East Cobb Schools

Georgia private school voucher bill rejected by Senate in close vote

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In one of the more closely watched issues in the state legislative session this year, the Georgia Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted down a bill that would allow public school funds to be diverted for private school vouchers. State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick

The vote was 28-25 against a substitute version of SB 173 (read the summary or full bill), which was decided strongly along party lines.

All Democrats and several Republicans were opposed, including Lindsey Tippins of West Cobb, a former Cobb school board member. Among the Republicans voting for the bill was Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick of East Cobb (in photo).

The bill’s sponsors indicated they may try for another Senate vote later this week. Thursday is crossover day in the Georgia General Assembly, which means bills must pass at least one chamber to have a chance to become law this year.

Dubbed the Georgia Educational Scholarship Act, SB 173 and HB 301 are identical pieces of legislation. The bills would allow parents to use funds earmarked for public education to pay for qualified education expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring and transportation, as well as home-schooling curriculum.

Existing laws in Georgia allow indirect contributions for private school vouchers that are good for tax credits and for tuition for students with disabilities.

SB 173 has moved fast through the Senate, introduced only on Feb. 22 with the support of Gov. Brian Kemp. It was reported out of subcommittee without a vote, and passed out of the Ways and Means Committee Thursday. On Monday, the Senate Rules Committee placed the bill on Tuesday’s floor schedule.

Both bills are opposed by many public-school advocacy groups, including teachers organizations and the Georgia PTA. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, which also is opposed, estimates that the voucher program could deprive the state of more than $540 million a year for public schools if fully implemented over the next 10 years.

In favor of the bills are school-choice interests, including the Georgia Center for Opportunity, which says the bill would allow parents to tailor their child’s educational needs.

 

 

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Cobb Schools to hold SPLOST Town Hall Wednesday

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A new Cobb Education SPLOST collection period has begun, and school district officials will be available this week to discuss those projects and more at a town hall meeting.Cobb schools parent portal

The Cobb Ed-SPLOST V will be the focus of the Wednesday meeting from 6-8 at Campbell High School (5265 Ward St., Smyrna), with deputy superintendent John Adams and Cobb Schools SPLOST chief Nick Parker on hand to brief the public and answer questions.

The new SPLOST period that began in January will last through 2023 and is expected to generate $797 million in revenues.

(Here’s the SPLOST V Notebook).

The major projects in East Cobb include:

  • Rebuilding Eastvalley Elementary School at the site of the former East Cobb Middle School;
  • Theater renovation at Lassiter High School;
  • Renovation of the career and technical building at Sprayberry High School;
  • New tennis courts and a softball field at Walton High School;
  • Renovation of the STEM Magnet building at Wheeler High School.

Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools also are slated for major classroom additions in SPLOST V.

SPLOST funds also are used for technology upgrades at every school, including for security measures, and for general maintenance of facilities and equipment.

In January the Cobb Board of Education approved taking out $90 million in short-term loans against the SPLOST collections to get a head start on the new round of projects, and to save money by locking in interest rates.

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East Cobb Middle School’s special guest: Acting legend Louis Gossett Jr.

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Louis Gossett Jr., East Cobb Middle School

Black History Month in February brought some star quality to East Cobb in the presence of actor Louis Gossett Jr.

His visit to East Cobb Middle School near the end of the month included some inspiring words for students, as he told them that “every month is American History Month.”

Gossett is the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1982 movie “An Officer and A Gentleman,” and his message to sixth grade students was to embrace their role in shaping the future.

“If we are going to be together for the rest of our lives, we need to hold hands and show the rest of the world, by example, how this togetherness works,” Gossett told them, asking them to rise and join hands.

Here’s more about his visit from CCSD, which also submitted the photo:

“I know it is Black History Month, but every month is American History Month, and it is important you know how much you need one another and what you represent,” Gossett told the students. 

He advised the students to learn about their neighbors because everyone comes together to make America. He also pointed to the students’ grandparents as a source of valuable information about past generations. Explaining the importance of reaching across generations, Gossett revealed that he had a photo with his great grandmother, who had been a slave. She was 115 years old in the photo.  

“Take the time to listen to your teachers. Take the time to listen to your parents,” he continued. 

“Now is the time for you to start thinking about what you are going to be. This is when you go from childhood to grown up.”

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Wheeler science teacher named NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador

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Season Stalcup, Wheeler science teacher

Season Stalcup, a Wheeler science teacher, is one of four educators from the Cobb County School District to be named to the 2019 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program.

Stalcup, also an assistant coach for the Wheeler softball team, is among 28 in Georgia, and Cobb is one of 14 district in eight states with teachers who were selected to participate.

Here’s what CCSD is sending out about the program:

The NASA Ambassador program is a professional development opportunity for high school science teachers designed to improve science teaching and learning and increase student engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). 

As ambassadors, the Cobb teachers will join fellow educators from California, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, and two from Columbus, Georgia for training in astrophysics, planetary science content, and pedagogy. Their training will include a week-long immersion experience at NASA’s science research aircraft facility in Palmdale, California with participation in research flights onboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).  

SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP airliner fitted with a 2.5-meter (100-inch) telescope and using a suite of seven cameras and spectrographs to study celestial objects at infrared wavelengths. SOFIA operates during 10-hour overnight science missions at altitudes between 39,000 and 45,000 feet (12-14 kilometers), above more than 99 percent of the water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere that blocks infrared light from reaching ground-based observatories. 

After their training, the Cobb teachers, with the help of program staff, will implement a NASA science-oriented electromagnetic spectrum and infrared astronomy curriculum module in their classrooms. The module is developed by the SETI Institute, which has managed the Ambassador program since its inception in 2011. Cobb’s teachers are part of the first NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors class open to teachers outside of California.  

“We are so proud of the teachers that were selected to be a part of the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors Program,” said Christian Cali, Cobb County School District science supervisor. “Their experiences flying into the stratosphere on NASA’s SOPHIA will provide Cobb students with a chance to make real-world connections with the concepts they are learning in the classroom.” 

 

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Tritt Elementary School earns first Library Learning Commons certification in nation

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Tritt Elementary School

Here’s some winter break news about a noteworthy accomplishment by students and teachers, and staff at Tritt Elementary School, which is the first school in the country to be certified as a Library Learning Commons.

The concept has evolved over the last decade or so nationwide, and thus far Tritt is the only school in Cobb to go through the district’s certification process (explanation here).

The information (along with photo) submitted by the Cobb County School District explains in detail the Library Learning Commons approach, which at Tritt has incorporated space for experimenting, playing, making, doing, thinking, collaborating, and growing:

The engaging space with flexible seating includes the traditional books but so much more. Digital tools and technology help the students collaborate. The library media specialists not only guide students as they select which book will take them on their next literary adventure, but they also conduct lessons focused on the curriculum the students are learning inside their classroom. 

“In our Library Learning Commons, students can stretch their thinking, ask questions, build research skills, design new concepts in makerspaces, and collaborate with their peers,” said Holly Frilot, Cobb Schools supervisor of Library Media Education. “The library media specialist cultivates lessons to spark curiosity, teaches how to research effectively, and guides students to present their new knowledge with digital tools.” 

Many Cobb students are tech-savvy and able to quickly navigate apps and social media. The media specialists inside the Library Learning Commons help the students become tech-literate so they can understand the digital world around them and navigate it safely and successfully.   

“One of our newer spaces is the MakerSpace where students can come to work on small or group projects, including green screen productions. Students and staff feel welcome to use the spaces and resources as needed in a truly flexible learning environment,” explained Tritt Principal Karen Carstens.  

Frilot and Principal Carstens both credit media specialist Joanne Bates for her work with teachers and staff over the past five years to transition Tritt’s media center into a Library Learning Commons.  

“The traditional library has gone through a transformation as old and outdated print materials have been replaced with more high-interest print materials and up-to-date digital resources,” added Principal Carstens. “The digital resources extend the walls of our library into the classrooms and even beyond our school as students and teachers can access the resources at home.” 

“In support of Cobb’s commitment to innovation, the Library Learning Commons certification highlights the transformation schools undertake to create engaging, inspiring spaces for students,” Frilot explained. “In our Library Learning Commons, students go on virtual reality field trips, engage in the engineering design process in makerspaces, and use digital tools like 3D printers.” 

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Georgia school bus stop-arm law revised by legislature

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ATS school bus camera, Cobb school bus camera program
Some Cobb school buses are equipped with cameras to photograph license plates of stop-arm violators.

When your kids return to school next week, a revision to a Georgia law regarding bus stop-arm requirements for motorists will have been put into place.

As Cobb students were letting out for their winter break this week, Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday signed SB 25, which clarifies language for when drivers must stop for buses on divided roadways.

The law passed by the General Assembly last year contained vague language about when motorists traveling in the opposite direction from a bus with the stop-arm extended had to stop.

The revision mandates that those vehicles must now stop on divided roads or highways unless there is a physical barrier between the two directions of traffic.

Along a road that is divided by a center turn lane or double yellow lane stripes, vehicles heading in the other direction must stop. The law passed in 2018 made that unclear.

However, if a road is divided by a grass or unpaved median or a raised barrier, vehicles traveling in the opposite direction do not have to stop.

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All traffic on two-lane roads must stop for stopped buses, as has been the case since before last year’s legislation.

School Transportation News said two students in Georgia have been hit since the law was passed last year, one of them fatally, by vehicles that ran bus stop-arm signs.

SB 25 passed unanimously last week, 171-0 by the House and 55-0 by the Senate. It was the first bill signed into law by Kemp since he became governor in January, and it went into effect immediately.

State public safety agencies, including the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, released the following graphic to illustrate changes in the law.

Georgia school bus stop-arm law

 

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Walton softball parents petition school board for on-campus facility

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Parents involved with the Walton High School softball booster club asked Cobb Board of Education members Wednesday when the district will come up with a plan to bring games back on campus.Walton fastpitch, Walton softball parents

It’s been nearly four years since the fastpitch field and fieldhouse, along with tennis courts, were demolished to make way for a new classroom building.

In a public comment session at the board’s monthly meeting Wednesday night, parents said they wanted to see a “replacement plan” in two weeks.

Parent Mary Littwin said that when plans were made in 2014 for what was described as a temporary move, “we were told that in 2-3 years” there would be a new outline for an on-campus home for Walton fastpitch. “Here we are, five years later, and what we would like to know is when a replacement plan will be put into action.”

Board members and school district officials did not respond to their concerns. Parents previously have brought the issue to new Post 6 school board member Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters.

The original Walton softball facility, including a fieldhouse was built in 1995, with private funding and donations that parent Kelly Landroche said cost around $160,000.

Since 2015, the Walton softball team and boys and girls tennis teams, also displaced during the construction, have played home competitions at Terrell Mill Park.

John Holland, whose daughter is a rising 8th grader with the Walton fastpitch program, said softball equipment in storage there has been vandalized.

More than anything, the parents said, they want their daughters to enjoy an on-campus environment.

Chris Andriano has had two daughters play softball at Walton. His youngest, he said, is a senior who will be part of the first class who won’t play a game on campus.

“She feels cheated by that,” he said. “Please help us to get these facilities back on campus as soon as possible.”

Financing the construction of new softball and tennis facilities for Walton teams is included on the new Cobb Education SPLOST V project list.

The main problem is a lack of space. Walton is situated on 43 acres on Bill Murdock Road, and most of that space is already being utilized.

The new classroom building opened in August 2017 and a new gym and peforming arts facility is expected to open before the 2019-20 school year.

One possible scenario would be to build a new softball facility on an athletic practice field that is used by several Walton teams.

Losing that field, fastpitch booster club president Amy Hecklinger said, “would put Walton in a less than equitable” situation compared to other high schools in Cobb County.

Another booster club parent, Suzanne Crosswhite, suggested that acquisition of nearby available land would be “proper and equitable,” and that the land “is right across the street.”

 

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Cobb schools rolling out parental bus-tracking app in March

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Following other school districts in metro Atlanta, the Cobb County School District will soon offer a mobile application for parents to track school bus movement.Here Comes the Bus, Cobb school bus tracking app

At a Cobb Board of Education work session Wednesday, superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the app, which would be available through Apple, Android, Google Play other app stores, is expected to be available by March 1.

The name of the app is “Here Comes the Bus,” which Ragsdale said is one of more popular bus-tracking apps in the country. It provides real-time tracking of buses, shows schedules and issues alerts notifying parents when buses approach pick-up and drop-off points.

Most recently, Here Comes the Bus been implemented in Paulding County schools. Marietta City Schools have a bus-tracking app called Traversa.

Ragsdale said Cobb school buses already have GPS (Global Positioning Services) devices on them, and the on-board technology will be updated to provide parents with tracking information that will be secured with a login containing a school code number and a password.

Parents had been able to contact drivers on two-way radios, which had dead spots and operated on open lines.

“If you need private communication with a bus driver, you don’t want that on a speaker,” Ragsdale said.

Deputy Superintendent John Adams said Here Comes the Bus has been tried on a pilot basis with parents at some schools in West Cobb, and most of them were satisfied with the app.

Cobb schools operate 870 bus routes that cover more than 68,000 miles each day, making 38,000 stops and carrying more than 72,000 students.

For details on downloading Here Comes the Bus, visit the CCSD’s transportation page.

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Hightower Trail music program honored by state educators group

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Hightower Trail music program

Information and photo from Cobb County School District:

Out of all the middle school music programs across the state of Georgia, the top one calls Cobb County home. The Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) recently selected Hightower Trail Middle School as the Music Program of the Year. 

The award recognizes Hightower Trail for excellence in all facets of the school’s music program including band, chorus and orchestra.  

Hightower Trail’s five-member music faculty serves 942 students or 89 percent of the student body. The premier music program offers classes in band, chorus, orchestra, guitar, and music appreciation.

The band, chorus, and orchestra programs regularly earn Superior ratings during their large group performance evaluations, and their students consistently earn placements in District Honor and All-State ensembles. Instrumental students participate in solo and ensemble each fall. They also send two Jazz bands to the Jazz evaluation in the spring. The award-winning music department also collaborates with Hightower Trail’s art teacher to present an annual “Night of the Arts” that spotlights chamber ensembles. 

The Hightower Trail band is led by Andrew Cole, director, and Fred Norton, assistant director. 

Hightower Trail’s eighth-grade symphonic band has performed at the University of Alabama, University of Georgia MidFest three times, the Music for All-Southeastern Regional twice, the GMEA In-Service Conference three times including last year, and the Music for All National Festival. The band has also received the GMEA Exemplary Performance Award. 

Hightower Trail’s Choral Director Suzanne Logue is a 30-year member of GMEA, having served in many organizational capacities in the choral division, including State Choral Chair in 2010. She has presented at several In-Service Conferences and is an accompanist for All-State and Honor Choirs around the state.  

Directors Michael Tompkins and Paul O’Keefe oversee the orchestra program at Hightower Trail. The Chamber Orchestra has performed at the ASTA National Orchestra Festival and the 2019 GMEA In-Service Conference. The Orchestra has also received the GMEA Exemplary Performance Award. 

In addition to Hightower Trail’s recognition as the number one middle school music program in Georgia, GMEA recently recognized Christopher Ferrell as the Administrator of the Year for his work as the Cobb County School District Supervisor of Instrumental Music.

 

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Cobb Young Professionals to volunteer at McCleskey Middle School

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Cobb Young Professionals

Calling all professionals under 40, and who have some financial skills to volunteer:

There’s an opportunity to work with Cobb Young Professionals and the Communities in Schools of Marietta/Cobb County at a financial literacy seminar they’re holding at McCleskey Middle School (4080 Maybreeze Road) next Friday, Feb. 15.

It’s part of the Communities in Schools’ “Reality U” program that teaches students about fiscal well-being and academic achievement.

The session is from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and you can register to help them out until Tuesday. Here’s more about the program:

The one-day financial literacy and life skills event is designed to help students understand some of the “realities” involved in preparing for adulthood. Students are provided an adult scenario complete with family status, occupation and net monthly income—and will visit a variety of booths to “purchase” housing, transportation, child-care, food, utilities, etc.

Reality U helps students make a direct connection between academic success and financial stability.

Cobb Young Professionals is the professional development group of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, and is aimed at those 40 and under. Contact Rebecca Chadwick at rchadwick@cobbchamber.org or 770-859-2368, or visit www.cobbchamber.org/events for more information.

 

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ArtsBridge Foundation gala to benefit Georgia arts education programs

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Kristen Chenoweth, ArtsBridge Foundation gala

Thanks to Nicholas Wolaver for the information and photo of Kristin Chenoweth (yes, that one!) about the ArtsBridge Foundation Overture Gala on March 29 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Tickets and sponsorships are on sale for the fundraiser, with proceeds going to arts programs for K-12 students in Georgia:

The benefit is an evening of philanthropy and fun including a cocktail reception, dinner created by the venue’s Executive Chef Nicholas Walker, a “Bid-to-Give” Auction, and live musical theater performances capped by a performance by Emmy- and Tony-Award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth.

Co-chaired by Barbarella and René Diaz and Teena and Rob Garcia of Diaz Foods and Synovus, respectively, the gala also features performances by students of Milton High School, winner in the Overall Production category of the 2018 Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards. This prestigious program, also known as The Shuler Awards, recognized Georgia students as the state’s official entrants into the National High School Musical Theatre Awards—The Jimmy Nederlander Awards.

The Overture Gala’s honorary chair is local philanthropist Valery Voyles, CEO and chair of Ed Voyles Automotive Group and former board of directors of ArtsBridge Foundation.

ArtsBridge Foundation hosts the Overture Gala—the organization’s major annual fundraiser—to gather community support for the upcoming program season, which will serve more than 30,000 K-12 students from nearly 60 Georgia counties and five neighboring states.

Funds raised through the gala’s Bid-to-Give segment will go towards the ArtsBridge Adopt-A-School Program benefiting schools and students with specific financial assistance needs.

Individual gala tickets are $350 with sponsorship packages available in the $1,000 to $25,000 range. Sponsors include Presenting Sponsor Synovus, Georgia Power, Ed Voyles Automotive, Sylvia and Bruce Dick, Scicom Infrastructure Services, Terry Chandler, and Jimmy and Helen S. Carlos. For sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, please visit www.ArtsBridgeGA.org/special-events or contact Lizzy Rhodes at 770-916-2817.

 

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Cobb schools begin issuing teacher contracts for 2019-20 school year

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The Cobb County School District announced Friday it has begun sending out the first of 8,000 teacher contracts for the 2019-20 school year. Cobb schools closed

Cobb schools said in a release that all contracts will be distributed by the end of the day on Monday.

Deputy Superintendent John Adams said Cobb schools are offering contracts to nearly 98 percent of teachers and full-time certified employees. Those also include counselors, psychologists and food service directors.

“By offering early, we can identify areas of need, hire the very best, and allow our teachers to plan for the next school year as early possible,” Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a statement. “We are making commitments to our teachers and a promise to our students, parents, and community that Cobb will continue to be the best place to teach, lead, and learn.”

 

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Wheeler Celeritas Racing Team preps for F1 in Schools national competition

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Wheeler Celeritas Racing Team
Wheeler Celeritas Racing Team members from L-R: Chase Waddington, Mateen Jangda, Sai Rajendrakumar and Davis Nilson. Submitted photo.

Last summer we told you about the Aeroflow Racing Team from the Wheeler Magnet School as they prepared for an international F1 competition.

Their successor is called the Celeritas Racing Team, and one of their team members, Shashaank Aiyer, got in touch to let us know that they’re prepping for the F1 in Schools National Competition in Austin, Texas from Feb. 20-23.

Shashaank tells us the Celeritas team is comprised of six juniors who’ll be taking part in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary challenge “in which teams design, analyze, manufacture, and test miniature F1 cars that are powered by compressed carbon dioxide and raced down a track.”

The Celeritas team members and their responsibilities are as follows:

  • Shashaank Aiyer, executive manager and graphic designer;
  • Chase Waddington, manufacturing engineer;
  • Jared Ryley, design engineer;
  • Sai Rajendrakumar, marketing director;
  • Mateen Jangda, financial manager;
  • Davis Nilson, resource director and web designer.

Last year’s Wheeler team won the U.S. competition and finished 15th in the global event in Singapore.

Here’s more about what’s coming up in Austin.

 

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East Cobb’s MDE School to host ‘A Gatsby Affair’ fundraiser in March

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MDE School East Cobb

Thanks to Mitchell Katz of the MDE School in East Cobb for the following information:

The MDE School of East Cobb hosts “A Gatsby Affair,” March 2, 7 to 11 p.m. at the Omni Hotel at The Battery Atlanta, Atlanta, GA. The event is presented by Ed Voyles Automotive Group.

The second annual event is the largest fundraiser/benefit for the MDE School, a non-profit, private school in East Cobb that serves K-12 children with varying special needs. The MDE School, the only school of its kind in Cobb County, provides an exceptional learning environment where students with special needs have access to academics, music, drama, adaptive PE, enrichment programs and life skills training. MDE serves students with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, communication disorders, and developmental delays.

Since MDE School’s inception in 2008, enrollment has increased from 3 to 50 students from all over metro Atlanta. MDE is able to uniquely serve children with special needs who cannot be served in a traditional educational environment, and addresses each students’ learning, social, cognitive, and developmental goals allowing their students to maximize their potential.

“Words cannot express the feeling of watching the school’s growth and progress. It has truly been AMAZING! I no longer worry about my son’s well-being. I know that the teachers and staff have all the students’ best interest at heart,” says Angie Monday, a MDE parent.
The Gatsby themed evening is $100 per person for tickets. Sponsors as of printing include Ed Voyles Automotive Group, Laugh and Learn Child Development Center, Brasfield & Gorrie, Croy Engineering, Spectrum Behavioral Associates, Publix Super Markets Charities, Honest-1 Auto Care, and Ms. Donna Maslia. Sponsorships ranging from $250-$5,000 are still available.

Evening events include live roaring 20’s music by Tray Dahl & The Jugtime Ragband, heavy hors d’oeuvres, open bar, a wine pull, and live auction with prizes ranging from $20 to $2,500. The event is hosted by Dean Crownover, Georgia’s #1 Benefit Auctioneer. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the students of MDE and will help expand academic and specialized programming, as well as the renovation of the Alexis Jarrett Memorial Playground. The playground is named in memory of MDE student Alexis Jarrett who suddenly passed away on August 14, 2018.

“Think Gatsby glitz and glam in a fun, high-energy atmosphere,” said Mindy Elkan, Executive Director for The MDE School, who said the event is projected to sell out.

“There are still opportunities to donate auction and raffle items,” said Elkan. She said you probably have something you know about or could offer as an auction item, citing examples such as your condo at the beach you could donate for a weekend, airplane tickets, pampering items such as a facial, manicure, or massage, or restaurant gift cards for a night out.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.mdeschool.org. Tickets will be available until the event sells out.

 

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Cobb school choice transfer period continues through February

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Mountain View ES, Cobb school choice transfer

Applications for the Cobb County School District’s school choice transfer program for the 2019-20 school year are being accepted for the entire month of February.

Earlier this week the district released its list of schools that have space to accept students who transfer under the HB 251 program. The following lists East Cobb schools with space, and the number of available slots:

Elementary school

  • Blackwell (117)
  • Brumby (106)
  • Davis (143)
  • Keheley (95)
  • Kincaid (19)
  • Mountain View (93)
  • Murdock (20)
  • Nicholson (77)
  • Powers Ferry (14)
  • Sedalia Park (87)
  • Shallowford Falls (110)

Middle school

  • Daniell (19)
  • Hightower Trail (31)
  • Mabry (27)
  • McCleskey (203)
  • Simpson (12)

High school

  • Kell (359)
  • Lassiter (22)
  • Sprayberry (185)

HB 251 was a law passed in 2009 that allows students in Georgia public schools to transfer under certain conditions, and where space was available (more here).

Here’s the full list of Cobb schools that have space for the 2019-20 school year. If a school is not listed, there is no space at that school at any level.

And here’s the school choice application form. The deadline is Feb. 28.

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Former Pope principal named Buford school superintendent

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Robert Downs, who was a principal at Pope High School and an assistant principal at Wheeler and Sprayberry, has been named superintendent for Buford City Schools.Robert Downs, former Pope principal

The Gwinnett Daily Post reported Wednesday that Downs will start his new duties Feb. 25.

In his most recent role with the Cobb County School District, Downs has been an area assistant superintendent overseeing a cluster of middle schools, including Daniell, Dickerson, Dodgen, East Cobb, Hightower Trail, Mabry and McCleskey.

Downs came to Pope in 2012 after serving as principal at Lost Mountain Middle School, and was at the East Cobb high school for four years.

He succeeds Gaye Hamby, who resigned last August after audio recordings of him allegedly making racist comments were made public.

Buford City Schools has four schools and enrolls 4,300 students.

 

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Cobb schools and government closed Tuesday as winter storm approaches

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Cobb schools and government closed

The Cobb County School District and Cobb government both sent messages out around noon Monday that they will be closed Tuesday, due to a winter storm that’s headed to metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

Their decisions came after Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a joint news conference, announcing that state government in the storm area, as well as Georgia’s largest city, would be closing on Tuesday.

Other metro Atlanta governments and school districts also have announced closures for Tuesday, including Marietta City Schools.

State government offices in 35 counties, including Cobb, will be closed on Tuesday, according to Kemp.

The area is bracing for cold, wet weather starting later Monday evening and lasting through Tuesday night.

On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch that includes Cobb.

Monday afternoon, the NWS upgraded that status to a winter storm warning, including Cobb, from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Travel could be hazardous due to snow and ice accumulations, including black ice.

Cobb schools spokeswoman Nan Kiel said the following in a statement:

“Knowing that it interrupts the school day and the education process, we did not make this decision lightly. However, given that our District serves more than 112,000 students and their families, as well as 18,000 staff members, and that the safety of our students and staff are paramount, we chose to act on the side of safety.

“The District will continue monitoring the situation, with an eye towards the condition of our roads, and we’ll be sure to update the community further by 5 pm Tuesday evening.”

All events and activities scheduled at schools also have been cancelled or postponed.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said the county’s shutdown will begin at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and will reopen depending on when conditions improve. County Manager Rob Hosack said in a statement:

“With a great deal of uncertainty about the timing and amount of snow, we thought this proactive action would be best to ensure the safety of Cobb County workers.”

Cobb DOT crews will be on the job overnight and into Tuesday, Cavitt said, preparing equipment and pre-treating roads starting around sunrise.

Cavitt said the crews will work in 12-hour shifts until the weather event is over, using a salt-sand mixture to treat “known trouble-spots,” especially around curves and on bridges and overpasses.

Other closings

We’re compiling closings of other schools, businesses and organizations and any cancellations or postponements of events for Tuesday. E-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com with your information:

  • St. Catherine’s Episcopal preschool closed;
  • Catholic Church of St. Ann closed;
  • Transfiguration Catholic Church closed;
  • Wood Acres School closed;
  • Primrose School East Cobb closed;
  • Faith Lutheran School closed;
  • Mt. Bethel Christian Academy closed;
  • Orange Theory Fitness Sandy Plains and Marietta-East Cobb opening 3:30 p.m.;
  • Thrive Wellness Center closed;
  • Mt. Zion UMC closed;
  • Wesley Chapel UMC basketball cancelled;
  • Johnson Ferry Christian Academy closed;
  • Eastside Christian School closed;
  • The Walker School closed;
  • East Cobb Tutoring Center closed;
  • Mansouri Family Dental Care closed;
  • East Cobb and NE Cobb YMCA closing at 4 p.m. Tuesday, all group exercise programs before 4 are scheduled (subject to cancelletion), all paid programs are cancelled;
  • East Cobb Business Association Community Breakfast postponed;
  • MUST Ministries program centers in Marietta, Smyrna and Canton and main donation center closed;
  • All locations Marietta Eye Clinic closed, including Marietta Eye Surgery;
  • Dentistry at East Piedmont closing at 12 p.m.;
  • Olde Towne Athletic Club closed;

Weather forecast

The forecast calls for Cobb to get around an inch of snow, with temperatures reaching as high as the low 40s during the day on Tuesday, but dropping to around 20 degrees on Tuesday night.

Monday is the five-year anniversary of a winter storm that crippled metro Atlanta, stranding thousands of motorists and forcing some students, teachers and staff to shelter overnight in schools.

Monday is also the first full day of Super Bowl-related activities in the Atlanta area.

 

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Wheeler STEM program ranked No. 2 in the country

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Wheeler STEM program
Wheeler Magnet School student Ryan Davis demonstrates his “Reactive LED Hoodie” at the school’s STEAM symposium in April 2018. (ECN file)

The Wheeler STEM program is regarded as the No. 2 STEM program in the country, according to an educational survey.

Study.com placed the Wheeler STEM program only behind Stuyvesant High School in New York City on a list of the Top 30 STEM programs in American high schools.

According to Study.com, which describes itself as an online educational resource, the Wheeler STEM program:

” . . . also [has] been recognized for their outreach in helping other schools develop STEM programs. The STEM Center offers an accelerated and advanced course of study focusing on medical biotechnology, engineering/robotics, chemical engineering and advanced chemistry. The program culminates in senior research and internships with local business and institution partners. Students have the opportunity to take twice as many math and science courses as they would in a traditional curriculum.”

The formal name for the Wheeler STEM program is the Center for Advanced Studies. It was started as a magnet program in 1997. (STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.)

In 2017 Wheeler became the first high school in Georgia to be certified as a STEAM school, which includes an arts component.

For the last six years, Wheeler also has held a STEAM symposium that reaches out to the whole student body.

Many of the other schools on the Study.com list are schools specializing in STEM programs, including the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, as well as elite private schools in the Northeast and San Francisco Bay Area.

 

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Former Kell teacher sentenced for sexual assault of student

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A former Kell High School teacher who pleaded guilty last week to sexually assaulting a student on campus will serve five years in prison.Spencer Herron

That’s the sentence that was handed down to Spencer Herron by Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy, who also gave the former video production instructor 15 years on probation.

Court records show that Herron, 49, who was arrested on June 1, 2018, pleaded guilty last Friday to five counts of sexual assault on a student on the Kell campus.

They involved multiple sexual encounters with a female student that started in 2016, and continued through the 2017-18 school year, according to his indictment in August.

According to his sentencing document, Herron was given sex offender status by Flournoy. As a first-time offender, Herron could have his criminal record cleared if he meets the terms of his probation.

After his release from prison, he is not allowed to have any contact with minors, take up a residence with minors or contact with the victim. He also must abide by other restrictions while on probation.

Herron was a teacher at Kell for 16 years and was the school’s teacher of the year in 2016. In what turned out to be his final year as a teacher, Herron was a member of the Cobb County School District’s Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council.

 

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Cobb Schools to hold Resource Fair for students with disabilities

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Press release:

On January 28 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., more than 40 businesses, and organizations will be on site at Palmer Middle School to share information about extracurricular opportunities available for students with disabilities. Cobb County School District, Cobb schools student disability resource fair

Representatives from museums, performing arts centers, camps, sports organizations, and clubs are attending the Cobb County School District Community Connections Resource Fair to help Cobb parents learn more about the opportunities available for their students. 

Parents will be able to gather information about the accessibility options, programs, and special events offered for families of students with disabilities. Some of the attendees include the Atlanta Braves Exceptional Fans, Zoo Atlanta, Acworth Horizon League, Autism Improvised, Tellus Science Museum, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Cobb Therapeutics/Special Olympics, Georgia Ballet, Art Station-Big Shanty, NCG & Studio Movie Grill, and more. 

There will also be information about camps, classes, and sensory-friendly events.  

Parents can reserve their spot for the program by calling the Special Education Parent Mentor Office at 770-529-0046 or by registering here.  

 

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