Walton principal named Cobb schools chief academic officer

Catherine Mallanda, the principal at Walton High School in East Cobb, has been named the Chief Academic Officer for the Cobb County School District.

Catharine Mallanda, Walton High School Principal
Catherine Mallanda

Mallanda’s appointment was announced early Thursday afternoon following an executive session of the Cobb Board of Education.

A Walton graduate in the Class of 1991, Mallanda has been the principal at Walton since 2018 and has been on the staff there for the last 20 years.

She will succeed Jennifer Lawson, who has been the district’s chief academic officer for the last three years.

Of Mallanda, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said he is “excited about what she will do.”

She had been an assistant principal at Walton when she was named to succeed longtime principal Judy McNeill.

Mallanda holds degrees from Georgia Tech and the University of West Georgia and a Ph.D. from Southern Mississippi.

She was a classroom teacher at Walton and McEachern High School before becoming an administrator at Walton in 2003.

Matthew Bradford, Cobb assistant principals
Matthew Bradford

Cobb schools human resources officer Keeli Bowen also announced Thursday that Matthew Bradford, an assistant principal at Wheeler High School, has been named the new principal at Pope High School.

He will succeed Dr. Thomas Flugum, who has retired.

Bradford had been at Wheeler since 2019 after coming from South Cobb High School.

In a message sent Friday to the Pope community, Bradford noted that his entire 20-year career in education, including a role as a teacher at Kell High School, has been in the Cobb school district. His wife also has taught in the district for 25 years and they have two high-school-age children.

“I strongly believe that education is a life-long journey that comes with great responsibility for ourselves and others,” Bradford wrote. “I believe that as educators, we must always allow students to be involved in the decision-making process. As leaders, we help and guide them to achieve their goals by providing opportunities to succeed.”

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