East Cobb Schools Archives

Cobb school board member rips colleagues for ‘systemic racism’

November 21, 2020 7:56 PMNovember 19, 2020 8:16 PM by Wendy Parker

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, Cobb school board member — *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.

His proposal came after online petitions were started over the summer demanding name changes for Walton and Wheeler high schools in East Cobb. Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, signed the Wheeler petition.

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.

During his re-election campaign this fall, Banks said in an East Cobb News interview that Howard and Davis “are trying to make race an issue where it has never been before.”

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.

Howard said the matter was no different than when the Republican majority voted in 2019 to prevent board members from offering comments during board meetings.

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.

Cobb school superintendent: ‘No metrics’ for COVID closures

November 19, 2020 4:09 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school superintendent COVID closures

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.”

Cobb schools report 105 new COVID-19 cases at 53 schools

November 13, 2020 5:01 PMNovember 13, 2020 11:14 AM by Wendy Parker

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.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Cobb’s 14-day average was 188 per 100,000 as of Thursday.

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:

Elementary Schools: Blackwell; Davis; Kincaid; Mountain View; Murdock; Sedalia Park; Shallowford Falls
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 RISK letter 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.

Cobb schools spring semester choice portal opens Sunday

November 12, 2020 1:15 PM by Wendy Parker

Timber Ridge Elementary School, East Cobb schools, CCRPI

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).

Rocky Mount ES choir offers virtual tribute on Veterans Day

November 11, 2020 4:27 PM by Wendy Parker

Rocky Mount choir Veterans Day tribute

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.”

Cobb schools post record graduation rate, surpass state average

November 10, 2020 10:52 AM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb seniors caps gowns

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.

CCSD graduation rate chart class of 2020 — *For a larger view, **click here**.*

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.”

Banks wins 4th term as Cobb school board stays in GOP hands

November 6, 2020 7:37 PMNovember 6, 2020 6:41 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board GOP majority

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.)

More Elections Coverage

East Cobb Elections Guide

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.”

Banks came under fire during the campaign from Democratic board member Charisse Davis for comments he made about racial and cultural issues in the Cobb school district, which has a majority-minority enrollment.

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.

32 Cobb schools reporting COVID cases as total passes 500

November 6, 2020 7:29 PMNovember 6, 2020 11:43 AM by Wendy Parker

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 exact total is 510, according to the update, which is posted on the district’s website.

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.”

The district details health and safety protocols in this FAQ and encourages parents to follow a daily well-being checklist before sending students to school. More health and safety information can be found here.

Cobb schools set spring semester sign-up period for Nov. 15-29

November 2, 2020 12:37 PM by Wendy Parker

Pope High School, Cobb SAT scores

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.

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).

New COVID cases in Cobb schools include 9 East Cobb schools

October 30, 2020 2:03 PM by Wendy Parker

New Brumby Elementary School

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.

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.”

Cobb schools cancels Friday classes due to Zeta damage

October 29, 2020 3:39 PM by Wendy Parker

This just in from the Cobb County School District, which had been having some classes remotely on Thursday but is calling the whole thing off for Friday:

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.

Wheeler student leaders seek ‘dialogue’ on school name change

October 28, 2020 5:02 PM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler name change

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.”

Another petition was created in August by a Connie Behensky, Wheeler graduate, urging that the school name not be changed. That petition has nearly 700 signatures.

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.”

BREAKING NEWS: Cobb schools to go all-remote on Thursday

October 28, 2020 3:17 PM by Wendy Parker

Due to heavy rains and stormy weather in the forecast from Tropical Storm Zeta, the Cobb County School District has announced that all Thursday classes will be held remotely.

Here’s an advisory the district released Wednesday afternoon:

This decision was made in keeping with our commitment to student and staff safety, with particular concern for our youngest bus riders.

All students are asked to report to class remotely through the Cobb Teaching and Learning System (CTLS) with further instruction provided by your teacher unless you, your family, or your home are impacted by Hurricane Zeta.

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 you have any school-specific questions, please contact your local school.

Zeta is expected to hit the Louisiana Gulf Coast later Wednesday, and the National Weather Service in Atlanta issued a Tropical Storm Warning that began at 11 a.m. today for the Marietta area.

That warning includes possibly heavy amounts of rain overnight, between 1-2 inches in some places, and strong winds.

More rain is forecast for Thursday morning with wind gusts between 30-40 mph and as high as 55 mph in some areas.

A flash flood watch is also in effect for Cobb County and most of North Georgia until Thursday night.

Pope football team sidelined due to confirmed COVID-19 case

October 26, 2020 2:19 PM by Wendy Parker

The varsity football team at Pope High School team has suspended activities after a confirmed COVID-19 case was reported to Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

That comes from the Cobb County School District, and a district spokesman said the following Monday afternoon:

“The team will not meet until contact tracing protocols have been completed. Once the contact tracing is complete, it is our expectation that the team will resume activities.”

He did not respond to a question about when the confirmed case was reported. The Greyhounds defeated Wheeler 28-21 on Friday and are scheduled to play Kennesaw Mountain this Friday, but no announcement has been made about that game.

The spokesman did not indicate when the contact tracing may be completed.

Over the summer there was a confirmed COVID case within the Pope football team as it gathered for off-season workouts.

That’s among the 382 confirmed COVID cases within the Cobb school district that have been reported since July 1.

Cobb high school students will return to classroom learning on Nov. 5, but a number of extracurricular activities, including athletics, have been taking place on campuses.

The district does not break down the numbers of students and staff who are confirmed COVID cases.

There have been an unspecified number of confirmed COVID cases at several East Cobb elementary and middle schools since classes resumed at those grade levels within the last month.

Earlier this month, varsity and junior-varsity football activities at Kell High School were cancelled for what the Cobb school district said were COVID protocols and contact-tracing.

Cobb school board virtual candidates forum takes place Thursday

October 25, 2020 12:58 PM by Wendy Parker

The East Cobb County Council PTA and the South Cobb Council PTA organizations are holding a Cobb Board of Education candidates forum Thursday and are inviting the public to submit questions.

The deadline for doing so is 12 p.m. Monday, and questions should be submitted via e-mail to president@ecccpta.org AND southcobbcouncil@gmail.com.

Candidates for all four school board posts on this year’s ballot have been invited to participate in the forum, which lasts from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Members of both PTA organizations will be moderating the event, along with high school students.

Post 5 candidate profiles

David Banks | Julia Hurtado

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Cobb schools COVID cases include Mabry MS, Shallowford Falls ES

October 23, 2020 12:38 PMOctober 23, 2020 11:42 AM by Wendy Parker

Two schools in East Cobb are among 16 in the Cobb County School District reporting confirmed cases of COVID-19 this week.

They’re Mabry Middle School and Shallowford Falls Elementary School, and like the others they’re reporting fewer than 10 cases.

That’s according to the district’s weekly update that shows 382 total cases since July 1, up by 33 since last week.

The figures do not break down the numbers of students and staff who have tested positive for the virus. The other schools reporting cases this week include the following:

Austell ES
Chalker ES
Dowell ES
Green Acres ES
Norton Park ES
Pitner ES
Riverside ES
Still ES
Barber MS
Campbell MS
Lindsey 6th Grade Academy
Lost Mountain MS
Palmer MS

This is the second time that there’s been a confirmed COVID case at Shallowford Falls. Other East Cobb schools that have had cases since elementary school students returned for in-person learning include Blackwell, Eastvalley, Nicholson, Powers Ferry and Rocky Mount.

Middle school students returned to in-person classes in Cobb this week, and high school students will be coming back Nov. 5.

The district explained 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.”

Delta Credit Union delivers care packages to Sedalia Park ES

October 17, 2020 6:19 AM by Wendy Parker

Delta Credit Union packages Sedalia Park — *From left, Delta Community Credit Union Manager Jill Dent, Sedalia Park Elementary School Assistant Principal Kahilah Rachel and Sedalia Park Elementary Support Staff Specialist Aunquize Perkins*

Submitted information and photo:

To show gratitude for teachers’ ongoing commitment to quality education during the COVID-19 health crisis, Delta Community Credit Union’s East Cobb location recently delivered care packages to teachers at Sedalia Park Elementary School.

The manager of the Delta Community branch on Johnson Ferry Road presented gift bags with snacks and personal supplies, such as hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes, and personalized thank you notes for the school’s teachers and support personnel.

“Thank you for giving so much of your time, and your heart, to children and our community,” said Jill Dent, manager of Delta Community’s Johnson Ferry Road branch. “This year, we are especially grateful for all you are doing, every day, for students in East Cobb.”

Sedalia Park Elementary, located at 2230 Lower Roswell Road, is one of 18 schools that Delta Community serves as a Partner in Education. The credit union, which is the largest in Georgia, has three branches and administrative headquarters in Cobb County.

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Rocky Mount ES among 11 Cobb schools with new COVID-19 cases

October 16, 2020 2:38 PMOctober 16, 2020 12:14 PM by Wendy Parker

Eleven elementary schools in the Cobb County School District reported confirmed COVID-19 cases this week, including Rocky Mount ES in East Cobb.

The district updated its COVID-19 case total on Friday, and it showed 25 new cases from last week, the first for elementary schools students who opted to return for in-person learning.

Since July 1, a total of 349 cases among students and staff have been reported in the Cobb school district. Last week, that number was 324.

The schools reporting cases this week are all different from last week, and all of them are reporting 10 or fewer cases. They include:

Acworth Intermediate
Bullard ES
Chalker ES
Frey ES
Hollydale ES
Mableton ES
Milford ES
Rocky Mount ES
Still ES
Varner ES

The figures do not distinguish between students, teachers and other staff. Last week, Blackwell, Eastvalley, Nicholson, Powers Ferry and Shallowford Falls in East Cobb reported COVID cases but none this week.

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.”

At a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday, superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the district has ordered a variety of personal protective equipment, including masks and plexiglass dividers as well as cleaning supplies.

Cobb teachers won’t have to use sick leave for quarantine

October 15, 2020 7:20 PMOctober 15, 2020 6:16 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board

Cobb school teachers who have to quarantine for possible exposure to COVID-19 while on the job won’t have to use personal sick time, according to superintendent Chris Ragsdale.

At a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday, he told the board that “we’re not going to punish our employees for doing their job.”

His remarks came near the end of the first two weeks of in-person learning for elementary school students and with middle school students returning to classrooms on Monday.

Paying reachers for a first quarantine period of 14 days is covered at the federal level. Ragsdale said if a teacher is forced to quarantine a second time under Georgia Department of Public Health guidelines, the Cobb County School District will cover that pay.

That’s as long as teachers or other district employees must quarantine due to exposure that takes place on the job. If not, they’d have to use personal sick leave.

Ragsdale was making his customary superintendent’s remarks during the work session, which marked the first board meeting in person since February. The board also was holding a voting meeting Thursday night at the CCSD’s central office.

There were no other agenda or board items to discuss school reopening issues at the work session, and when board member Charisse Davis tried to ask other questions along those lines, Ragsdale protested.

“It’s not fair for us to take questions that we weren’t prepared for,” Ragsdale said.

Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, said she was asking on behalf of district employees who are “stressed, concerned and anxiety-ridden” about returning to school.

Ragsdale said any communications from employees should be sent to him and that he was “concerned about the number of questions” about issues not on the agenda or in response to his remarks.

He said “I want to focus on all the awesome, positive things” district employees and teachers have been doing in reopening schools.

At that point, board member David Banks, who had requested to issue his own comments praising the district’s preparations, tried to chime in, and other colleagues interrupted him.

The board’s Republican majority voted a year ago to forbid board members from making comments at board meetings, setting off partisan bickering that continues.

“Let’s just calm down here,” board chairman Brad Wheeler said.

After other board members pressed Ragsdale on how the district is communicating reopening plans and health and safety measures, Banks once again asked to be heard.

“You’re out of order,” Wheeler said.

Said Banks, who represents the Lassiter and Pope clusters: “You just allowed [others] to spout off. No thank you to the teachers? Administration? I object.”

“You’re out of order,” Wheeler repeated.

In other matters, Davis wanted to discuss incorporating the district’s mask mandate into its dress code policy.

But she dropped her request after Ragsdale reiterated that students who return to school and refuse to wear masks will be subject to the student code of conduct.

He said putting a mask requirement into the dress code policy isn’t necessary because “we believe this is going to be a temporary situation.

“Hopefully that day will come soon so that we can downgrade that requirement.”

While all students, teachers and staff are required to wear masks, three of the six board members who were present were not wearing masks.

Attendance was limited to board members, the superintendent and his executive cabinet due to social-distancing guidelines. The board also did not have staff and student recognitions at its evening meeting.

Ragsdale explained the mask differences by noting that board members were sitting six feet apart and therefore following health protocols.

Those wearing masks were Davis, Jaha Howard and Randy Scamihorn. Banks, Wheeler and David Chastain did not, nor did the superintendent.

Board member David Morgan was absent from both meetings.

Members of the public could address the board at the start of both meetings. Three spoke at each session, but they were brought in one at a time, and had to leave the building after they made their remarks.

Cobb school board member says colleague ‘spews racist trash’

October 14, 2020 6:34 PMOctober 14, 2020 5:55 PM by Wendy Parker

After an East Cobb representative to the Cobb Board of Education accused two of his fellow members of stoking racial antagonisms, one of those colleagues has fired back. Cobb school board member Charisse Davis

Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, issued a lengthy broadside at Post 5 member David Banks on her official board member Facebook page, saying that “while I usually ignore the ignorant remarks made by some of my board colleagues, today I cannot.”

She was referring to comments Banks made in an East Cobb News candidate profile last Thursday about racial and cultural issues in the Cobb County School District.

Among them were criticisms that Davis and Jaha Howard, both black Democratic first-term members, were making race an issue “where it has ‘never been before… I think they feel like they can get votes that way.’ ”

Banks, a retired technology consultant and business owner, has represented the Pope and Lassiter clusters for three terms. He is one of three Republican incumbents running for re-election in November and is facing first-time Democratic candidate Julia Hurtado.

The board’s vice chairman this year, Banks has said the district doesn’t have the racial and cultural issues that Davis and Howard have raised. They’ve called for the district to create the position of chief equity officer and wanted language in a now-failed anti-racism resolution to include the reference to ‘”systemic racism.”

Banks objected to that term, and said later in the East Cobb News candidate profile that he thought the Cobb district’s biggest challenge was avoiding “white flight” that he said has adversely affected the Atlanta, DeKalb and other metro school districts.

Cobb, with nearly 113,000 students, has become a majority-minority district, with roughly 60 percent of its student body being non-white.

In her Facebook message posted a few hours after the East Cobb News story, Davis said that “it seems as if my colleague, although on this Earth much longer than me, has forgotten a bit of the history of our dear Cobb County.”

She linked to a 2011 story in Patch noting that the Cobb school board didn’t vote to integrate until 1965, 11 years after the Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court ruling outlawing segregation in schools. It wasn’t until 1970, Davis said, that “the schools were fully integrated. Y’all, that’s 1970! Ten years before I was born. We’re not talking about some ancient time ago.

“Any critical thinker can recognize that this level of racism would have a long-lasting impact.”

(Blackwell Elementary School in East Cobb was the first school in the Cobb district to enroll black students, during the 1966-67 school year.)

Davis also cited the 2011 article about a meeting in 1960 of group called the Cobb County White Citizens for Segregation. They gathered at Sedalia Park Elementary School in East Cobb—currently in Banks’ post and where Hurtado’s daughter is a student—and worked to boycott businesses that didn’t support keeping public schools all-white.

The group took out an ad in The Marietta Daily Journal, which Davis didn’t mention by name but referenced as “the kind of paper that would gladly run that type of ad (you know who!).”

The newspaper has been occasionally critical of Davis and Howard in its editorial pages. In July, columnist Dick Yarbrough wrote about open turmoil on the school board during discussion of racism in Cobb schools, saying that “if there is anything noteworthy emanating from these squabbles, it is that arrogance is colorblind.”

He referred to Howard, who is a dentist, as Dr. Frick, and Davis as Madame Frack.

As for Banks’ comments in the East Cobb News profile that there are “black-on-black” issues that are more cultural and socioeconomic in Cobb today, Davis wrote that “my colleague goes on to spew racist trash that I won’t include in my post.”

She said that “the diversity of this county is one of its greatest strengths. This is no longer the county you may have fled to because you wanted to get away from black and brown people, and if that’s your thing…you may need to pack up your hate and keep it moving.”

Davis has signed an online petition to change the name of Wheeler High School, which opened in 1965 and is named after a Confederate Civil War general. Another petition has been created to keep the Wheeler name.

When asked by East Cobb News to describe her working relationship with Banks and if she had discussed racial issues with him, Davis said she would have no further comment. The school board will meet in person Thursday for the first time since February.

Many commenters to Davis’ post were in support of her remarks, including Howard, who wrote that “sometimes deep rooted bigotry throws rocks and doesn’t feel like hiding its hand, visible for all to see. Often times really nice people witness bigotry, but won’t be bothered to boldly reject it. Every time, it’s hurtful to its target audience.”

But a reader named John Hubbard said Banks “is 100% correct here. This is a new low. East Cobb schools are the stars of the county. Accusing people of moving to East Cobb to send their kids to a great public school only because they are ‘racist’ and scared of ‘brown people’ is the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. We don’t need you renaming and ruining our schools.

“You should be ashamed of yourself as an elected official for posting something this stupid and incendiary.”

Davis replied, “sounds like you will also be one of the ones packing up!”

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