East Cobb Schools Archives

Wheeler transition specialist honored as teacher of the year

November 15, 2017 10:06 AM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler High School, Wendy Sorkin — *Wendy Sorkin with Richard Marriott, chairman of the Marriott Foundation.*

Wheeler High School’s Wendy Sorkin has been named 2017 teacher of the year by the Marriott Foundation on behalf of the Bridges From School to Work program.

She was honored last week at a special dinner at the Atlanta Airport Marriott. More from a release from Wheeler:

“The Bridges From School to Work program, part of the Marriott Foundation, has been working collaboratively to transform the lives of young adults with disabilities through the power of a job. The Foundation recognizes teachers that help students match the workforce development needs of local employers with the skills and interest of our young people with disabilities.

“Since 1996, more than 760 local employers have provided employment opportunities for over 2,700 youth, helping these young people with disabilities succeed in the workplace.”

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Wheeler High School Fall 2017 Senior Projects program needs community judges

November 9, 2017 10:43 AM by Wendy Parker

Next Thursday, the Wheeler High School Fall 2017 Senior Projects program will be presented and they need what they’re calling “community judges” to help rate those projects.

This is a pretty big affair, according to the judge signup page—formal attire and dinner included.

The judges need to show up at the school (375 Holt Road) 5 p.m., with a short training period and the meal, followed by the presentations at 6 p.m. It’s over by 9 p.m.

Thus far they’ve got 136 of 150 needed judges confirmed, and you can sign up right on that link. You don’t have to have any previous training; that will be provided as mentioned above when you arrive.

For information contact Vicki Massey, the community judge coordinator, at: Vicki.massey@cobbk12.org.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb schools closed Tuesday for local elections, special State Senate race

November 8, 2017 2:33 PMNovember 6, 2017 11:50 AM by Wendy Parker

Because of Tuesday’s elections, Cobb schools will be closed for classroom and other extracurricular events.

The Cobb County School District calls this a “student holiday,” and it will also be a professional learning day for teachers and staff.

Municipal elections are taking place across Georgia, including Marietta (whose schools will be open) and other Cobb cities.

There also is a special election being decided on Tuesday to fill a Georgia State Senate seat that includes a small portion of East Cobb. Here is a sample ballot for that race, which includes five Republicans and three Democrats.

A portion of the Powers Ferry Road corridor, below Terrell Mill Road, is located in the State Senate 6 district. That seat has been vacated by Hunter Hill, who is running for Georgia governor.

The candidates are Republicans Leah Aldridge, Matt Bentley, Kathy Eichenblatt, Charlie Fiveash and Leo Smith and Democrats Jaha Howard, Jen Jordan and Taos Wynn.

The district (map) includes most of Smyrna and the Cumberland area of Cobb and portions of Buckhead and Sandy Springs.

East Cobb’s Eastvalley Elementary School (2570 Lower Roswell Road), will serve as a polling station in the Terrell Mill 1 precinct for the state senate race. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Turnout is expected to be light.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb schools pace county results in 2017 CCRPI test scores

November 8, 2017 2:43 PMNovember 2, 2017 3:50 PM by Wendy Parker

Timber Ridge Elementary School, East Cobb schools, CCRPI — *CCRPI scores at Timber Ridge Elementary are up almost 18 points from 2015.*

Seven East Cobb schools surpassed the maximum scores in the latest CCRPI test results released Thursday by the Cobb County School District.

The CCRPI—which stands for College and Career Ready Performance Index—is a state accountability measure that gauges overall achievement results and how schools are preparing students for the next level of education.

The CCRPI is formulated on a 100-point scale as follows:

Overall achievement comprising 50 percent (based on Georgia Milestones Assessment System);
Student progress totaling 40 percent (Milestones results from year to year);
The remaining 10 percent related to closing the achievement gap (between the 25 percent lowest-performing students in a school or district compared to all Georgia students).

Students at all three K-12 levels are tested, and the full state CCRPI results are available at the Georgia Department of Education website.

At the elementary school level, Timber Ridge (100.5), Murdock and Sope Creek (100.3 each) led all of Cobb, earning what’s referred to as “challenge” points in such categories as improved results among subgroups of students and innovative measures at a school, the so-called Exceeding the Bar (ETB) score.

Three Cobb middle schools, all in East Cobb, also exceeded the 100 mark: Dickerson (103), Dodgen (101) and Hightower Trail (101.5).

At the high school level, Walton’s score of 101.1 led the county as well. The high school achievement score includes graduation rates.

Cobb’s overall CCRPI score of 82.9 was higher than the statewide average of 75. For the high-scoring schools in East Cobb, those results were among the best in Georgia.

Timber Ridge’s score of 100.5 not only was a gain of 5.8 percent from 2016, but it’s one of the highest in the state (Lake Windward, in north Fulton County, topped out at 104.5). Timber Ridge scored 47.1 on achievement, a perfect 40 in progress, and earned 3.4 challenge points.

In a statement, Jeffrey Castle, the Timber Ridge principal, attributed his school’s results to “a supportive parent community, engaged students and motivated, highly-capable teachers who have the education of the whole child as their main priority.

“Our focus last year was on progress, with implementation of computer-based reading intervention programs, and on intentional delivery of rigorous instruction and congruency among curriculum, assessments and instruction.”

All but two of the 21 East Cobb elementary schools had higher scores than 2016, but the drops by Kincaid and Sedalia Park were slight.

The biggest jump was at Powers Ferry, with a score of 72.3 representing a 14.5 percent increase from a year ago, the fourth largest boost among Cobb elementary schools.

Although the achievement score at Powers Ferry was 26 and its progress was at 37, the school reported a score of 8.3 (out of 10) in closing the achievement gap.

In a release, Cobb schools said that measuring year-to-year progress in 2017 is not exact because of some minor changes to how the CCRPI is formulated. At all levels, science and social studies were removed as indicators in the progress and achievement gap categories.

Elementary Schools

	2017 Score	Change from 2016
All of Cobb ES	80.5	+4.8
Addison	93.0	+5.3
Bells Ferry	89.3	+7.5
Blackwell	86.2	+6.8
Brumby	67.8	+7.1
Davis	87.5	+2.4
East Side	96.3	+4.5
Eastvalley	93.5	+5.8
Garrison Mill	96.8	+1.5
Keheley	88.7	+2.6
Kincaid	89.9	-0.9
Mt. Bethel	96.4	+1.4
Mountain View	99.7	+7.8
Murdock	100.3	+6.2
Nicholson	88.5	+11.2
Powers Ferry	72.3	+14.5
Rocky Mount	97.4	+5.0
Sedalia Park	68.9	-0.1
Shallowford Falls	88.0	+1.0
Sope Creek	100.3	+6.1
Timber Ridge	100.5	+5.8
Tritt	96.8	+6.0

Middle Schools

	2017 Score	Change from 2016
All of Cobb MS	82.0	+2.2
Daniell	77.9	-2.1
Dickerson	103.0	+4.3
Dodgen	101.0	+1.4
East Cobb	79.2	+3.6
Hightower Trail	100.5	+2.9
Mabry	91.3	0.0
McCleskey	82.5	-0.3
Simpson	89.9	+3.2

High Schools

	2017 Score	Change from 2016
All of Cobb HS	87.3	-0.9
Kell	85.8	-6.4
Lassiter	99.9	0.7
Pope	92.9	-6.5
Sprayberry	86.7	-2.0
Walton	101.2	-1.2
Wheeler	90.3	+1.7

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Dodgen and Dickerson recognized for National Blue Ribbon school status

November 1, 2017 5:39 PM by Wendy Parker

In late September both Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools were named National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

Last week the Cobb Board of Education formally recognized the administrators and teachers at both schools.

Dickerson and Dodgen were among 342 schools nationwide earning the Blue Ribbon designation, and they’re among 17 East Cobb schools so named since the award began in the early 1980s.

In both group photos the school board members and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale are in the back row. The Dickerson staff, in the photo above: Dr. Carole Brink, principal; Sandra Alford, assistant principal; and teachers Rebecca Johson, Tara Thieme, Jackie Roche, Jennifer Attard, Maureen McLaughlin, Megan Lankes, Natalie Cornwell and Drew Starnes.

In the photo below, the Dodgen staff in the front row: Dr. Loralee Hill, principal; Gary Jackson, assistant principal; Sheri Dennard, Teacher of the Year, 8th grade lead and math teacher; Marlo Sharp, French teacher; Tonia Martin-Gatlin, counselor; and Tricia Eoff, counseling office clerk.

Dickerson also was recognized by the school board for recently being named recipient of an Award of Excellence in Physical Education by the Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Those recognized by the school board included Dickerson physical education teachers Maureen McLaughlin, Megan Lankes, Natalie Cornwell, Duane Perozzi and Drew Starnes.

Cobb school calendars adopted for 2018-2020; Sweeney lone opposing vote

November 8, 2017 2:34 PMOctober 26, 2017 8:31 PM by Wendy Parker

It wasn’t quite unanimous, but close. The Cobb Board of Education Thursday voted 6-1 to adopt Cobb school calendars for the 2018-20 academic years after a brief discussion.

Scott Sweeney, Cobb school calendars — *Scott Sweeney*

The board didn’t make any changes to the calendars proposed by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale (see charts below). The first day of school for each of the next two years will begin on Aug. 1, and will include regularly scheduled breaks that have been the case in the last few years.

The “balanced” calendar had been the subject of strong board and community division in recent years, but not for this calendar scheduling cycle.

The only vote against was Scott Sweeney of Post 6 in East Cobb, who repeated comments he made at a recent work session that a large number of messages he’s received (63 percent) were in favor of a delayed start to the school year.

He also cited other issues, such as extracurricular activities, that are affected by a balanced calendar, and said he hasn’t received any evidence of academic improvements based on the adoption of a balanced calendar.

Connie Jackson of the Cobb County Association of Educators repeated the organization’s support of the balanced calendar and urged the board to use the adopted calendars to serve as a template for future years.

Also on Thursday, the board accepted the resignation of Mary Elizabeth Davis, the Cobb County School District’s Chief Academic Officer. She has been named the new superintendent for Henry County public schools.

Adopted 2018-19 Cobb school calendar

Adopted 2019-2020 Cobb school calendar

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Cobb-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition rescheduled for Monday

October 26, 2017 11:33 AM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler High School Band, Cobb-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition — *The Wheeler High School band, marching in the East Cobber parade in September (East Cobb News file photo).*

Weather has twice postponed the Cobb-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition this month, and now a new date has been set and the weather should be just fine: This coming Monday, Oct. 30.

The exhibition starts at 7 p.m. at the Walter Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School, 2400 New Macland Road, Powder Springs.

Monday’s exhibition includes bands from three East Cobb high schools: Lassiter, Sprayberry and Wheeler. Also scheduled to perform are the bands from Hillgrove, McEachern, Osborne and South Cobb.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students, and only cash is accepted.

Cobb school calendar adoption for 2018-20 years expected tonight

October 26, 2017 10:41 AM by Wendy Parker

A reminder that the Cobb school calendar for the 2018-20 academic years are slated for adoption tonight.

It’s the last item on the Cobb Board of Education’s regular meeting agenda. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District Central Office, 514 Glover Street, Marietta. (here’s a link to the full agenda).

Earlier this month, the board discussed Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s proposed calendars for the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 years, which would both start on Aug. 1 (previous East Cobb News post here).

While there hasn’t been the contentious reaction from school parents or on the board as in previous news, East Cobb school board member Scott Sweeney noted at the work session that he gets a lot of feedback from parents who want a later starting date.

Both proposed calendars have generally the same scheduled breaks—late September in the fall, mid-February in the winter and early April in the spring—as well as the usual Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s holiday breaks.

For the 2018-19 proposed calendar, the last day of school would be May 22, and for 2018-19, the final day would be May 20 (The full calendar proposals are attached at the bottom of this post).

Also tonight, the school board will formally recognize both Dickerson Middle School and Dodgen Middle School, which were recently named National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education (previous East Cobb News post here).

The board also will honor Dickerson, which was recently given an Award of Excellence in Physical Education by the Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Proposed 2018-19 Cobb school calendar

Proposed 2019-2020 Cobb school calendar

Proposed Cobb school calendars discussed by school board members

October 12, 2017 11:19 AM by Wendy Parker

The proposed Cobb school calendars for the next two academic years were taken up by the school board Wednesday, with none of the widely diverging differences that have marked previous deliberations.

Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale has proposed Aug. 1 start dates for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years. It’s his intention to establish an Aug. 1-3 range for the first day of classes further into the future, but acknowledged at a work session that “there’s not going to be a template is going to make everybody happy.”

This summer, some parents objected to this year’s July 31 starting date, a protest that included an online petition seen as a way to influence future calendar dates. (There’s an ongoing petition that advocates keeping frequent breaks in the Cobb school calendar, and has generated nearly 5,000 signatures).

In their discussion, board members were generally receptive to the proposed calendars (previous East Cobb News post here), especially a consistent range of starting dates, scheduled breaks and graduation dates.

The board considers and approves calendars in two-year cycles to avoid having to go through such a process every year. At Wednesday’s work session, Connie Jackson, executive director of the Cobb Association of Educators, suggested the board consider indefinite “rolling calendars” that would have the same date range for the first day of school.

Board member Susan Thayer said she would prefer keeping a two-year calendar approval process. “I don’t want to do any more than that,” especially if the state changes testing dates or other major changes come about, she said.

Board member Randy Scamihorn asked about syncing the Cobb school calendars to those in Cherokee County, which has a later starting date. Ragsdale said Cobb’s is currently synced with Marietta and Paulding, and that “we choose ours around grading schedules.”

However, the issue of starting the school year later in Cobb continues to come up with parents.

Scott Sweeney, who represents the Walton and Wheeler high school districts of East Cobb on the school board, noted that there’s no data showing differences in student achievement results and other metrics based on a school starting date.

But he did say that “there are a lot of people who favor a later start,” and that 76 percent of the e-mails he’s received since early September “want a later start.

“This is still very much a split issue,” Sweeney said.

The board is scheduled to vote on the calendar proposals at its Oct. 26 regular meeting.

Proposed Cobb school calendars for 2018-20 call for Aug. 1 start dates

October 9, 2017 12:10 PM by Wendy Parker

Draft proposals for the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 Cobb school calendars have been released, and they will be discussed at Wednesday’s school board work session.

The two proposals submitted by the Cobb County School District administration for board consideration both include Aug. 1 start dates. Those dates are on a Wednesday for 2018-19 and a Thursday for 2019-20. This would be a departure for Cobb schools, which typically have had the first day fall on a Monday.

After some parental outcry this year, when classes began on July 31 and prompted a petition drive (previous East Cobb News post here), the proposed Cobb school calendars for the next two academic years would revert to starting in the first week of August, which has been the case in recent years.

For the 2018-19 proposed calendar, the last day of school would be May 22, and for 2018-19, the final day would be May 20.

The school board adoption of the calendars is expected at their Oct. 26 business meeting.

The work session (full agenda packet here) on Wednesday begins at 8:30 a.m. in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, 514 Glover Street. The meeting also can be seen live on Comcast Cable Channel 24 and Cobb edTV.

Proposed 2018-19 Cobb school calendar

Proposed 2019-2020 Cobb school calendar

CCSD-Marietta marching band exhibition postponed to Oct. 23

October 9, 2017 12:18 PMOctober 9, 2017 11:15 AM by Wendy Parker

Because of rainy weather, the Cobb County School District-Marietta Marching Band Exhibition scheduled for tonight at McEachern High School has been pushed back to Oct. 23.

The Wheeler, Sprayberry and Lassiter bands were scheduled to take part in the event, which also has an Oct. 16 slate at McEachern that includes the Kell, Walton and Pope bands.

Here’s more from the CCSD on the exhibition, which includes guest performances from the Kennesaw State and UGA band.

Lassiter HS launches ‘Sources of ‘Strength’ suicide prevention support program

October 5, 2017 3:41 PM by Wendy Parker

On Friday Lassiter High School (2601 Shallowford Road) will embark upon a new effort to provide information to and support for students regarding issues about suicide prevention.

That program, “Sources of Strength,” begins at 7:30 a.m., with teachers and staff offering support with signs bearing positive messages and handing out purple-colored doughnuts to students as they arrive for the school day.

Sources of Strength is a nationwide non-profit organization providing support and education for youth and teen suicide prevention and awareness efforts.

Purple is the official color of organizations devoted to suicide prevention and on Friday night, the awareness campaign continues at Lassiter’s home football game against Roswell. The Trojans will kick off against the Hornets at 7:30 p.m., and Lassiter officials have invited their Roswell counterparts to join in a show of support for the program.

A total of 45 Lassiter students, teachers, administrators, counselors and other staff underwent training in the Sources of Strength program to learn help-seeking behaviors and promote connections between peers and caring adults.

Last month a 16-year-old Roswell High School student was found unconscious near the school ground and later died in a suspected suicide.

Lassiter is also observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and is asking fans attending the football game to wear pink clothing in a “Pink Out.” Staff will toss out pink and purple confetti at the game.

Dogden and Dickerson named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017

September 28, 2017 4:52 PM by Wendy Parker

The latest East Cobb recipients of the National Blue Ribbon Schools designation by the U.S. Department of Education are Dodgen and Dickerson middle schools.

The two feeder schools into Walton High School are among 342 schools nationwide and the only two schools in the Cobb County School District to be honored for 2017.

For Dickerson, it’s the second time it’s been named a Blue Ribbon School, which has been given out since 1982. Dodgen’s addition makes it 17 different East Cobb schools that have been so honored (see the list at the bottom of this post).

So what, exactly, is a Blue Ribbon School, and what does a school have to do be named? Like the other winners this year and in the past, Dodgen and Dickerson are “exemplary high performing schools,” as measured by overall academic performance, including test scores, closing achievement gaps in school subgroups and other factors.

The Blue Ribbon Schools summary sheet for Dodgen also details a high participation rate in music programs and the school’s 2016 designation as being the best in Georgia in the Scholastic Summer Reading Program.

Here’s Dodgen principal Dr. Loralee Hill, in comments provided by the CCSD:

“This recognition is the result of our vision to allow students to grow academically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially through service and leadership. Our teachers and staff are committed to providing our students with rigorous and challenging opportunities that will allow them to gain the knowledge and skills to be successful in their next phase of life. This honor truly belongs to everyone associated with Dodgen Middle School.”

At Dickerson, a school-wide Lead by Example program transcends academics to include social and emotional interactions and relationships between students, teachers and staff. Here’s principal Carol Brink’s reaction:

“The Blue Ribbon Award is truly an honor and a shared celebration both in our district and our school community. However, I must say that at the heart of this celebration is truly the focus and commitment of our students and teachers who lead by example by putting forth their very best every day!”

Both of the above links contain more information about Dodgen and Dickerson, including their application statements for the Blue Ribbon Schools designation, including demographics, special programs and more.

Here’s a longer roster of all the Blue Ribbon School winners from East Cobb:

2016: Mt. Bethel Elementary School;
2013: Tritt Elementary School;
2011: Timber Ridge Elementary School;
2009: Hightower Trail Middle School;
2008: Mabry Middle School;
2007: Walton High School;
2003: Dickerson Middle School;
2001: Shallowford Falls Elementary School;
2000: Lassiter High School;
1996: Sprayberry High School;
1994: Eastvalley Elementary School;
1992: McCleskey Middle School;
1990: East Cobb Middle School;
1988: Murdock Elementary School; Sope Creek Elementary School;
1986: Mt. Bethel Elementary School;
1984: Walton High School.

Lassiter High School band invited to 2019 Tournament of Roses parade

September 28, 2017 12:25 PM by Wendy Parker

Earlier this month, students in the Lassiter High School band got some exciting news: They’ll be marching in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day 2019.

That can mean only one thing: The Tournament of Roses Parade. It will be the fifth time for Lassiter, and yes, that’s not during the current school year but for the one to follow, in 2018-19. But it’s another distinguishing accomplishment for a decorated program.

Lassiter band director James Thompson told the students at a band meeting during homecoming week:

Here’s the letter Thompson sent to the Lassiter community:

It is with tremendous joy that I announce that the Lassiter High School Marching Trojan Band has been extended an invitation to perform in the 130^th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. This distinction was only extended to 13 bands from across the globe after a rigorous application process. This marks an unprecedented fifth invitation extended to the Lassiter Band Program to perform in America’s New Year Celebration; and I could not be more thrilled.

The Tournament of Roses Parade (www.tournamentofroses.com) on New Years Day is an annual occurrence held in southern California since 1890. The tournament is a celebration and salute to community spirit, service, and a love of pageantry. The Rose Parade is marked by a 5-½ mile parade route along Colorado Boulevard through Pasadena, for an overwhelming one million spectators and a worldwide television viewing audience estimated at nearly half of a billion in over 80 countries. The opportunity to share our talents and represent our community for such a vast viewing audience is both daunting and thrilling.

Our beloved Lassiter band has gained national notoriety for its high level of achievement over the years. The fast paced, musically and visually challenging marching programs are a testament to an uncompromising commitment to excellence by our students, staff, and directors. I am filled with such joy to share our talents with the entire world. Moreover, I am appreciative to our students, staff, administration, and boosters for an uncompromising commitment to our standard of excellence. Work ethic is the hallmark of our program and is the precursor of this once in a lifetime opportunity. This invitation is a testament to the time, energy, and sacrifice paid by our students. Our Marching Trojans have worked hard to receive an occasion to showcase their talents for the world to see. In fact, to my knowledge, only the Sprayberry and Walton bands have been offered this opportunity, placing Lassiter in the extreme minority as one of the select few to perform in the Rose Parade.

In addition to work ethic, one of our most sacred traditions is service. A special thank you is in order for our senior class of 2018. Like each senior class before them, they have learned to share their knowledge in service to the youngest and least skilled among them. Each Lassiter student learns the joy of gracious giving. The class of 2018 will join the ranks of countless Lassiter band alumni who will look on with pride as “The TRADITION continues . . .” knowing that they are a part of that tradition. There is no way that we could have achieved this honor without them. We all thank you so very much.

While the details of the performance will be communicated very soon, today is cause for celebration, reflection, and joy. Happy homecoming. Take a bow Lassiter band, job well done!

Eyes With Pride,
James E. Thompson, Jr.
Director of Bands
Lassiter High School

Wheeler graduation rate up nearly 10 percent since 2013; 3 East Cobb schools above 90 percent for 2017

September 27, 2017 2:12 PM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler graduation rate, East Cobb graduation rates — *East Cobb News file photo of Wheeler High School*

The Cobb County School District released graduation rates for the last four years on Wednesday, and all six high schools in East Cobb have remained steady or had moderate rises in the last five years. The Wheeler graduation rate, which has jumped nearly 10 percent in that time, is one of the biggest increases in the district.

The statistics show that Walton, Lassiter and Pope were among the six high schools with graduation rates exceeding 90 percent in 2017.

Kell and Sprayberry reported graduation rates in the mid-to-high 80s. At Wheeler, where the graduation rate was 71.2 percent in 2013, it now is 81.1, a boost of 9.9 percent.

The only gains larger than the Wheeler graduation rate were at Osborne, Campbell and South Cobb, whose jumps were in double digits.

• East Cobb SAT scores: Walton, Lassiter, Pope, Wheeler among best in Georgia

Sprayberry had the biggest increase in its graduation rate from 2016, from 81.7 percent to 85.5.

“We don’t allow students to make mistakes that will cost them graduation. We prepare our students for life after high school,” Sprayberry principal Joe Sharp said in a statement issued by the CCSD, adding that “all the students know there are adults in the building to support them in their goal of graduation.”

Harrison High School led all of Cobb with a 2017 graduation rate of 96.3, followed by Lassiter (95.7), Walton (94.5), Pope (91.8), Hillgrove (91.0) and Allatoona (90.1).

Cobb’s graduation rate for 2017 is 83.6 percent.

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	5-Year Trend
Kell	80.6	78.5	84.7	85.0	87.9	+7.3
Lassiter	91.4	91.5	93.8	94.5	95.7	+4.3
Pope	91.9	88.0	91.7	93.4	91.8	-0.1
Sprayberry	82.4	80.9	72.0	81.7	85.5	+3.1
Walton	90.8	92.7	94.1	96.1	94.5	+3.7
Wheeler	71.2	70.5	79.4	80.7	81.1	+9.9
Cobb	76.5	78.2	81.4	83.8	83.6	+7.1

East Cobb SAT scores: Walton, Lassiter, Pope, Wheeler among best in Georgia

September 26, 2017 3:36 PM by Wendy Parker

Walton High School, East Cobb SAT scores — *East Cobb News file photo of Walton High School*

The results of the 2017 Scholastic Aptitude Test, one of the major guideposts for college admissions, were released on Tuesday. East Cobb SAT scores were among the highest in Georgia.

Walton High School’s mean score of 1,242 was second in all of Georgia, trailing only the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology (1,315). But three other East Cobb schools also placed high in the statewide mean scores as well: Lassiter was 7th at 1,189; Pope was 15th at 1,164; and Wheeler was 22nd at 1,153.

Kell finished just above the Cobb County School District mean of 1,088 with a score of 1,091, while Sprayberry’s mean score is 1,049.

The SAT is administered by the College Board, and tests students in two cluster subject areas: Math and ERW (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing). The score grading is from 400 to 1,600.

This is a change that was made in the last year, with the previous maximum score 2,400. The redesigned test includes questions about history, science and social studies (more comparable to the ACT); whereas the previous test focused on math and English.

Three Walton students earned perfect scores of 1,600 in the 2017 testing period.

“Our teachers are doing a great job focusing on literacy in the classroom. This focus has had a positive impact on all of the state and national measurements,” Walton principal Judy McNeill said in a statement issued by the Cobb County School District. “We thank the faculty, students, and community for making Walton such a positive learning environment. We have students that really want to do well.”

The Georgia Department of Education offered this summary of the statewide results, which also include links to district and school-level databases. Here are the six East Cobb high school scores, as well as the Cobb, Georgia and national results.

	# Test Takers	Overall Mean	ERW Mean	Math Mean
Kell	176	1,091	555	536
Lassiter	341	1,189	598	591
Pope	232	1,164	587	577
Sprayberry	260	1,049	536	512
Walton	351	1,242	621	621
Wheeler	236	1,153	579	574
Cobb	4,707	1,088	554	534
Georgia	63,805	1,050	535	515
National	1,715,481	1,060	533	527

Mountain View Elementary School honored by physical fitness group

September 25, 2017 11:43 AM by Wendy Parker

Before Cobb schools went out on fall break this week, they passed along this news about Mountain View Elementary School for creating a strong environment for physical fitness:

Active Schools honored Mountain View Elementary School with the 2017 Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award for its outstanding efforts in creating an active school environment. Active Schools is a national movement dedicated to ensuring that 60 minutes of physical activity a day is the norm in K-12 schools.

The Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award is the nation’s top physical education and physical activity distinction for K-12 schools and celebrates a school’s commitment to providing students with physical activity before, during and after school. Only 452 schools across the country achieved this prestigious honor in 2017.

Powered by a national collaborative of leading health, education, and private sector organizations, Active Schools equips schools with the resources, programs, professional development, and grants to increase physical education and physical activity opportunities for students, and to cultivate an active school environment.

According to Active Schools, active kids do better in school. Regular physical activity not only helps kids stay healthy and strong, but it can also lead to higher test scores, improved attendance, increased focus, better behavior in class, enhanced leadership skills, and a lifetime of healthy habits.

“ ‘We commend Mountain View Elementary’s model work around enhancing physical education and physical activity opportunities and inspiring students to perform their best, both in the classroom and in life,’ said Charlene R. Burgeson, Active Schools Executive Director. ‘Mountain View is leading the way in this generation-changing movement that is transforming our nation’s schools into active and healthy hubs.’ ”

To earn a Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award, a school must have met significant benchmarks in five areas: physical education, physical activity before and after school, physical activity during school, staff involvement, and family and community engagement.

As part of the Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award package, Mountain View received a large display banner, national award certificate, and congratulatory letter.

Find out more about Let’s Move! Active Schools at www.letsmoveschools.org.

East Cobb students named to state education advisory councils

September 22, 2017 9:13 AM by Wendy Parker

Two East Cobb students will serve on state education advisory councils this academic year after being appointed by Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods.

They are:

Zechariah Fuller, Dickerson Middle School, Middle School Advisory Board;
Nidhi Manikkoth, Walton High School, High School Advisory Board.

They’re among six Cobb County School District students and 142 across the state to serve on the advisory councils, who will meet with the superintendent during the school year to offer feedback on the impact of state education policies in the classroom and other education issues.

The panelists were chosen from an original pool of 1,500 students in Georgia public schools who applied and wrote essays explaining why they wanted to serve.

Here’s Woods, via a CCSD release:

“Every year, it is so valuable to hear directly from students through my Student Advisory Council, In the past, we have made direct changes based on student feedback, and I look forward to working with these 142 students who I know will make an impact. I’m so grateful for every student who took the time to apply and share their thoughts.”

The first meetings will take place Oct. 3-4, with future sessions in January and April.

East Cobb students named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists

September 15, 2017 10:17 AMSeptember 13, 2017 3:13 PM by Wendy Parker

UPDATED, 10:16 a.m. Friday: The CCSD has provided the names of an additional 12 students from Wheeler to its original release that were initially omitted. The figures in the story reflect those changes. — WP

A total of 71 East Cobb students have been named semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarships, the Cobb County School District announced today (a per-school list follows below).

Of the East Cobb students named semifinalists, 33 come from Walton High School, and 19 more are students at Wheeler High School. According to the CCSD, Walton has the second-highest number of semifinalists for any school in Georgia. Kell, Lassiter and Pope all had semifinalists, and Cobb schools overall had 82 semifinalists.

A CCSD release explains the program and process from here:

“These academically-talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $32 million that will be offered next spring. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.”

Demolition of original Walton High School building on Cobb school board agenda

September 13, 2017 1:29 PMSeptember 13, 2017 12:51 PM by Wendy Parker

The original Walton High School building stands empty, with a new classroom facility having just opened.

Tearing down the old building, which opened in 1975, is needed to complete the Walton rebuilding project, making room for a new gymnasium and fine arts building.

A proposed demolition contract is on the Thursday agenda for the Cobb Board of Education, which is holding its monthly work session (from 2 p.m.-5 p.m.) and business meeting (beginning at 7 p.m.) on the same day due to the upcoming fall break the week of Sept. 25-29.

(See the attached PDF for the full agenda packet).

School officials have received a low bid of $3.584 million from Triad Construction Co. of College Park and are recommending board approval (pages 35-36 of agenda) of the Walton demolition.

The new Walton gym and fine arts components, which are expected to be completed in 2019, represent the final part of the $48 million Walton rebuild, which was approved by Cobb voters in 2013 in the Cobb Ed-SPLOST IV referendum.

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