million contract for Bowen and Watson, Inc. of Toccoa to construct a new baseball field and tennis courts on nearly 20 acres at Providence Road and Pine Road.
The agenda item doesn’t include a site plan or provide any details of what has changed. In response to a request from East Cobb News seeking more information, a district spokeswoman issued the following statement:
“Superintendent Ragsdale has very clear on this project as he is on all new construction: hear from the community before shovels hit the ground. All available details will be presented to the Board on Thursday and we are confident this is the best design for Walton and the surrounding community.”
The Cobb school board spent $5.65 million to acquire property for the complex, which was planned after several sports teams were relocated due the construction of the new Walton classroom building that opened in 2017.
The Walton softball and tennis teams have been playing home competitions at Terrell Mill Park since 2014.
The softball team has since moved back to the former site of the baseball team, which is playing home games this season at the East Cobb Baseball complex near Kell High School.
Construction of the Walton sports complex is expected to be completed by December.
The Cobb school board also will be asked Thursday to hire an interim law firm.
The board last year hired Atlanta-based Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as it faced a special review from its accrediting agency.
But according to an agenda item, the Nelson Mullins legal team that has been serving the Cobb school district has left for Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, a Southern regional law firm with locations in eight cities, including Atlanta.
The district is asking the board to hire Parker Poe Adams starting April 1 and under the same agreement as it has had with Nelson Mullins.
The board is meeting in public at a 1 p.m. work session Thursday and a 7 p.m. business session at the Cobb County School District Central Office (514 Glover St., Marietta).
The agendas for both meetings can be found here; an executive session will take place in between.
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The Cobb Board of Education member who has represented the Walton and Wheeler high school clusters since 2019 is not seeking re-election this year.
Charisse Davis
Democrat Charisse Davis, who ousted then-incumbent Republican Scott Sweeney in 2018 in Post 6, did not qualify last week for the newly redrawn seat that takes out East Cobb.
The Georgia legislature approved maps submitted by Cobb Republicans over the objections of their county Democratic colleagues.
In a message she posted Tuesday on her Facebook page, Davis explained that redistricting has moved the Walton and Wheeler areas to Post 5, represented by Republican vice chairman David Banks.
Davis, a former elementary school teacher and currently a youth services librarian in Fulton County, still lives in the new Post 6.
Davis didn’t indicate in her message why she decided not to run again. East Cobb News has left a message seeking comment, but she encouraged voters to support three candidates in particular, all Democrats.
“It has been an honor serving the students of this district, and I look forward to continuing my career in education and supporting other educators who have answered the call to run for school board: Becky Sayler, Post 2; Dr. Catherine Pozniak, Post 4; and Nichelle Davis, Post 6.
“Continue to support our CCSD schools, hold the board accountable, and vote!”
Nichelle Davis is the only candidate who qualified in Post 6, which includes the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.
Sayler is one of two Democrats vying in the May 24 primary in Post 2, which includes Smyrna and some of South Cobb. Post 2 first-term Democratic incumbent Jaha Howard, who also was drawn into Post 6, is running for Georgia school superintendent.
Post 4 includes the Kell and Sprayberry and some of the Lassiter clusters. Pozniak, also a Democrat, is a Sprayberry graduate who will be challenging three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain in November.
The current Cobb school board has a 4-3 Republican majority, and for the last three years has wrangled along partisan lines on a number of contentious issues.
Howard and Davis have been at the center of those arguments, particularly over the Cobb school district’s senior tax exemption, equity and racial issues and the district’s response to COVID-19.
Davis also signed a petition started in 2020 to advocate changing the name of Wheeler High School, named after a Confederate Civil War general and which opened in 1965, as Cobb schools were preparing to integrate.
Davis and Howard also sparked a special review by the Cobb school district’s accrediting agency last year after complaining that the GOP majority was silencing them.
Before the current school board maps were redrawn, Republican Amy Henry, a parent of four students in the Walton cluster, announced her intent to run for Post 6.
Voters in the East Cobb area of what has been Post 6 will next get to vote for Cobb school board representation in 2024, when Banks’ term expires.
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Cobb is a school district “with a great track record,” Cognia CEO Mark Elgart told school board members. “But you have challenges in how you govern.”
The accrediting agency for the Cobb County School District is overturning most of its findings in a report it issued last fall following a special review of the district.
The Cobb school district was facing a December deadline to make four required improvements or possibly have its accreditation status reconsidered, but that’s no longer the case.
The head of Cognia, an Alpharetta-based education accreditor, told Cobb Board of Education members Monday at a special-called meeting that it was no longer requiring two of those areas to be addressed.
They include polices for procurement and communications with board members.
The two other areas, relating to board governance, will be evaluated when the Cobb school district will undergo a previously scheduled accreditation review in 2024.
(You can read through the initial Cognia report and accompanying documents here, here and here.)
Dr. Mark Elgart, the Cognia chief executive officer, said Monday that Cobb’s accreditation was never in doubt, and said a letter he sent to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale March 3 was replacing the report of the special review.
The Cognia letter comes as the Cobb school district has been considering switching accrediting agencies, and as legislation is being considered that would remove school board relations from the purview of accreditors.
In his letter, Elgart reassured Cobb school officials that the issues cited in the Cognia special review did not affect what’s happening in district classrooms.
“At no time during the recent process did the teaching, learning, or professional leadership within the system place its accreditation at risk,” he wrote. “The focus of recent engagements with the system has and continues to be on helping the school district improve, and specifically within the area of board governance.”
Cognia conducted the review after the board’s three Democratic members and nearly 50 community members made complaints on a variety of issues.
“This is an engagement about improvement,” Elgart said during the Monday meeting, during which he presented and explained his letter.
Monday was the first time that Ragsdale and the board’s Republican majority have addressed the Cognia report in public.
But board members didn’t discuss the letter or ask questions, and Ragsdale gave only brief explanatory remarks during the 20-minute meeting (you can watch a replay here).
After the meeting was adjourned, the district immediately issued a press release and a copy of the letter.
School districts can ask for a review of Cognia findings if they can determine that they are based on information that is not factually accurate or is misinterpreted.
Ragsdale said the district chose to challenge findings that he said were “inconsistent with evidence” the Cobb school district brought to Cognia’s attention.
In the letter, Elgart acknowledged Cognia’s special review team “did not adequately contextualize or incorporate factual evidence provided by the School District, drawing erroneous conclusions.”
Those teams, he added are “expected to place a higher weight on physical evidence than assertions of opinion or allegations.”
He didn’t explain what that evidence was, but in his remarks to the school board Elgart said that “there was no real issue” with the procurement policies of the Cobb school district.
Some board members and members of the public have complained about how Cobb schools have spent COVID-related federal CARES funding, including purchases of special UV lights and sanitizing machines.
“People may disagree” with how the money is spent,” Elgart said, “but that’s not evidence that the policies weren’t followed.”
He also said that the Cognia special review team erroneously concluded that school board members weren’t being properly provided information by district officials before being asked to vote.
“Additionally, the evidence indicates that the superintendent authorizes and encourages board members to contact members of the executive cabinet directly if they have questions regarding policies, procedures, or operations within those administrators’ areas of responsibility,” Elgart wrote in his letter.
“It is not common practice for superintendents to provide board members this level of direct access and information. This level of access is to be commended. This practice is factually inconsistent with any suggestion that information is withheld from board members.”
But he said the Cognia special review findings of board relations and governance remain valid.
“The evidence remains that this is a divided school board,” Elgar told the board members. “That is something that is contained within the walls of this room, and that is good.”
While he said those problems haven’t spilled over into the academic environment, he said that board members often vote in “blocks”—mostly along party lines—and that’s “a concerning pattern.”
Cognia is requiring that the Cobb school board adhere to policies to “develop a culture of trust” as well as create a plan of accountability for its code of ethics.
“We’re not telling you how to do this,” Elgart said. “We’re telling you that if you do this you will be a better board.”
He concluded by saying that while Cobb is a school district with “a great track record . . . the challenge is how you govern.”
The Cobb school district’s release included a statement from board chairman David Chastain saying that “based on Dr. Elgart’s presentation, the Board is happy to hear Cognia’s review of the Special Review contained inaccuracies which have now been corrected in the letter provided to the District and the Board. Our Superintendent, staff, and families can now fully return their focus on students and schools.”
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