East Cobb Schools Archives

Petitions demand name changes for Walton, Wheeler high schools

June 18, 2020June 16, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb school lockdowns

Online petitions have been circulating in recent days demanding that the Cobb County School District change the names of Walton High School and Wheeler High School in East Cobb because of their namesakes.

The petitions, created at change.org, say that the names should be changed because of the racism of George Walton and Joseph Wheeler.

Walton was one of Georgia’s signatories to the Declaration of Independence and Wheeler was a Confederate general in the Civil War.

The Walton petition was created Monday by Joseph Fisher, who identified himself as a Walton student, and is titled “Rename Walton High School, Break the Cycle of White Supremacy.”

Despite George Walton’s historical significance, the petition states that:

“No one ever talks about how George Walton was a white supremacist, belonged to a slave owning family, and spent his political career championing white supremacy in Georgia by stripping Native Americans time and time again of their land. For a school well known on the national stage, it is sickening that they choose to carry themselves using a man who represents one thing: continuing white supremacy in the American South.”

Fisher said as a Walton student:

“Every day that I am on campus I feel hate and oppression from the student body and the administration. I am constantly gaslighted and singled out for my experiences as a person of color, made fun of or the subject of jokes based on the color of my skin. This year, Walton made the news when a white student followed a black student around the school making whipping noises on their cell phone. I couldn’t even say I was surprised, just because that behavior is so normalized at Walton. I wouldn’t wish that mistreatment on anyone, and I certainly won’t stand for it in my community.”

His petition had 500 signatures as of Tuesday evening.

Georgia Department of Education data last updated on March 5 indicated that Walton, which opened in 1974, had 155 black students out of an enrollment of 2,616.

Wheeler graduation rate, East Cobb graduation rates

The Wheeler petition was created over the weekend by “Wildcats for Change,” and those individuals also have started a private Facebook group.

They identify themselves as “lifelong members of Wildcat Nation” but contend it’s “past time” to remove Wheeler’s name from the school:

“Students do not deserve to attend a school whose namesake celebrates a Confederate history and one that was named for a hateful purpose: to hurt and shame Black youth that were, by court order, integrated into our county’s white school system. It does not go unnoticed that the school was named after the passing of Brown v Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It does not go unnoticed that the school was named after the state of Georgia finally began to adhere to the ruling, seven years after it passed. It does not go unnoticed that the Cobb County School Board finally voted to desegregate in 1965—the same year they named Joseph Wheeler High School.”

The Wheeler petition—which referenced the deaths of black citizens George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery in recent weeks, sparking nationwide protests—has more than 2,100 signatures.

Wheeler, which opened in 1965, has a black student body of 811 out of a total enrollment of 2,159 as of March 5.

Cobb Board of Education member Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, said in an interview with The Marietta Daily Journal that she’s heard from some people who wanted to change Wheeler’s name.

“I think that this is just a start in Cobb as these conversations happen all around the country, including among military leaders, who are calling for bases to be renamed,” she was quoted as saying in the MDJ‘s “Around Town” political fodder column to be published Wednesday.

Davis said in response to a request for comment from East Cobb News that “I support community members feeling empowered enough to organize around an issue.”

When asked if she supported the name changes and if so would she propose resolutions, Davis said: “With everything I know about our board majority and district leadership, I do not see this formally being debated anytime soon.”

UPDATED: After this story was published Davis signed the Wheeler petition.

George Walton, who lived from 1749-1804 and served in the Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Georgia Militia, also was twice a Georgia governor and served as a U.S. Senator.

George Walton Academy, a private school in Monroe, Ga., also is named after him.

Joseph Wheeler lived from 1836-1906, grew up in Georgia and Connecticut and was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He was a cavalry officer for the Confederacy, commanding at campaigns in Shiloh, Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Atlanta and against the Union army’s March to the Sea under Gen. William Sherman.

After the war, Wheeler was readmitted to the U.S. Army, represented Alabama in Congress, and served with Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War.

He is one of the few Confederate veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A bronze statue of Wheeler is one of 11 honoring Confederate military leaders at the U.S. Capitol.

It’s recently become a subject of efforts to be removed by Congressional Democrats.

Neither of the petitions offer suggestions for new names for Walton and Wheeler.

Cobb school superintendent responds to anti-racism concerns

June 16, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school superintendent honored

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale has sent a note to Cobb County School District employees in response to requests by two school board members for anti-racism measures.

Last week board members Charisse Davis and Jaha Howard wrote to Ragsdale, urging him to undertake steps to address racial inequities in the district, including bias training for employees and “nontraditional solutions” to increase teacher diversity.

Ragsdale didn’t address those matters in his e-mailed note, but said that board member Randy Scamihorn is proposing an anti-racism resolution at the board’s June 25 meeting.

“Board member [David] Morgan has also placed an item on the agenda regarding ‘Moving Forward.’ I will be making a statement during the meeting as well,” Ragsdale said.

Davis and Howard have been pressing the district on equity issues for several months, but protests and other events in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis in police custody, have triggered a new wave of efforts to prompt action by Cobb schools.

Cobb is Georgia’s second-largest school district, with nearly 114,000 students, a majority of them from minority groups. According to district data, 30 percent of all students are black, 22 percent are while and six percent are Asian.

“To say that we are hurting is very much an understatement,” Ragsdale wrote, “but it does convey that we all have a part to play in moving forward. Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, made a statement that said ‘You can do your job and still maintain respect for others.’

“We should all take that statement and live by it. As we all work together to move forward, we will continue to maintain and improve upon an environment free from hate of any type. We are very successful as a school district, because we work together as One Team. Let us be the example to others of how to come together and work together for a common goal.”

Some Cobb school parents have wanted Cobb schools to respond in a fashion similar to Marietta City Schools, which in late May issued a lengthy statement from Superintendent Grant Rivera. His “call to action” highlighted steps that district is taking to address diversity issues, including a cultural fluency project at Marietta High School.

A school board candidate from East Cobb has also weighed in on the matter.

Julia Hurtado, who won last week’s Democratic primary for Post 5, wrote to Ragsdale saying “this delayed response sends a message of apathy and indifference to those who have been demanding progress for some time.

“Why did our families have to wait over a month [since Floyd’s death] for CCSD leadership to commit to a mere conversation, let alone solutions?”

She urged that Ragsdale “take steps to address systemic racism that can be found in every school system, including ours.”

In November, Hurtado will be facing Republican incumbent David Banks, who has said the district has adequately handed racial concerns in the schools.

Cobb school board members ask CCSD for anti-racism response

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board member Charisse Davis

Two of the three black members of the Cobb Board of Education have sent a letter to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale asking for several “action items” to address racial and diversity issues within the Cobb County School District.

Charisse Davis of Post 6, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, and Jaha Howard of Post 2 (Osborne and Campbell) dated the letter on Friday.

On her Facebook page, Davis said Friday afternoon that the other five board members were asked to sign the letter before it was sent to Ragsdale, but “there was no response.”

That includes the other black board member, David Morgan, who is one of three Democrats on the board with Davis and Howard.

The letter (you can read it here) states that “we acknowledge that racial discrimination permeates our courts, housing, employment, healthcare and yes—our schools” and requests the district “commit to the practice of anti-racism” by adopting the following measures, and this is verbatim from the letter:

Provide consistent cultural relevancy and bias training for all employees
Seek nontraditional solutions for increasing teacher diversity in all schools
Examine the discrepancies in disciplinary outcomes by race
Reevaluate the requirements of standardized test scores as criteria for program admittance
Formally speak out against state level policies (such as voucher bills) that redirect public school funding and contribute to inequities.

Davis noted on her Facebook page that “we are weeks into a national conversation on systemic racism in this country and neither the board as a whole nor district leadership has made a statement.”

In response to a message from East Cobb News seeking comment, a district spokeswoman said late Friday afternoon that board member Randy Scamihorn—one of the board’s four Republicans—has requested a resolution condemning racism be included on the board’s agenda for its June 25 meeting.

Davis and Howard have been pressing the district and other board members on diversity issues for several months, including asking for the designation of a chief equity officer.

They have openly clashed with board members on related matters, and last year claimed the Republican majority was censoring them by banishing board member comments during meetings.

Some of those comments centered around racial issues that Howard was addressing at the local, state and federal level, and not just related to Cobb schools.

In late May, Davis and Howard held an anti-racism rally in Smyrna in the wake of the recent killings of black citizens George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery by police in Minneapolis, Louisville, and Brunswick, Ga., respectively.

Their names were included in the letter to Ragsdale, their deaths, Davis and Howard wrote, being “symptoms of this much larger issue.”

Earlier this week the Cobb Board of Commissioners passed an anti-racism resolution, but not after clashing during a work session and behind the scenes over revisions. The cities of Smyrna, Marietta and Acworth also have passed anti-racism resolutions in the last two weeks.

Cobb schools targeting late July for graduation ceremonies

June 5, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb seniors caps gowns

Following up an announcement earlier this week from Cobb schools about what had been student-only graduation ceremonies comes this update, with a substantial change reflecting the district’s desire for parents to attend:

As of today, Friday, June 5th, strict guidance from state and local public health officials, which is specific to Cobb County, allows for a ceremony with graduates only in attendance.

Current examples of public health recommendations for Cobb County graduation ceremonies include:

Only allowing graduates to be in attendance

Observing strict social distancing guidelines as defined in the Governor’s most recent Executive Order

Performing temperature checks and symptom screenings of all attendees

Recommending all attendees wear face masks

Providing multiple hand hygiene stations

The District continues to work with state and local public health officials to pursue every option to allow parents and graduates to celebrate together. We are targeting late July for the graduation ceremonies. This will hopefully allow more flexible guidance to be provided by state and local public health officials.

Graduates and parents should monitor communications from their respective high schools and check this page often for updates.

Once confirmed, graduation information for both graduates and parents will be provided which includes:

Schedules

Directions to venues

Graduate arrival, parking, and entry instructions

Video players for the live stream

For the most up-to-date information from the District related to COVID-19, please visit www.cobbk12.org/covid

When the student-only announcement was made earlier this week, that decision was roundly panned on a Facebook page devoted to Cobb schools topics.

If a late July window is enacted for graduation ceremonies, that would run close to the start of a new school year, scheduled to start on Aug. 3.

Candidate spotlight: David Banks, Cobb school board Post 5

June 3, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Near the end of his third term on the Cobb school board, David Banks said he’s seeking another four years because “I just feel like there’s more to be done.” David Banks, Cobb school board candidate

A retired computer and technology consultant and business owner, Banks has lived in East Cobb for 50 years and has represented Post 5, which represents the Pope and Lassiter clusters, since 2009.

He said that kind of experience is vital during a time in which the Cobb County School District, the second-largest in Georgia with 112,000 students, is undergoing rapid change.

“It takes a few years to get acclimated to how the system works,” said Banks, who’s serving as the school board’s vice chairman this year.

(Banks does not have a campaign website; here’s his school board biography page.)

He ran unopposed four years ago, but Banks has drawn a crowd of opposition in both parties, including Matt Harper and Shelley O’Malley, whom he’ll be facing in next Tuesday’s Republican primary.

O’Malley has been openly critical of Banks (as have Democrats Tammy Andress and Julia Hurtado), saying that “I hope voters recognize that when an incumbent is being challenged by other people there ought to be a reason for that.”

National Merit scholars include 16 more East Cobb students

June 3, 2020 by Wendy Parker

The latest round of National Merit Scholarship Corporation awards announced Wednesday include 16 more students from East Cobb high schools.

(Previous recipients were announced here and here.)

They’re among more than 3,300 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities where the students will be attending.

The award amounts range between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. More scholarship recipients will be announced in July.

The following East Cobb students are listed in alphabetical order, with their college and probable career field:

Jordan Bass, Walton, Northwestern University, Computer Science;
Alec Berger, Walton, Emory University, Computer Science;
Ada R. Burris, Pope, Samford University, Ministry;
Patrick G. Chen, Wheeler, University of Georgia, Medicine;
Taylor Chiles, Walton, Wheaton College, Mathematics;
Alessa L. Cullinan, Wheeler, University of Georgia, Undecided;
Julia Dierker, Walton, Northeastern University, Public Health;
Rose Jewel, Wheeler, University of Georgia, Computer Science;
Brian Kent, Wheeler, University of Alabama, Mechanical Engineering;
Gabrielle P. Levitt, Lassiter, University of Georgia, Public Relations;
Emma G. Mason, Wheeler, University of South Carolina, Biochemistry;
Reilly S. Misra, Sprayberry, University of Georgia, Dentistry;
Anna K. Mitchell, Lassiter, Florida State University, Undecided;
Andrew M. Myers, Pope, Vanderbilt University, Economics;
Catherine L. Pereira, Lassiter, Florida State University, Statistics;
Zaim Zibran, Walton, Emory University, Public Health.

Cobb schools releases graduation tribute videos to the Class of 2020

June 2, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb seniors caps gowns

As noted on Monday, the Cobb County School District is making plans, to be announced later this week, for limited in-person graduations.

Last week, members of the Class of 202 got a personalized tribute video, tailored for each high school, with messages from Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and their principal, as well as photos of the senior class in action.

Here are the videos for the six high schools in East Cobb:

Kell High School

Lassiter High School

Pope High School

Sprayberry High School

Walton High School

Wheeler High School

Cobb schools to hold graduation ceremonies for students only

June 1, 2020 by Wendy Parker

East Cobb seniors caps gowns — *Wheeler High School seniors cheer on their classmates at cap-and-gown pickup.*

The Cobb County School District announced Monday that it’s in the process of scheduling in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020, following new COVID-19 health guidance in Georgia.

But those commencement exercises will be for students only, “with strict Department of Public Health protocols in place,” and at only two venues: Wheeler High School in East Cobb and Harrison High School in West Cobb.

The district said in a release Monday afternoon more details will be announced by Friday, and did not indicate when the graduations will take place. Each ceremony will be livestreamed for parents and the public.

The district said 3,000-seat gyms at Wheeler and Harrison “will allow for proper social distance protocols, predictable weather, and technical ability to livestream.”

Health protocols include temperature checks and symptom screening for all students before they’re allowed entry to the gyms. All attendees will be asked to wear masks and there will be multiple hand hygiene stations.

The district postponed physical graduation in late April, and said it was still hoping to have ceremonies depending on health guidance.

Most Cobb high schools had some sort of cap and gown and diploma pick up event over the last couple of weeks.

Cobb schools has held most of its graduation ceremonies at the KSU Convocation Center. Wheeler has been one of the few schools to hold commencement at its own gym, Wildcat Arena.

Lassiter fireworks conclude Cobb high school diploma parades

May 28, 2020May 28, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Lassiter graduation, Cobb schools 2020 graduation schedule — *In different times: Lassiter graduates in 2019, at the KSU Convocation Center.*

It’s not officially being called a graduation, but the Cobb high school diploma parades that began last week are wrapping up on Friday, and at Lassiter High School, with a bang.

No, really.

The Class of 2020 at Lassiter will queue up in the school parking lot starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday to pick up diplomas, followed by an aerial fireworks display.

That’s among the last of such events, along with “Friday Night Hoya Lights” at Harrison High School at the same time that also has fireworks.

Lassiter graduates, according to the school district, “are encouraged to decorate their cars to represent the next chapter in their lives.”

On Thursday from 1-3, Pope High School graduates will pick their diplomas, and Wheeler seniors will be doing the same at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Last week, similar events took place for Walton and Sprayberry graduates.

Cobb schools are careful to point out that the diploma parades are “not intended to be a replacement for an actual graduation ceremony.”

Officially, commencement exercises have been postponed, not cancelled, as the district seeks to find an alternative, possibly in the summer, although nothing has been worked out for the moment.

East Cobb senior salute: Raegan Keane-Dawes, Pope High School

May 23, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Raegan Keane-Dawes, Pope High School, East Cobb senior

With just a couple of AP classes to complete before she could officially become a Pope High School graduate, senior Raegan Keane-Dawes wasn’t sure at first whether she’d continue on with her classes or take the grade she had when campuses closed on March 13.

She chose to pursue the former, and was glad she did.

“My grades went up,” said Keane-Dawes, who was taking statistics and environmental science classes.

As a senior, she was only on the Pope campus for a couple hours a day, having taken dual enrollment courses at Chattahoochee Tech for the last two years. Raegan Keane-Dawes, Pope High School, East Cobb senior

But she still missed the student camaraderie, especially with cancelled senior class events leading up to what would have been graduation this week.

“It’s been weird, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” she said.

“It’s just the thought that we’re all leaving, and leaving like this.”

She said she and her classmates stay in touch, but “the hardest part” is not being able to enjoy the traditional interactions that come with being a senior.

What was already a surreal experience of not seeing her friends and taking part in high school rituals took an encouraging turn on May 13, when she turned 18.

There was a family event planned, but Keane-Dawes also got to enjoy friends showing up by car for a surprise birthday drive-up in her neighborhood.

During her days at Pope, Keane-Dawes took part in the Interact Club and the French Club, and she participated in club volleyball and soccer.

She’s taking her enthusiasm for sports to Mercer University, where she plans to major in sports marketing and analytics, and is eyeing the possibility of becoming a sports agent.

Keane-Dawes said distance-learning was challenging, and not just because of the subject matter.

“It was tough, but it was manageable,” she said. “But I don’t think I learned as much.”

As she leaves Pope, Keane-Dawes said she’s especially grateful for her teachers, many of whom she finally got to see this week at the school’s graduation drive-through, waving and shouting encouragement.

“I never had a bad teacher experience with any of them,” she said.

Change in Cobb schools meals distribution for Memorial Day

May 21, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Earlier this month the Cobb County School District said it would continue providing weekday student meals through the month of June.

Since the district closed to in-person classes in mid-March, those breakfasts and lunches have been given out each Monday.

But with this Monday being Memorial Day, the district said next week’s food will be distributed on Tuesday, May 26, from 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and will be provided for four days, through next Friday.

The joint effort with MUST Ministries has changed some distribution points, but East Cobb Middle School will continue to be one of those venues, as it has from the beginning.

The Cobb school district food and nutrition staff prepares the meals, which have been sent to eight schools for pickup.

The CCSD says it has provided 141,000 breakfasts and 176,00 lunches since the week of March 16, and anticipates serving 225,000 more meals through the end of June.

Funding has come through the federal school lunch program and MUST volunteers have been at the schools to make the deliveries.

Each student who needs meals (pre-K through recent graduates under 18, and newcomers) must be present for the food to be distributed via a drive-thru pickup, with participants and volunteers observing social distancing guidelines.

Wheeler senior named LGE Credit Union scholarship winner

May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Samuel Luong, Wheeler senior LGE scholarship — 2020 Cobb County School District LGE Community Service Scholarship Winner

Samuel Luong, a senior at Wheeler High School, has been named the winner of a $5,000 scholarship from the Lockheed Georgia Employees Community Credit Union.

Luong (pictured second from right in the submitted photo above) was greeted in a surprise visit at the Wheeler campus with credit union officials and school leaders as he came to pick up his cap and gown.

During his time at Wheeler, Luong has been involved in robotics, orchestra, Magnet School advisory board, student government and other activities. He’s been accepted to attend Georgia Tech.

The scholarship award was among several public events for the LGE Credit Union in recent weeks. LGE has delivered more than 500 lunches to four local hospitals and has organized a food drive to support MUST Ministries, Warehouse of Hope in Douglasville, and North Fulton Community Charities in Roswell during the COVID-19 pandemic.

East Cobb senior salute: Jared Ryley, Wheeler High School

May 20, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Jared Ryley, Wheeler High School, East Cobb senior

When Jared Ryley started thinking about college, even before he began attending Wheeler High School, his initial favorites were hardly surprising.

The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech topped the list, but as his high school days continued, his list expanded.

As his Eagle Scout application was being reviewed, a member of the selection council encouraged him to consider the U.S. Military Academy.

That person was a graduate of the Army’s service school in New York, and Ryley had mentioned his interests in studying engineering and pre-law.

“He said a great place to do that was West Point,” Ryley said.

“When I visited there, I met the cadets and realized I wanted to be like the people at the academy. You give up a lot, but you gain a lot.”

During the fall semester, Ryley was accepted for admission, after being nominated by U.S. Sen. David Perdue and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. Jared Ryley, Wheeler High School, East Cobb senior

In late June, Ryley will get an early start, depending on when newcomers will be allowed to arrive for orientation.

He figures there’s going to a strict lockdown, as is being planned now for graduating cadets, since President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a commencement address.

Ryley was to have heard his, on Wednesday, but Cobb schools have at least postponed in-person graduation, with tentative plans for something “memorable,” possibly over the summer.

By then, Ryley will be getting for the next phase of his life.

“All I know is it’s going to be different,” said Ryley, who was a student in Wheeler’s STEM magnet school. His diploma includes a certification in civil engineering, and he was lead engineer for Wheeler’s F1 team.

At Wheeler, he also took four years of Mandarin, founded the school’s recreational ultimate frisbee team and lettered in wrestling.

In the community, he’s been a youth group board advisor at Temple Kol Emeth and worked as a first aid advisor at the Woodruff Boy Scout Camp.

But it was his experience playing for the Roswell Rebels, a youth rugby team, that he found his ultimate connection with West Point.

He liked the discipline of the sport, with 15 players to a side, and said that unlike other sports, in rugby, “every single link across the chain has to be strong, or you will fail.”

In the ethos of the Army, and as a cadet at West Point, he sees a lot of similarities he likes.

“You’re surrounded by a group of people who are motivated to do the same thing,” he said.

Since Cobb schools stopped in-person classes in mid-March, Ryley has closed the books on high school studies.

He’s spent time working out, getting ready for the phyical rigors of being a cadet, and helping around the house with projects.

At time Ryley admits to some boredom, even after polishing off a 600-page book about George Washington.

“There hasn’t been much to do in quarantined America,” he said.

He was looking forward to the graduation ceremony. “Obviously I would have appreciated walking across that stage. . . . It’s kind of disheartening, that it’s something only we [the Class of 2020 ] is going to have to go through.

“But there are so many other people who are going through far worse because of the Coronavirus,” Ryley said.

In the meantime, he’s set a daily alarm with a countdown to the days before he heads to West Point, grateful for his high school days at Wheeler, but eager for what’s to come.

“I’m going to miss my hair,” he joked, acknowledging the cadet haircut to come.

“But I’m excited when my phone goes off at 6 a.m. I’m one day closer” to embarking on his new dream.

East Cobb senior salute: Lindsey Johnson, Lassiter High School

May 16, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Lindsey Johnson, East Cobb senior, Lassiter High School

Lindsey Johnson isn’t quite finished with high school yet. The Lassiter senior has two more final exams to take, and they’re no slouches: Micro- and macroeconomics.

Like others in the Class of 2020, she’s experiencing the surreal feeling of not being able to graduate in a commencement exercise, but she remains hopeful that can happen at a later time.

The planned celebrations also included a family-and-friends party with fellow classmates at her neighborhood’s clubhouse.

“My dad has promised we’ll make up for this somehow,” said Johnson. Lindsey Johnson, Lassiter senior

That’s been called off, but she’s crossing her fingers Cobb County School District officials can carry out possible plans for postponed graduation ceremonies.

“I still have hope we can have some traditional events later in the summer,” she said.

She said she’s seen a few friends since schools closed for in-person classes in mid-March, but at a distance, when going out on walks in her neighborhood, and online.

“Group Face Time is great!” she said.

“The hardest time was at the beginning, because I was thinking about some of the people that I would see every day, but didn’t really know outside of school. You wish perhaps you had spent some more time with them.”

Johnson was very active in a big school, far beyond the classroom. She was a member of Lassiter’s girls state swimming championship team this year, racing in the finals in an individual freestyle event and two relays, and also played lacrosse.

Finishing some substantial classes online took some work, she admitted, and said what she missed above all was in-person contact with teachers.

“AP classes [Advanced Placement] are really different online,” Johnson said. Instead of going over notes daily, as in the classroom, teachers assigned students to reach certain goals.

Before the doors shuttered, Johnson availed herself of the AP Capstone and other advance curriculum as she prepares to study business at Georgia Tech.

She’s unsure of exactly what she wants to do careerwise, but is grateful for having had “an amazing time at Lassiter.”

East Cobb senior salute: Iris Giulianelli, Kell High School

May 16, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Iris Giulianelli, Kell High School senior

Iris Ann Giulanielli was on her way to pick up her prom dress when she heard that the Cobb County School District was cancelling in-person classes for the rest of the school year.

While she already had one foot in the college door after two years of dual enrollment classes at Kennesaw State University, that’s when it dawned on the Kell senior that her her high school days would end in a very unusual way.

“I was looking forward to the next step [college] more than I was walking across that stage,” Giulianelli said. “I saw this coming, and based on the events that led up to this, I tried to be aware.”

When the closures were announced, one of the casualties was a chorus class that she dearly loved. Not only was it a way to stay connected with schoolmates she hadn’t seen all that often, but it was a balance to the math- and science-heavy curriculum she’s been undertaking as an upperclassman.

Students were given the option of keeping the grade they had earned as of March 13, when schools closed. After a week, Giulianelli put the brakes on that class.

Online learning, she said, “isn’t ideal” for that and other classes.

She also said was challenging to finish the coursework for calculus and physics courses without labs, and she missed having one-on-one in-person consultations with teachers.

“They aren’t classes to be taken online,” Giulianelli said, saying she’s tried to approach the situation as a different kind of learning experience as best she can.

“It’s a new skill I’m learning,” she said. “I’m okay. I’m surviving.”

Kell senior Iris Giulianelli — *Iris Giulianelli (right) and her twin sister Opal enjoyed their time in New York City last summer during Kell’s performing arts trip.*

As she finished up her final classes, Giulianelli was able to return to her job at the Hallmark store near Town Center Mall. It recently reopened after being closed following COVID-19 shutdowns, so she’ll be able to earn some extra money over the summer.

During her Kell years, she played junior varsity and varsity volleyball and was a leader the school’s Sources of Strength organization, a student group offering support to their peers about suicide prevention.

“The opportunities at Kell for work and internship were just what I wanted,” she said. “It’s comforting to know that I was being prepared.”

At the same time, she began preparations for a student private pilot’s license. She’s been accepted to the University of Alabama at Huntsville to study aerospace engineering, and is taking in stride how, and when, her college career might begin, given the circumstances.

“I know I’ve done a good job and I’m proud of myself,” Giiulianelli said.

“Yes, things are different. You can only be so cautious, but I think I’m doing my part.”

There are a lot of unknowns for this Class of 2020 to navigate that don’t have a point of reference, but Giulianelli said she’s reassured by what she learned and how she grew during her days at Kell.

“I had a lot of opportunities, but that cannot be said for everyone else,” she said.

“For me, it’s been great. Not every student gets that kind of support at home. I’ve been very lucky.”

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Julia Hurtado, Post 5

May 16, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Julia Hurtado, Cobb school board candidate

Julia Hurtado said she had never considered running for public office when she noted a familiar name on the ballot for the Cobb Board of Education post that includes her daughter’s school.

David Banks has represented Post 5 since 2009, and four years ago was re-elected without opposition. Hurtado, a physical therapist with a busy schedule balancing her career and family, thought to herself “that it’s time for a change.

“Once they’ve been there for so long, people are asking for something different. And I don’t think anyone should run unopposed.”

With that, Hurtado decided to toss her hat into what’s becoming a crowded ring to challenge one of the board’s most senior figures.

Hurtado, the mother of a daughter who attends Sedalia Park Elementary School, is one of two Democrats running in the June 9 primary for Post 5, which includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters, along with some of the Wheeler cluster.

The other Democrat is Tammy Andress, current co-president of the Lassiter PTSA. Three Republicans, including Banks, are running in the GOP primary. The challengers there are Shelley O’Malley and Matt Harper.

(Hurtado’s campaign website is here.)

Hurtado cited what she claims is a lack of transparency and vision, especially in light of quite a bit of economic and cultural diversity in the Cobb County School System, which has 112,000 students.

“There are people who feel they don’t have a connection with this guy,” Hurtado said, referring to Banks, who’s been extended an interview invitation by East Cobb News.

Like Andress, she’s been critical of the school board’s four-Republican majority’s vote to banish public comments from school board members during its public meetings.

She also pointed to increasing parental concerns over facilities at Eastvalley Elementary School, which will soon get a new campus at the former site of East Cobb Middle School.

But they’ve long complained about aging portable classrooms to handle overcrowding.

“Their kids are going to school in dangerous buildings, and nobody’s listening,” Hurtado said.

“The biggest thing we need to do is to communicate and collaborate. In East Cobb, we do a good job of that, because for so many family the center of the community is the schools.”

Hurtado supports the idea of having an equity officer in the district floated by two current board Democrats, including Charisse Davis of the Walton and Wheeler cluster.

That would include not just racial and ethnic minorities, but would attend to the needs of special education students and others in non-traditional situations.

“We need to give these families a platform,” Hurtado said. She advocates a greater distribution of resources for those students, as well as those in an Individual Education Program (IEP).

Hurtado said the current situation of “distance learning” has been challenging for her, homeschooling an elementary school student, and calls teachers “full-blown super heroes” for how they’ve handled online instruction.

“This has shined a light on some of the weaknesses in our system,” she said, referring to students who don’t have computers or other devices to learn from home.

“But it’s also shown how innovative we can be.”

Hurtado said her main advocacy would be “to offer teachers a platform for what they need,” regardless of learning circumstances to come.

School board Democrats also have raised the issue of examining Cobb’s senior school tax exemption, something else the Republicans, including Banks, have not wanted to revisit.

They rejected a proposal by Davis to study the issue, including possible financial impacts by tweaking the exemption.

Hurtado said the county has grown and changed tremendously since the exemption became law in the 1970s.

“Anytime a question is raised, it’s worth collecting data,” she said. “We can’t even ask questions? There’s never a reason to turn down a chance to find out more information.”

If she’s elected to the school board, Hurtado said her budget priorities would be to provide the resources “so that our teachers stay” in the Cobb district.

“Our school district is defined by the strength of our teachers, and in listening to what they need.”

East Cobb 2020 valedictorians and salutatorians announced

May 18, 2020May 15, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Anant Rajan, Walton, East Cobb 2020 valedictorians salutatorians — *Anant Rajan, Walton High School*

The Cobb County School District on Friday released the Class of 2020 valedictorians and salutatorians, including 14 students from high schools in East Cobb.

The district said that the average grade-point average for a Cobb valedictorian is about 4.67 and for salutatorians it’s about 4.53. Valedictorians from two Cobb high schools posted GPAs higher than 4.8.

One of them is Anant Rajan of Walton High School. His GPA is 4.817, and he’s headed to Harvard to study biology.

What follows are each of the valedictorians and salutatorians from the six high schools in East Cobb with their GPAs, college choice and desired course of study.

Emily Edith Patel Lassiter 2020 Valedictorian — *Emily Edith Patel, Lassiter High School*

Kell High School
Valedictorian —Amelia Day, 4.455, University of Georgia, graphic design
Salutatorian—Edward Palmer, 4.453, Georgia Tech, chemical and bio-molecular engineering

Lassiter
Valedictorian—Emily Edith Patel, 4.724, Georgia Tech, biochemistry
Salutatorian—Joseph Perry Kramer V, 4.712, Washington & Lee, biology/biochemistry

Pope
Valedictorian—Andrew Myers, 4.740, Vanderbilt, economics
Salutatorians—Grant Chernau, 4.708, University of Georgia, undecided; Yelizaveta Pivnik, 4.708, Georgia Tech, chemical and biomolecular engineering

Jenna Holton Sprayberry 2020 Valedictorian — *Jenna Holton, Sprayberry High School*

Sprayberry
Valedictorian—Jenna Holton, 4.690, Emory, English and pyschology
Salutatorians—Mashoor Al Ahammed, 4.679, Georgia Tech, neuroscience; Calley Anderson, 4.679, Kennesaw State, history education

Walton
Valedictorian—Anant Rajan, 4.817, Harvard, biology
Salutatorian—Gabriel Chen, 4.754, Georgia Tech, applied math

Wheeler
Valedictorian—Morris Wan, 4.771, Georgia Tech, computer science
Salutatorian—Pranav Nedumpurath, 4.70, Georgia Tech, chemistry

The entire group of East Cobb valedictorians and salutatorians is shown in the slideshow below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cobb school board candidate spotlight: Shelley O’Malley, Post 5

May 15, 2020 by Wendy Parker

As a first-time candidate for public office, Shelley O’Malley said she’s running now for the Cobb Board of Education in part to give back to the East Cobb community where her children have attended school.

O’Malley said she also has been prompted to seek the Post 5 seat that’s been held for nearly 12 years by David Banks because of the incumbent.

“I’m something a term-limit person anyway,” said O’Malley, who’s one of two challengers facing Banks in the June 9 primary.

Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters. O’Malley, a U.S. Navy veteran and Delta Air Lines pilot, has had three children in the Lassiter. Her youngest attends Lassiter now.

(Here’s O’Malley’s campaign website.)

Another first-time candidate, Matt Harper, a graduate of Walton High School, is the other Republican hopeful.

“No disrespect to Mr. Banks, but I hope voters recognize that when an incumbent is being challenged by other people there ought to be a reason for that,” O’Malley said.

(Two other first-time candidates, Tammy Andress and Julia Hurtado, are vying in the Democratic primary.)

“I just feel he’s a vulnerable candidate generally,” O’Malley said of Banks.

She said he hasn’t been responsive and doesn’t think he’s fostered productive relationships on the seven-member school board.

“I feel like I’ve got a broad perspective” in addressing current issues in the Cobb County School District (East Cobb News has extended an interview invitation to Banks).

She says at times the district tends to “get caught up shiny objects.” Her focus is to prioritize improving the classroom experience, and pointed out that for some students reduced to “distance learning” with school closures due to COVID-19, technology has been an issue.

“Some of ours students are handling it just fine, but there are some things that we need to do better,” she said.

O’Malley gives high marks to the district for its CTLS portal (Cobb Teaching & Learning System), but said that “I want to make sure parents have the resources they need to oversee online learning.

Current circumstances, she said, are bearing out some of those concerns.

“This isn’t online learning. This is crisis learning.”

She’s appreciative of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale for being “mindful of all the players” he has to contend with in a district with more than 100 schools and 112,000 students.

The district faces several fiscal issues due to the COVID-19 crisis, and O’Malley said her belief in fiscal responsibility will be vital.

The district was just starting to “get back” what it had lost financially during the recession, but could face a shortfall in state funding alone of around $80 million.

“Let’s make sure we’re putting the best resources in the classroom setting,” she said.

O’Malley said it’s not just about class size, but implementing “smart technology” that’s easy for teachers to use.

Another issue important to her is addressing the different career needs of students. “Where are we taking kids?”

There’s a strong focus on preparing them for college, “but some of the more important life skill classes are lacking.”

She mentioned the teaching of personal finance as one example, but she thinks more needs to be done to cater to students who are pursuing vocational fields.

The Cobb senior exemption from school taxes has become a subject of intense discussion in the last couple of years. O’Malley said “it’s not right to take it away” from seniors who’ve lived in Cobb for many years and have put their own kids through the school system.

“I would never take an exemption away from someone who’s earned it,” she said. “It’s immoral.”

O’Malley said her aim on the school board would be to become a consensus-builder “instead of needing to win” on certain issues.

“Some can be lightning rods, and some are good at creating good teams,” O’Malley said.

East Cobb senior salute: Josh Cook, Walton High School

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Josh Cook, Walton High School Senior

Josh Cook said he exhaled a little after finishing up the last of his exams a week before what would have been his graduation from Walton High School.

Like others in the Class of 2020, he won’t be going through traditional commencement exercises due to public gathering restrictions because of COVID-19.

While he misses seeing his school friends, Cook admitted that a different learning and social environment he’s experienced the last couple months has had some benefits.

“I’m sort of an introvert,” Cook said. “It hasn’t affected me all that badly. I know I will miss going through graduation and special events that come with being a senior.

“But this feels kind of relaxed for me.”

Cook said since schools were closed for in-person instruction in mid-March, “I have more free time than when I was at school.”

That’s enabled him to pace himself better for the stretch run of his senior year. Josh Cook Walton High School Senior

During his four years at Walton, Cook spent a lot of time helping other students get accustomed to being at a big, high-achieving school.

When he arrived as a freshman, he admitted he couldn’t find his way around the sprawling original Walton classroom building.

By the time Walton students moved into their new building in the fall of 2017, Cook was serving as a member of the Walton Ambassadors.

They’re students who help freshmen get around, giving tours and helping make them comfortable.

He also was worked in the Walton Counseling Office, earning a first-hour credit for his role assisting other students.

A counselor wrote that Cook would often come in early to help students and families before the start of the school day, and during the second semester, he rearranged his scheduled to do the same thing.

“He has proven to be an asset to the counseling department,” the counselor wrote. “He is professional, fun, trustworthy and compassionate.”

Cook suffered a stroke at birth and he has impaired vision as a result that prevents him from driving. He said being a part of the Walton Drama Club and the Walton Chorus has helped “bring me out a bit.”

The COVID-19 crisis also has kept him from a dining room host job he truly enjoys at the Chick-fil-A at East Lake. “I really love working there,” he said, hopeful he’ll be able to get back when the dining room reopens.

In the meantime, he’s been enjoying walking and hiking near his home off Paper Mill Road that’s close to the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, something he’s been doing for a number of years.

And he’s staying in touch with former school friends at Sope Creek Elementary School and in Zoom meeting with other teens at the Buckhead Church, where he attends.

Cook has been accepted to Georgia Southern University, where he plans to major in hospitality management. A self-described “world’s biggest Disney World fan,” Cook said he isn’t sure how and when his college career will get underway, but he’s learning to take the virus-related disruptions in stride.

“It’s disappointing, of course,” he said of the high school graduation postponement, which Cobb school district officials are hoping to have at a later time if possible.

“Some students are very upset that they didn’t get to have their prom and a normal graduation.

“I’ll admit, in 50 years from now, when you talk with your grandchildren about your graduation, it’s going to be really strange to try to explain it.”

Cobb school board to delay June meeting for budget reasons

May 14, 2020 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board June meeting delayed — *Cobb school board members and district officials met via Zoom on Thursday.*

At the urging of Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale, the Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday to delay its June meeting by two weeks as the Georgia legislature resumes its session, including finalizing the state budget.

The school board work session and voting meeting that had been scheduled to take place June 11—the day the legislative session is expected to resume—have been rescheduled for June 25.

The Cobb school board typically adopts a new budget in May, since the fiscal year in the Cobb County School District begins on July 1. But the legislature hasn’t finished funding state operations.

The legislature had 10 working days remaining on its 40-day calendar when the session was suspended in mid-March due to COVID-19.

Nearly half of the current Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget of $1.2 billion is funded by the state, but district officials haven’t been able to formulate a proposal because they don’t know how much they’ll be getting.

By then, Ragsdale said during a board work session Thursday morning, it’s possible the district might get a better picture of what it can anticipate in funding, but there’s a good chance it won’t.

School board member Jaha Howard proposed keeping the June 11 meeting for non-budget topics and scheduling a special June 25 meeting for the latter, but his motion failed by a vote of 5-2.

Gov. Brian Kemp has been suggesting possible departmental budget cuts of 14 percent across the board to deal with steep revenue shortfalls due to the economic damage from government-mandated shutdowns.

Ragsdale said that if that number is applied to the Cobb school district, that would be a drop of $80 million, a devastating figure.

In the meantime, school district officials are preparing for the possibility of funding operations on a month-to-month basis. Ragsdale said that if that becomes necessary, he hopes it will be only one month.

The 2020-21 Cobb school academic year is scheduled to begin Aug. 3. At the work session, Ragsdale said it’s still “up in the air” when it might begin, and whether there will be in-person instruction or “distance learning” that’s been in place since March 16.

He said the guidance he’s been getting from state education officials and others continues to change.

Also at the work session, Ragsdale also said he’s hopeful that there can be in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020. The district postponed commencement exercises that were to take place May 19-23.

“We are hopeful regarding plans for the fall, but final plans will be based on the guidance from the Department of Education, Georgia Department of Public Health, and CDC,” he said. “We are also still keeping our hopes alive for in-person graduation ceremonies, but those decisions will also depend on the guidance we receive.”

At their voting meeting—like the work session, it was conducted online, via Zoom—school board members approved demolition of the current Cobb Horizon School campus near Smyrna. That non-traditional school is relocating to land at Cobb Parkway and Terrell Mill Road.

The board also voted to approve plans to construct Pearson Middle School on the Cobb Horizon property. To be built at a cost of $37 million, it will relieve overcrowding at Griffin Middle School and Campbell Middle School and is slated to open in July 2021.

In another action, the board voted to spend $1 million on HVAC renovations at Addison Elementary School in East Cobb.

The board also extended the contracts of top Cobb County School District officials serving in Ragsdale’s cabinet. Their new contracts will start July 1 and end on June 30, 2021.

They include Kevin Daniel, Chief of Staff; John Floresta, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer; Sherri Hill, Chief School Leadership Officer; Brad Johnson, Chief Financial Officer; Jennifer Lawson, Chief Academic Officer; Marc Smith, Chief Technology and Operations Officer; and several assistant superintendent positions.

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

As of today, Friday, June 5th, strict guidance from state and local public health officials, which is specific to Cobb County, allows for a ceremony with graduates only in attendance.

Current examples of public health recommendations for Cobb County graduation ceremonies include:

Graduates and parents should monitor communications from their respective high schools and check this page often for updates.

Once confirmed, graduation information for both graduates and parents will be provided which includes:

For the most up-to-date information from the District related to COVID-19, please visit www.cobbk12.org/covid

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Other Post 5 candidate profiles

Related Content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Kell High School

Lassiter High School

Pope High School

Sprayberry High School

Walton High School

Wheeler High School

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related Content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this: