East Cobb Schools Archives

Cobb school superintendent defends mask, COVID-19 policies

September 25, 2021September 24, 2021 by Wendy Parker

After coming under repeated attack for several weeks for not requiring masks, Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale made a lengthy and emphatic defense of that and other COVID-19 measures Thursday.

He took issue with what he said were false reports in the news media about school case figures, and showed a series of slides to illustrate how sharply infection numbers have been falling in the Cobb County School District.

Last week, the Cobb school district sent out a release showing that the case rate had dropped 44 percent since a peak in late August.

He also showed figures from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control study of elementary schools in Georgia conducted last school year—when Cobb schools had a mask mandate—concluding that “masks could not be said to be effective” at slowing the spread of COVID-19.

“We need to understand what is happening, why it is happening, and what will happen next. We need to understand our data and what it means,” he said during the school board’s Thursday night meeting.

“I felt it was time to get an accurate depiction of our data. When we are not presented with a forward-looking process, we will use our own data-driven process.”

He said his slide presentation would be posted on the Cobb school district website, but as of Friday afternoon that had not be done. Some of those slides are shown below.

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You can watch Ragsdale’s presentation in its entirety by clicking here; his remarks begin at the 1:07 mark.

“Good news today does not guarantee good news tomorrow,” he said, although Cobb school district data released Friday continues a downward trend.

Over the past week there have been 394 cases of COVID-19 among students and staff, the lowest single-week total since the school year began.

There are 13 active cases at Dickerson Middle School, down from 38 a week ago, and 11 cases have been reported at Eastvalley Elementary School.

No other school in East Cobb was in double figures this week, after previous outbreaks at several schools.

The district sent out a release late Friday indicating that the rate decrease is 62 percent since the peak five weeks ago.

In Cobb County the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 was at 605, according to Cobb and Douglas Public Health, well above the “high community spread” threshold of 100 cases but falling from more than 800 a few weeks ago.

Earlier this month Ragsdale was the only member of the Cobb Board of Health not to vote for a statement supporting universal masking in schools, as the CDC has recommended.

“This district will not be anti-mask,” Ragsdale said Thursday, adding that the current policy “strongly encourages” masks. Vaccinations are also encouraged, he said, but those will not be mandated either.

“We will not be requiring vaccinations to be employed in the Cobb County School District,” he said.

At the end of Ragsdale’s presentation—which was not specified on the school board’s meeting agenda in advance—the three Democratic members attempted to question him.

At a Thursday afternoon work session, the Democrats voted against adopting the evening meeting agenda because it mentioned nothing about COVID-19 policies.

When Republican board chairman Randy Scamihorn denied their requests to directly talk to Ragsdale, they walked out of the meeting room.

“We a get a surprise update and I think it would be nice to have a little Q and A,” board member Jaha Howard said to Scamihorn moments before. “Were you curious? Did you have questions? Because we’re hearing this for the first time.”

Ragsdale said he would be happy to talk to board members one-on-one about the data, but Howard pressed on for a public dialogue.

“The chair is not going to entertain questions at this time,” Scamihorn said. “Moving on . . .”

At that point, three Democratic members—Howard, Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins—left the room, and Scamihorn paused. When he heard shouting from the back of the room, he slammed his gavel and said, “Dr. Howard, you’re out of order, sir.”

On her Facebook page, Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, wrote about the incident, referencing earlier statements by Ragsdale and Scamihorn about anti-Semitic incidents at Pope and Lassiter high schools but that like the COVID issue wasn’t listed on the meeting agendas for a public board conversation:

“Yes, the three of ‘us’ board members walked out of the voting session. It was the second time today we were refused an opportunity to ask questions about some of the biggest things going on in the district right now: acts of hate in the schools and COVID. We represent the public, so if we cannot ask questions then I hope you understand why that’s a problem for YOU.”

She also posted a graphic that said the following:

“I am on a school board, where in the same meeting, leadership both condemned hate due to antisemitism and did not let Black board members ask questions.”

East Cobb News contacted Davis seeking further comment, including what questions she would have asked him if she were permitted.

“It seemed like a big mistake for the superintendent to not take questions about his data. You either stand by it or you don’t,” she said.

Davis remained out of the room when the four Republican members later voted 4-0 to approve $378,000 in funding for a new robotics lab at Wheeler, converting the original auditorium.

The motion to approve came from board member David Chastain, a Wheeler graduate.

Cobb schools will be on fall break next week.

ADL: Cobb schools response to hate incidents ‘disappointing’

September 24, 2021 by Wendy Parker

*Allison Padilla-Goodman, Anti-Defamation League*

The Southeast Region of the Anti-Defamation League isn’t satisfied with the initial response from the Cobb County School District regarding anti-Semitic incidents at Pope and Lassiter high schools.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday the students responsible have been identified and are facing disciplinary action, and Cobb Board of Education chairman Randy Scamihorn said he is crafting a resolution to address anti-Semitism.

But Thursday night, ADL vice president Allison Padilla-Goodman said in a statement that those responses don’t go far enough:

“It’s disappointing that after multiple antisemitic hate incidents in Cobb County schools this month, the Board of Education has still not indicated how it will respond. This goes beyond antisemitism — for years, incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia, and overall hate have gone unaddressed in county schools, and the disregard shown by the board illustrates a pattern of neglect in countering hate.

“If Cobb County’s goal is ‘One team. One goal. Student success’, disciplining those responsible for the hate incidents is not enough, a community-wide response that uses education is necessary. Stating values in a symbolic resolution is only part of combatting hate — we hope that the future actions from Cobb Schools contain commitments to action to achieve those values. The Cobb County community deserves a real response from their Board of Education and a commitment to specific actions and educational initiatives which can address the hate in their schools.”

Several members of the public, including two rabbis in East Cobb, spoke during the two board meetings Thursday about anti-Semitic experiences they or their children have had in schools. Some urged the board to introduce a broad educational program throughout the district going beyond anti-Semitism.

Until earlier this year, the Cobb school district had made use of the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” initiative, but that has been discontinued. More from the ADL statement:

“Beyond these recent antisemitic incidents, many Cobb County parents feel that the school district has a history of incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia, and overall hate, and a record of failing to effectively address those incidents.”

The statement included a video link provided by Stronger Together, which focuses on racial justice in Cobb schools, with parents making public comments expressing frustrations with how the board has handled some of those matters.

Ragsdale said he could not provide details about the disciplinary action but stressed that the Cobb school district “does not and will not tolerate hate in any form.”

Scamihorn, who attended a Yom Kippur service at Temple Kol Emeth last week, said his resolution is still in the works and that he wants to “take the time to do it right.”

He didn’t specify what elements and language might be included in that resolution.

In 2020, the Cobb school board could not reach a consensus on an anti-racism resolution in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that sparked nationwide protests.

Democratic members Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis insisted on language that said that the Cobb school district has a history of “systemic racism” and urged the district to undertake “targeted anti-racist programs and policy.”

Republicans, including Scamihorn, objected, saying those words and demands undermined the ability to send a unified message.

The ADL is asking parents, students, teachers and staff to report hate incidents at its online portal.

Cobb schools bring disciplinary charges in anti-Semitic incidents

September 24, 2021September 23, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools anti-Semitic incidents — *“We are united in our disappointment” by the response of the Cobb school district, Congregation Etz Chaim Rabbi Daniel Dorsch told the Board of Education Thursday.*

Cobb County School District superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that student disciplinary charges have been brought in anti-Semitic incidents at two East Cobb high schools, but he didn’t elaborate.

Ragsdale said during a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon that student disciplinary procedures required by state law preclude him from providing further information.

He also asked school board members to refrain from making public comments about the situation unless and until after any students subjected to disciplinary action would have an opportunity to appeal.

“The district does not and will not tolerate hate in any form,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks.

Before a public comment period at the work session, board chairman Randy Scamihorn said he was preparing a resolution condemning anti-Semitism but that it wasn’t ready.

There was nothing specific on the board’s meeting agendas about the anti-Semitic incidents at Pope and Lassiter.

Ragsdale’s comments came after several public commenters, including two rabbis in East Cobb, were critical of the district for its response to swastika and “Heil Hitler” graffiti found at Pope and Lassiter high schools over the last two weeks.

Those incidents also took place amid more general vandalism in lavatories as part of a social media stunt on the Tik Tok application that’s spread nationwide.

He said the district’s disciplinary recommendation is “sufficiently significant that the board’s members could likely hear it on appeal.

“I realize this may have begun as some kind of social media dare,” Ragsdale continued, saying that while such incidents are extremely rare in a school district with more than 100,000 students, “this district refuses to dismiss this incident as as some kind of prank.”

Those were his first public remarks since the incidents took place at Pope and Lassiter. Jewish and community leaders decried an earlier district reference only to “hate speech” and a similar response from Pope principal Thomas Flugum that didn’t specify anti-Semitism.

Lassiter principal Chris Richie did specify anti-Semitism in his letter to the school community, but Jewish leaders and community figures speaking before the board Thursday continued to express displeasure.

Rabbi Daniel Dorsch of Congregation Etz Chaim in East Cobb said he was speaking on behalf of several Jewish organizations that were “united in our disappointment” that “the school’s response specifically failed to address the hate by name—anti-Semitism, hatred against Jews.

“The failure by the administration to label it by name has left us feeling unheard and unseen.”

Rachel Barich, a past president of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, recalled an incident when her brother experienced an anti-Semitic vandalism of his locker after his Bar Mitzvah. That prompted their parents to pull them out of public schools in the St. Louis area.

“The district has a responsibility. There is much more work to be done,” said Barich, whose children are Cobb public school graduates.

“No child should attend a school full of hate and none of us can continue to believe that the problem has gone away.”

Scamihorn attended a Yom Kippur service last week at Kol Emeth at the invitation of Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, who thanked him at the board meeting. They have been discussing a possible resolution.

But Sernovitz also demanded specifics of what the school district would be undertaking along safety and educational lines.

“Right now, some of our students don’t feel safe in schools in Cobb County,” Sernovitz said. “It starts with swastikas and grows from there.”

Cobb schools parent Keith Hanks referenced the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory manger, at a spot near what is now Roswell Road and Frey’s Gin Road in Marietta.

That’s the only known lynching of a Jew in American history, and in 2018, former Kol Emeth Rabbi Steven Lebow led the rededication of a memorial to Frank as he continues exoneration efforts.

“The wounds of Leo Frank still ring true today,” Hanks said. “Cobb does not get the luxury to kick the can [down the road] because of its past.”

Scamihorn said he wants to discuss his resolution with colleagues and “take the time to do it right” before he brings it to the board for action. “But I wanted our community to hear that from me.”

At the Thursday evening school board meeting, Lassiter sophomore Hannah Levy said that as a Jew, she and some of her fellow Jewish students “do not feel safe at Lassiter.”

She said her parents were concerned about her speaking out, and that she’s afraid to wear her Star of David necklace to school.

“What is the school board going to do to fix this,” she said. “The longer you wait the more it’s going to fester.”

Levy said she and other Lassiter students want anti-hate and Holocaust education to be provided throughout the Cobb school district.

You can watch replays of both meetings by clicking here.

Wheeler HS robotics lab funding on Cobb school board agenda

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday will be asked to consider spending nearly $378,000 to convert an unused theater on the Wheeler High School campus for a robotics lab.

The matter will be up for discussion at a 2:30 p.m. work session, with action scheduled for a 7 p.m. voting meeting Thursday.

Both meetings will take place at the Cobb County School District central office (514 Glover St., Marietta), and you can read through the agendas by clicking here.

The meetings also will be live-streamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

An executive session will take place between the two public meetings.

The agenda item for the Wheeler robotics lab calls for completion of the project by March 2022.

It’s part of a continuing effort to establish robotics programs in all Cobb County School District high schools. The funding would come from current Ed-SPLOST V funds.

As East Cobb News reported Monday, several Jewish groups in metro Atlanta have called on the school board to publicly condemn anti-Semitism after swastika and “Heil Hitler” graffiti was found on bathroom walls at Pope and Lassiter high schools in East Cobb.

But there’s not an item on the board agenda to discuss the matter. Chairman Randy Scamihorn told us while he condemns the incidents, he wants ongoing school-level investigations to be played out.

Some of those Jewish groups and individuals have organized an online petition and are expected to speak to the incidents during the public comment periods at Thursday’s meetings.

A traveling party from Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb is organizing an appearance for the evening meeting “to call out the board’s inadequate response to the recent acts of anti-Semitism at two of its schools and to ask for the reinstatement of anti-hate educational programming to help prevent more in the future,” according to a social media posting for the synagogue.

“Please bring signs. Anti-Semitism has no place in our schools!”

Jewish groups ask Cobb school board to condemn anti-Semitism

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 by Wendy Parker

*Cobb school board chairman Randy Scamihorn*

As we reported over the weekend, the chairman of the Cobb Board of Education appeared at a Yom Kippur service in East Cobb last week following two anti-Semitic incidents at nearby high schools.

When East Cobb News spoke with Randy Scamihorn, who was invited to the high holy day service at Temple Kol Emeth by Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, we asked if he was considering asking the school board to issue a statement about the discoveries of swastikas and “Heil Hitler” scrawlings at Pope and Lassiter high schools.

Leadership teams at the individual schools are conducting investigations.

Scamihorn condemned the attacks, saying those who committed them are “woefully ignorant of what the swastika means.”

As chairman he could bring an item to Thursday’s school board meeting agendas unilaterally, but said in our interview Friday that “at this time, I’m going to let the investigations play out.”

Other board members need the vote of a majority of the board to add agenda items, following a late 2020 policy change.

Board members also are prohibited from offering public comments during their meetings on any subject. A policy change was made in 2019 that’s part of ongoing conflict among the seven-member body, typically along partisan lines.

On Sunday, Kol Emeth and other Jewish organizations in metro Atlanta launched an online petition that’s already surpassed 1,700 signatures out of a targeted 2,500:

“We are asking the Cobb County School Board and its associated schools to recognize and condemn all forms of antisemitism that occur on campus and to allow school principals the authority to condemn these acts and offer programming to proactively educate the student body and community about antisemitism and to prevent further occurrences.”

The groups include the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and other metro Atlanta synagogues.

Sernovitz and other Jewish leaders have been critical of the Cobb school district’s response, saying a message by Pope principal Thomas Flugum didn’t specify that they were anti-Semitic incidents.

The Cobb school district issued a response that didn’t make a reference to anti-Semitism but only to “hate speech” and urged “families to talk to their students about the impacts of inappropriate and dangerous trends circulating on social media.”

In a statement issued Monday, Lauren Menis, a co-founder of the Atlanta Alliance Against Anti-Semitism said the following:

“In refusing to call out the hate by name, as antisemitism, the Cobb County School Board is sending a clear message that these acts of hate are not significant. This is a teachable moment, and we need to seize it. By not naming it and not allowing anti-hate educational programming to address this in their schools, the schools have denied a valuable opportunity to help students learn from these events. Downplaying hate is unacceptable. We will hold Cobb County’s school board accountable. Their silence is unacceptable.”

The Cobb school board is delaying its September meetings—a work session at 2:30 p.m. and a business meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday—by a week in observance of Yom Kippur.

That schedule change was announced last Monday, after the Pope incident. On Wednesday, Lassiter school officials announced a similar incident had taken place.

Also on Monday, the Democratic House Leadership Caucus of the Georgia legislature issued a statement condemning the Pope and Lassiter incidents, including David Wilkerson and Erica Thomas of South Cobb.

Democrat Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish U.S. senator, also condemned the Cobb incidents in a Yom Kippur appearance at a Sandy Springs synagogue.

The Pope PTSA organization is planning a Nov. 20 event in response to the anti-Semitic incident there that will include a campus cleanup project as well as assemblies involving faith leaders from local Jewish, Catholic and Episcopalian congregations.

Response to anti-Semitic East Cobb school incidents: ‘A lesson in solidarity’

September 18, 2021 by Wendy Parker

*Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, Temple Kol Emeth*

Instead of presiding over Cobb Board of Education meetings Thursday, chairman Randy Scamihorn was attending a Yom Kippur service in East Cobb.

He had received an invitation from Rabbi Larry Sernovitz after anti-Semitic graffiti was found on bathroom walls at Pope High School last week.

As Scamihorn was asked to hold the Torah at the Temple Kol Emeth synagogue on the holiest of Jewish holy days, another investigation was underway for a similar incident at Lassiter High School earlier this week.

“Like many non-Jews, I am woefully inadequate in my knowledge of the Jewish religion,” Scamihorn said Friday in an interview with East Cobb News.

“I saw it as an opportunity to enhance my education.”

He said he was pleasantly surprised not just at the invitation to attend, but to take a leading part in one of the most meaningful aspects of the Yom Kippur observance.

Sernovitz and others in the local Jewish community are pushing for that receptiveness to spread throughout the community, and in particular the Cobb County School District.

After the Pope incident, the school board postponed Thursday’s scheduled monthly meetings for another week due to Yom Kippur.

But Sernovitz and other Jewish leaders said the district’s response has been inadequate. In a letter to the Pope community, principal Thomas Flugum didn’t specify the anti-Semitic nature of the graffiti, which included swastikas and “Hail Hitler” written above urinals.

Similar scrawling took place in a boys bathroom at Lassiter, where principal Chris Richie was specific, and further denounced the “deplorable symbols and language.”

Later, the Cobb school district issued a response that didn’t make a reference to anti-Semitism but only to “hate speech” and urged “families to talk to their students about the impacts of inappropriate and dangerous trends circulating on social media.”

The incidents took place apparently as part of a stunt on the Tik Tok social media app in which students vandalize school property and boast about it.

The “devious licks” challenge is being addressed by the social media company, but other reports of anti-Semitic incidents are unknown.

The Pope PTSA organization is planning a Nov. 20 event in response to the anti-Semitic attack that will include a campus cleanup project as well as assemblies involving faith leaders from local Jewish, Catholic and Episcopalian congregations.

It’s called “Team Up to Clean Up: Building Relationships through Service,” and details will be forthcoming, said Kelley Jimison, a Pope parent who’s leading the organizing effort.

“I see it as an opportunity to teach our students lifelong lessons,” she said. “What matters to me is that we have a chance to turn this around and make positive change out of this.”

Jimison stressed that what happened at Pope involved only a small number of students on a campus of around 2,000 students.

What she calls “a lesson in solidarity” is already taking place, as Pope students and staff produced the video below this week.

At an earlier Yom Kippur service on Thursday. Sernovitz addressed a congregant who’s soon to be Bar Mitzvahed and applauded him for being “proud of his Judaism” as he attends school.

“We’re proud of the education that you gave to your fellow students,” said Sernovitz, who also thanked parents for “staying strong and raising your kids in the face of indignity.”

Sernovitz was traveling this weekend and could not be reached for comment.

The Cobb school board will be meeting next Thursday, at which public commenters are expected to address the anti-Semitic incidents.

In speaking with East Cobb News, Scamihorn was reluctant to say whether he may bring forward an item condemning the attacks.

As chairman he can do that unilaterally, but said that “at this time, I’m going to let the investigations play out.”

Those responsible for the incidents, he said, are “woefully ignorant of what the swastika means.”

Board vice chairman David Banks, whose Post 5 in East Cobb includes the Pope and Lassiter attendance zones, also condemned the incidents, saying it’s “disappointing that we have students who would do something like that.”

What they did, Banks said, “has no Christian values.”

But he said the district processes for investigating alleged student misbehavior need to be followed, and that he’s not sure of all the details.

“We’re not going to hash it out in public,” Banks added, saying that by doing so it might become a national story. “It’s a local issue. Let the schools take care of it.”

Pope HS swastikas

COVID cases falling in Cobb schools, but Dickerson MS reports outbreak

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Dickerson MS

The Cobb County School District on Friday said there are 576 active cases of COVID-19 among staff and students, and that the figure reflects a steep decline since a late August peak.

However, a new outbreak has been reported at another school in East Cobb.

In its weekly case notification report, the district said Friday that there have been 4,978 cases since July 1.

This week, the school with the highest number of active cases is at Dickerson Middle School, which has 38.

It’s the only middle school in double figures in cases this week, and Dickerson has reported 62 of its 75 total cases since July 1 over the last three weeks.

At Addison Elementary School in Northeast Cobb, there are 13 active cases this week, down from 32 a week ago and 11 at Rocky Mount ES, which reported 24 a week ago.

Timber Ridge ES in East Cobb reported 10 cases this week, but there was only one other elementary school in the district in double figures.

For 10 days last month the entire 5th grade at East Side Elementary School went to remote learning due to an outbreak in which there were 46 active cases at one point.

The district released a school-by-school weekly report on Friday showing how those numbers have been falling in most places (you can read through it by clicking here).

The district said case rates have dropped 44 percent since Aug. 27 and are down 90 percent at 103 of the 114 schools.

“For those schools which have not yet seen drops, we expect similar declines as COVID-19 spread also declines in those areas of the Cobb community,” said Superintendent Chris Ragsdale in the release.

Last week he was the only member of the Cobb Board of Health who did not vote for a statement urging universal masking in schools, per the latest CDC guidance.

Instead, Ragsdale abstained, saying the statement was not sent to him before a virtual meeting. He also said the Cobb school district was following all other CDC-recommended protocols.

Cobb has a masks-optional policy and is one of the few school districts in metro Atlanta not to require face coverings.

In Friday’s release, Ragsdale didn’t mention masks, but said the following:

“Our commitment to our staff, students, and parents will continue focusing on data-based approaches, balancing our commitments to continuing to provide Cobb County’s students with an internationally competitive education, ensuring a safe instructional environment for our staff and students, and preserving the overwhelming preference of our community for a choice of in-person learning.”

Cobb 2021 SAT scores: Big jump at Wheeler; Walton tops county

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Wheeler name change town hall

The average mean Scholastic and Aptitude Test score for Wheeler seniors in the Class of 2021 jumped by 73 points from last year, the biggest increase among the 16 high schools in the Cobb County School District.

The district released scores on Friday, showing Wheeler’s average score at 1,233, just behind Walton High School at 1,275, which once again led the district. Pope High School was third at 1,205.

At Kell High School, the average score was 1,076, at Lassiter it was 1,176 and at Sprayberry it was 1,104.

In a news release, the district said Cobb students taking the SAT in 2021 averaged a score of 1,50 points (out of a possible 1,600), 43 points higher than a year ago.

Walton’s SAT score was tied for third-highest in Georgia, and Wheeler was in the top 10.

The statewide average this year is 1,077, and the national average is 1,038.

The Cobb school district said this year’s score is higher than other large school districts in Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Education released district and school-level data, including average scores by subject, that you can view here.

The Cobb score for evidence-based reading and the writing section was 581 out of a maximum of 800, 17 points higher than 2020. In math, Cobb students scored a 568 out of a maximum 800, a jump of 24 points.

Cobb school district responds to anti-Semitic incidents

September 16, 2021 by Wendy Parker

We reached out to the Cobb County School District to get a response to the anti-Semitic incidents that took place at Pope High School and Lassiter High School in the last week.

East Cobb News specifically asked if the district would be responding in a broader fashion than the separate investigations that are taking place at each school.

In both instances, swastikas and the words “Hail Hitler!” or “Heil Hitler” were scrawled on the walls of restrooms.

Here’s what a district spokeswoman sent to East Cobb News via e-mail:

“A recent disturbing social media trend involving hate speech is unacceptable and distracting from our teachers’ and students’ ability to focus on teaching and learning. Our principals are engaging with students, teachers, parents, and community members about how to prevent the harmful and illegal behavior from happening. There is zero tolerance for actions that harm individual students, people groups or the school building, and all applicable District policies and laws will be applied.

“We encourage families to talk to their students about the impacts of inappropriate and dangerous trends circulating on social media. Parents, students, or staff members can report safety concerns to the District’s Tipline via call, text or email.”

The statement, published in full, is identical to what was sent to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.

The Cobb school board meetings that were to have taken place Thursday are being delayed a week in observance of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb and the Atlanta office of the Anti-Defamation League have called the district’s response to the Pope incident inadequate.

That was before the incident at Lassiter that was announced Wednesday, just as Yom Kippur was set to begin, and that was concluding on Thursday.

Lassiter principal: Anti-Semitic graffiti found in restrooms

September 15, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Lassiter High School graduation rate

The principal at Lassiter High School informed his school community Wednesday afternoon that anti-Semitic graffiti was found earlier this week in restrooms.

In a message that went out to Lassiter families, Dr. Chris Richie said that swastikas and “Heil Hitler” were found scrawled in two restrooms, similar to what happened last week at nearby Pope High School.

“In both locations, the deplorable symbols and language were behind stall doors,” Richie wrote in a letter that has been posted on the Lassiter PTSA Facebook page.

He said the discovery was the result of an organized effort that began Monday to monitor student activity, especially in restrooms, following the Pope incident.

Richie said Lassiter restrooms have been checked on an almost hourly basis during the school day, and that school officials are reviewing video footage and conducting an active investigation into the anti-Semitic messages. The Lassiter resource officer also has filed a report.

“I am both angered and saddened by the appearance of symbols and words of hatred in our school and community,” Richie wrote. He added:

“When hate and ignorance surface in our school, we ask that parents engage in meaningful conversations and dialogue with your children. I can cite the Cobb County School District’s Administrative Rule that these hate symbols/speech violate, and I can talk to students in the morning over the announcements about repercussions for this despicable act; however, for these disgusting acts to stop, we must all come together as a school and a community to commit that Lassiter High School will be a safe, respectful environment for all students, faculty, and staff. We must work together to teach our students to be better.”

The Lassiter letter comes as Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, begins, lasting from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Education announced it was delaying its scheduled monthly meetings on Thursday by a week in observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Both Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, who visited with Pope students, and the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta said the Cobb County School District response to the Pope incident was insufficient.

The ADL issued a particularly scathing statement, saying the school board’s recent decision to ban Critical Race Theory “could tie their hands in responding to and countering incidents of hate through educational initiatives for the school community.”

Bells Ferry ES student named SagerStrong Hometown Hero

September 15, 2021September 15, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Submitted information from the Cobb County School District: Bells Ferry ES student Jensen Oliver, SagerStrong Hometown Hero

The SagerStrong Foundation recently announced that Bells Ferry Elementary student Jensen Oliver won it Hometown Hero Award. As the winner, Jensen will receive a $3500 in scholarship award made possible through a generous donation from Rand Refrigeration and individual donors.

Jensen is a pediatric cancer patient who is thriving through her fight with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Diagnosed with ALL in 2017, Jensen continues to fight hard and endure her treatment with great strength and determination. She will soon “graduate” from treatment to the survivor’s program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Read more about Jensen, her cancer story, and how she and her family are staying #SagerStrong through the fight, here. According to the SagerStrong Foundation, a special thanks to Heather Roe and Karl Kaiser for nominating Jensen for this award and contributing an additional gift to this year’s special honoree.

Jensen was honored in August at the third annual 2021 SagerStrong Foundation Stadium Fun Run at Truist Park and at the Atlanta Braves game against the San Francisco Giants. Thanks to Rand Refrigeration, Jensen will receive the scholarship gift now as inspiration and a promise for keeping strong in her fight to beat blood cancer.

“We are continually inspired by the uplifting stories that the Foundation receives for the annual SagerStrong Foundation Hometown Hero Award Program, presented by Rand Refrigeration,” said Stacy Sager, President of the SagerStrong Foundation. “We were truly blown away by the applicants this year – it was difficult to choose just one, but Jensen’s great attitude and love of life reminded us so much of Craig and his passion to do what he loved, even while in his fight. We are grateful to our partner, Rand Refrigeration, for making the scholarship possible for Jensen, and to individual donors Heather Roe and Karl Kaiser for contributing additional funds to help us make the honor even more special in 2021!”

The SagerStrong Foundation Hometown Hero Award honors a pediatric leukemia patient annually that embodies everything that the SagerStrong Foundation stands for perseverance, strength, and, above all, courage. The program was created in Craig Sager’s memory to inspire and “lift up” young patients in their fight to know that they have so many others “fighting” in their corner with them.

“We are proud to support the SagerStrong Foundation’s Hometown Hero Award program again this year and grateful to continue to give back in the communities that we serve,” said Randi Davis Minor, principal, Rand Refrigeration. “Supporting others, like Jensen, in her fight to achieve her dreams in the face of adversity and challenges is a wonderful way we can help make a difference.”

Walton, Wheeler students headline National Merit scholar lists

September 15, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The first batch of National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for the 2021-22 school year have been announced, and they include quite a few students from Walton and Wheeler High schools in East Cobb.

The full list of East Cobb students is below; here’s some background on the program, which has 16,000 semifinalists nationwide:

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school offi cial must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2022. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 220 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 180 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2022 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 362,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

INDEPENDENT STUDIES AT JOHNSON FERRY

William L. Reese

LASSITER H. S.

Faaris Hussain

POPE H. S.

Patrick M. Astorga; Oluwaseminire A. Oloyede; Madeleine M. Stewart

SPRAYBERRY H. S.

Bradley Scott

WALTON H. S.

Zain M. Akram; Mark Arshavsky; Stephanie Bergman; Lawrence J. Cai; Wonho Choi; Fevin Felix; Fiona P. Guo; Sahil J. Handa; Katelyn L. Henry; Ryann A. Jacobson; Saloni Jain; Chinmay P. Joshi; Aadi Kadi; Sungwon Kim; Abhinav Kona; Abhishek Kona; Maxwell E. Leamy; Daniel Y. Liu; Vikas Malepati; Ana E. Mocklar; Cynthia Peng; Imaan A. Pirani; Neerav Ravirala; Aryan Roy; Advaith Shivaram; Jonathan Shu; Nairita S. Siddiqui; Lawrence A. Thomas; Kunling Tong; Abhay R. Vittal; Joseph M. Walter; Asad Yamin; Emma L. Zeng; Franklin S. Zhao

WHEELER H. S.

Rhea Baghel; Evan Bauer; Smera V. Bhatia; Pranav R. Devarinti; Arjun J. Dewan; Carson D. Felton; Angela M. Francis; Archishma V. Goli; Kyle A. Hampton; Samyukta S. Iyer; Sujit Iyer; William P. Jewel; Charlie J. Jin; Kavita Kar; Nelitha E. Kulasiri; Nishka Mirkhelkar; Achyutan T. Narayanan; Vijay Shastri; Chirag Shetty; Emma G. Teng; Satya S. Tetali

Cobb school board delays September meetings for Yom Kippur

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board COVID-19

The Cobb County School District said Monday is it pushing back the Cobb Board of Education’s monthly meetings in September due to Yom Kippur, the holiest observance of the Jewish calendar.

The board’s work session and voting meeting were to have taken place Thursday, but that’s during Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Instead, those meetings will take place next Thursday, Sept. 23, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset Wednesday and continues through sunset Thursday.

From a Cobb school district release Monday afternoon:

“We recognize that Yom Kippur is of vital importance to our Jewish community members and have decided to postpone our regular meeting to ensure that as many of our community members as possible can participate.”

The district’s announcement also said that “while we understand that this schedule change may cause inconvenience to some, the Board and District are committed to making our meetings as inclusive as possible.”

The change comes a few days after the Pope High School principal announced an investigation was underway following the discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti on the wall of a boys bathroom.

There were two swastikas scrawled above urinals with the words “Hail Hiter!,” and prompted a visit to the campus Friday by Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb.

The Southern Division of the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta said on Monday that the Cobb school district’s response to the Pope incident was inadequate.

In a Friday letter to assistant superintendent Christian Suttle, ADL regional vice president Allison Padilla-Goodman was critical of the district for failing to specify the incident as being anti-Semitic.

The ADL said that letter has gone unanswered, and in a statement issued to the media, she blasted the school board’s vote in June to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory.

She said it was a decision that “could tie their hands in responding to and countering incidents of hate through educational initiatives for the school community.” More from Padilla-Goodman:

“This is a direct example of how these shortsighted, politically-driven policies will have a detrimental impact on our children — antisemitic incidents, and hate of all forms, must be called out and countered as teachable moments and through educating the school community to create equitable, inclusive environments where all students can learn and thrive.”

She also noted that Cobb has dropped a public education campaign, “No Place for Hate,” that the ADL had offered to school districts.

There will be a special school board meeting this Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for a student disciplinary matter that is closed to the public.

Pope HS vandalized with swastikas, ‘Heil Hitler’ graffiti

September 13, 2021September 11, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Pope HS swastikas

The principal at Pope High School said a full investigation is underway into a vandalism incident at the school this week that included anti-Semitic graffiti being scrawled on a bathroom wall.

The damage included swastikas and the words “Hail Hitler” written above urinals and other unspecified destruction of facilities on the Hembree Road campus.

Photos of the vandalism were posted on social media, and apparently was part of a trending activity in which students vandalize school property and boast about it on the Tik Tok application.

Pope principal Thomas Flugum sent a message to the school community on Friday that “we will hold those responsible accountable to our district policies and applicable state laws.”

He also met with Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, who said in a message to his congregation that he spoke to students at the end of lunch periods on Friday.

Sernovitz said Flugum told him that “several students have already been identified” and that interviews are continuing with other students to get more information.

“While there are many wonderful students at Pope High School, including some of our own, there are those who perpetuate hate and still others that remain silent,” Sernovitz wrote, quoting Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Elie Wiesel, who said that “we must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

In his message, Flugum touted Pope as “a welcoming, safe and considerate community for all our students. Disturbing acts like what happened this week have no place in our district or at our school and will not be tolerated.”

The incident comes at the end of Rosh Hashanah, a celebration of the Jewish New Year, and as Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, begins at sunset Wednesday and concludes on sunset Thursday.

The Pope PTSA sent out a message Friday night saying that “we can’t begin to understand what, how, why any of this would happen at our school, seemingly all in one day, but we can use this as an opportunity to teach our children.

“Many will call these teenage pranks, but these are hate crimes – and destroying property and stealing from your school is a felony.

“We stand together with ALL of our families and will not tolerate or accept hate.”

It’s been a year since swastika and pro-Trump graffiti was scrawled on fencing and trees in an East Cobb neighborhood near Post Oak Tritt Road and Holly Springs Road.

Sernovitz and the Atlanta office of the Anti-Defamation League launched an education program that included bias training.

On Friday, Sernovitz said he’s contacted ADL again for assistance regarding the Pope incident.

In his letter, he urged his congregants to “let us remember that repentance, prayer, and tzedakah (righteous giving), can make our world a little bit better and can give us hope in the midst of the darkness and challenges that we as a Jewish community have faced and continue to face. May our actions merit being inscribed in the Book of Life for another year.”

Cobb schools report 658 COVID-19 cases; 32 at Addison ES

September 10, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Addison ES; Cobb schools COVID cases

A total of 32 active cases of COVID-19 are being reported at Addison Elementary School in Northeast Cobb, the largest number for any school this week in the Cobb County School District.

The district released its weekly COVID report on Friday, showing 658 active cases.

That’s down from the range of around 1K in each of the last three weeks, but it reflects a shortened school week due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday.

Since July 1, there have been 4,402 cases among students and staff. Addison had eight cases prior to this week, and is not the first elementary school in East Cobb with such large numbers.

For 10 days last month the entire 5th grade at East Side Elementary School went to remote learning due to an outbreak.

Rocky Mount Elementary School in Northeast Cobb has 24 active cases, more than doubling its previous cumulative total.

There are 13 cases at Lassiter High School and Dickerson Middle School is reporting 11 active cases this week.

Earlier this week the Cobb Board of Health approved a position statement urging universal masking in schools, a direct response to the Cobb school district’s masks-optional policy.

The guidance comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and includes several other provisions to combat growing numbers of cases and hospitalizations among school-age children.

Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, a member of the board of health, abstained from voting, saying the district is following the other protocols, and indicated that “97 percent [of students and staff] are COVID-free.”

In Cobb County, the spread of COVID-19 remains high due to the Delta variant. Cobb and Douglas Public Health report that as of Thursday, there is a 14-day average of just under 800 cases per 100,000 people. “High community spread” is a two-week average of 100/100K.

Cobb Schools Foundation receives $125K in Publix gift cards

September 8, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Submitted information by the Cobb County School District:

Publix Super Markets recently named the Cobb Schools Foundation a recipient of the “Tools for Schools” campaign. Last week, Bruch Humphries, District Manager of Atlanta Central West Region, and two local store managers delivered over $125,000 in gift cards for Cobb students and teachers.

Anyone who has shopped at Publix and opted to support the Tools for School has helped Cobb students who may not have basic learning materials like pens, markers, crayons, or notebooks. In some classrooms, teachers have been known to use their own money to provide those resources. Thanks to Tools for School, teachers and students can focus on doing what’s most important—teaching and learning. Contributions through the Tools for School campaign support local charities dedicated to helping kids succeed.

“The Cobb Schools Foundation is overjoyed to receive the generosity of our local Publix shoppers. These gift cards will be distributed throughout the county to serve students in need as well as teachers who are doing all that they can to create the best learning experience for students,” shared Frank Wigington, President of Cobb Schools Foundation.

Out of the approximately 107,000 students who are enrolled in the Cobb County School District’s 112 schools, over 40% are considered economically disadvantaged. The gift cards donated by Publix will go directly towards supporting the needs of those students and teachers in the district.

For those interested in working together with the Cobb Schools Foundation to take student success to new heights, go here. The Cobb Schools Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit and is the philanthropic arm for the school district and focuses on family stabilization, learning interventions, scholarships, and career development for students.

Cobb Board of Health urges ‘universal masking’ in schools

September 7, 2021September 7, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb health board school masking

The Cobb Board of Health adopted a statement Tuesday urging schools to follow Centers for Disease Control guidance on mitigating against COVID-19, including masking of all staff, teachers and students over the age of 2.

The eight-member appointed board, called to an emergency meeting late Friday, voted 6-0 to approve what it called a “position statement” for public and private schools in the county.

The statement, read before the vote by chairwoman Dr. Carol Holtz, also encourages all eligible persons in Cobb (age 12 and older) to get vaccinated, and supports a “multi-pronged approach to protect students and staff.”

Cobb’s 14-day average of 845 cases per 100,000 people is several times above the “high community spread” threshold of 100/100K.

During the meeting, health officials noted that Cobb is experiencing “extremely high” transmission due to the Delta variant, and that pediatric case numbers and hospital admissions of children have increased dramatically.

It was clear from comments by board members and Dr. Janet Memark, the director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, that masks were the primary reason for the meeting, and especially regarding the Cobb County School District’s policy.

The health board cannot issue mandates or require policy changes.

Cobb is among the few school districts in metro Atlanta without a mandatory mask policy. Marietta City Schools mandated masks in late August.

“One child’s death is not worth not wearing masks in our schools, public and private,” health board member Wyman Pilcher III said, echoing the comments of several of his colleagues.

They included Cobb Board of Commissioners chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who called the current COVID-19 surge in the county “one of the most troubling issues of our time” that “could do grave harm to our community.”

Abstaining from voting was Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who emphasized during the nearly hour-long meeting that the district was following seven of the eight recommended CDC school-related protocols.

Absent from the meeting, which was viewed via Zoom by more than 800 people, was Marietta superintendent Grant Rivera.

“We are doing seven of the eight,” Ragsdale said, stressing that correct usage of masks, especially by elementary school-age children, is a challenge.

Ragsdale—who with Rivera is a member of the health board by virtue of his position—also said the statement read by Holtz was not the text he had received prior to the meeting.

After it was sent to him, he said he didn’t feel comfortable voting for something he hadn’t had a chance to read.

Ragsdale said the Cobb school district—with 107,000 students and 20,000 more teachers and staff—strongly encourages masks and vaccines, and appreciated updated quarantine provisions from Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

Since July 1, there have been 3,744 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and staff in Cobb schools, representing 3 percent of the district’s population.

“Ninety-seven percent are COVID-free,” Ragsdale said.

For each of the last three weeks, nearly 1,000 cases have been reported in the Cobb school district, and for 10 days the entire 5th grade at East Side Elementary School in East Cobb went to remote learning due to an outbreak.

But Memark—who posted several slides with high transmission and pediatric hospitalization data—said it was important to “use as many of the tools as possible” to curtail the spread of the virus.

She said that since August, roughly 25 percent of all COVID-19 cases in Cobb have been between the ages of 5-17, as well as 136 outbreaks and four pediatric deaths.

“There is a lot of significant transmission happening in those groups,” she said.

The health board’s statement in part addressed that as follows:

“Hospitalizations in school-aged children are also the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. The fact that many of these children are not eligible to be vaccinated and have been shown to spread the virus to others has been concerning since the beginning of this school year.”

The statement—which you can read in full here—concludes:

“Each school system has their own unique challenges to meet the needs of students and faculty and we respect their authority to make the final decisions. All questions regarding school protocols should be directed to the relevant school district.”

Cobb schools report 947 COVID-19 cases for week of Aug. 30

September 3, 2021September 3, 2021 by Wendy Parker

This week’s Cobb County School District COVID-19 report shows similar numbers from recent weeks with 947 active cases.

They include double-figure cases at quite a few schools, including several in East Cobb.

They’re not as high as last week’s report of 69 active cases at Sprayberry High School, which is reporting 26 this week.

Since July 1 there have been 3,744 cases reported in the Cobb school district, both for students and staff, but the figures aren’t broken down further.

They also don’t divulge how many people are being quarantined.

What follows are active case counts at schools in East Cobb, with cumulative totals in parenthesis:

Elementary Schools

Addison 1 (12); Bells Ferry 4 (26); Blackwell 7 (29); Brumby 11 (34); Davis 12 (49); East Side 12 (118); Eastvalley 3 (18); Garrison Mill 2 (34); Keheley 7 (11); Kincaid 2 (13); Mt. Bethel 8 (33); Mountain View 8 (28); Murdock 4 (40); Nicholson 11 (24); Powers Ferry 2 (7); Rocky Mount 9 (31); Sedalia Park 2 (30); Sope Creek 19 (42); Timber Ridge 5 (12); Tritt 5 (17).

Middle Schools

Daniell 11 (35); Dickerson 13 (26); Dodgen 7 (35); East Cobb 12 (32); Hightower Trail 4 (20); Mabry 19 (40); McCleskey 22 (53); Simpson 6 (26).

High Schools

Kell 15 (38); Lassiter 11 (49); Pope 13 (33); Sprayberry 26 (146); Walton 21 (88); Wheeler 12 (60).

Pope HS graduate named 2021 Cobb schools teacher of the year

September 1, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Beth Foster, 2021 Cobb schools teacher of the year

Submitted information:

Beth Foster thought she was attending the August Board of Education meeting to be recognized as the Cobb Schools High School Teacher of the Year, but she was in for a big surprise.

Instead of solely recognizing her accomplishment as High School TOTY, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced that she had been selected as the District Level Teacher of the Year!

“Beth Foster is an example of Cobb’s high-quality educators who help students overcome obstacles and succeed in school and beyond. Teachers like her are the reason why 91% of Cobb students reach the graduation stage when they attend a Cobb high school all four years,” said Superintendent Ragsdale.

Beth Foster, a graduate of Pope High School, teaches ESOL and History/Civics classes at Osborne High School, where she has helped students succeed for 13+ years. Cobb’s Teacher of the Year has taught students from all around the world and serves as a daily encouragement to both her students and her fellow educators.

“I love teaching at Osborne because we work as a team to help our students. Every single person in our building contributes – teachers, staff, administrators, parent facilitators, department chairs, the social worker, our cafeteria staff, and academic coaches,” Ms. Foster explained.

Osborne Principal Josh Morreale describes Ms. Foster as a dynamic teacher who consistently meets the needs of all of her students. Principal Morreale also praised the District’s top teacher for building strong relationships with her students.

She maintains some of those relationships long after graduation. One of those relationships also makes up one of her favorite memories as an educator.

“It is difficult to pinpoint one favorite memory as an educator, but one that stands out is a former student who faced a lot of adversity throughout high school. He relied heavily on my husband and I for support, and he eventually went on to graduate and pursue higher education. He now owns his own business, and he has a beautiful family. It has been a joy to see him flourish,” said the veteran Osborne educator.

The success of her student epitomizes why she serves as a teacher.

“I love seeing students happy, learning, and finding success in challenging situations,” Cobb’s TOTY added.

In addition to recognizing Beth Foster, Superintendent Ragsdale and Cobb’s Board Members also congratulate Cobb’s Elementary Level TOTY, Dr. Darline Douangvilay, City View Elementary School; and Middle School Level TOTY, Michelle Gottenberg, Mabry Middle School.

Cobb schools to temporarily increase substitute teacher pay

August 31, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Submitted information from the Cobb County School District:

Substitutes in Cobb Schools will soon have an extra reason to smile when they see their paychecks. Effective September 6, substitute teachers, supply teachers, substitute nurses, and supply nurses in Cobb Schools will be eligible for pay increases temporarily through May 2022. The increase will reflect in the employees’ October 29 paycheck.

“Whether they are part-time, temporary, or full time, every Team member can change a student’s life. This raise is another example of Superintendent Ragsdale’s priority of putting CARES Act relief dollars as close to the classroom as possible,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Keeli Bowen.

The daily rate for substitute teachers in Cobb will increase to $189 temporarily, while the rate for supply teachers will increase to $212 temporarily. Both substitute and supply nurses in Cobb Schools will also see a temporary hourly rate increase by $4 per hour. For example, the hourly rate for an RN nurse supply position will increase to $27.89 temporarily.

Those interested in joining the Cobb Schools team should visit here.

Cobb Schools teacher substitutes and nurses are not the only ones this year to see a monetary thank you.

Superintendent Ragsdale recently announced a $1,200 retention bonus for all bus drivers and monitors payable in their December payroll. To be eligible for the retention bonus, each driver and monitor must be employed by September 24th.  

For specific questions related to pay and the temporary rate increases, contact Cobb Schools Human Resources Department.

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