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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
11th Graders Improve
Graduation Test Scores
Cobb County 11th graders improved already high marks on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT), and for the fifth consecutive year surpassed their peers in the metro area and state in all four categories of the test.
This year, students were tested on the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) for the first time in English Language Arts and Science. Cobb students maintained or increased their passing rates in not only these two subject areas, but also in Math and Social Studies as well. The Social Studies passing rate was 93 percent, up 1 percent from the previous year. The passing rate in Science improved by 2 percent, going from 81 to 83 percent passing. Cobb students maintained a 97-percent passing rate on the Mathematics section as well as their 99-percent passing rate on the English Language Arts portion of the test. The District has not only maintained its high passing rates in all four areas over the past five years, but has also topped the metro and state averages in every category.
Individual school results for the GHSGT are available on the District's Office of Accountability web page.
Eight Cobb Teams Headed To
Odyssey of the Mind World Finals
Nine Cobb teams dominated the Odyssey of the Mind state competition in late April in Columbus, GA. The program provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students in all grade levels. Teams from Ford and Rocky Mount elementary schools; Daniell and Durham middle schools; and Harrison, Lassiter, Pope and Wheeler high schools will participate in the World Finals in Iowa this weekend. East Cobb Middle School's team performed well at the state competition, but narrowly missed world qualification.
Teams were presented with challenges that test students' critical thinking skills, ranging from building mechanical devices, to exploring history, to interpreting literary classics.
Competition results will be available early next week on the Odyssey of the Mind web site.
SPLOST UPDATE:
Construction Set To Begin On
Allatoona, Pickett’s Mill
The final two new schools to be constructed under the SPLOST II program have been named by the Board of Education and construction is set to begin in northwest Cobb. The school board named Allatoona High School and Pickett’s Mill Elementary School in April. On April 27, 2006 the school board approved a $40 million construction contract with Creamer-Pearce of Kennesaw to build the 98-classroom, 328,000-square-foot high school facility. On May 25, 2006 the school board approved a $15.5 million contract, also with Creamer-Pearce, to construct the 61-classroom elementary school. Both schools will open in August 2008.
The good news story of SPLOST continues for Cobb County taxpayers. In April and May 2006, the School Board:
• Approved $580,000 to purchase video surveillance cameras, monitors and recorders for several middle and high schools to improve campus security. Included is the expansion of the North Cobb High School video system and new installations at Lovinggood Middle School, McClure Middle School and Hillgrove High School, as well as the following 16 middle schools: Awtrey, Cooper, Dickerson, Dodgen, Durham, Floyd, Garrett, Griffin, Hightower Trail, Lindley, Mabry, McCleskey, Palmer, Pine Mountain, Simpson and Tapp.
• Approved $959,000 to purchase Technology labs in 13 middle schools. The Explorations in Technology Connections curriculum within Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education will increase student learning and exposure to the technological applications of numerous industries, as well as challenge Cobb County students to maximize their potential.
• Approved a $6 million contract with Cooper & Company, General Contractors, for a renovation and addition project at Wheeler High School. The project includes: the addition of 8 classrooms (4 chemistry, 1 biology and 3 physics); modifying 6 undersized science labs to be 5 typical classrooms and 1 special education classroom; replacing HVAC in theatre, annex basement, media center and cafeteria; renovating theatre; replacing lights in old gymnasium; and installing sidewalk around visitor's side of football field.
• Approved $1.3 million to purchase 1,075 desktop computers for the three new schools to open this August: Hillgrove High School, and Lovinggood and McClure middle schools.
All of these projects were part of the SPLOST II program approved in 2003. To view the agenda items for the projects, please click here.
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DISTRICT NEWS:
Teachers Receive Laptops,
Begin Training
Teachers throughout the Cobb County School District powered up their SPLOST-funded laptop computers for the first time this month as schools hosted laptop distribution and training sessions. The District began distribution of more than 7,000 laptops on May 8 and will continue into early June.
Trainers from the District’s computer vendors are on hand at each “out-of-the-box” training session, instructing teachers on the operations of their laptops. Covering topics such as network connection, connecting printers and peripherals, and software installation, the training focuses on getting teachers comfortable with using the computer in a classroom setting. Each two-hour session is limited to 25 teachers, allowing ample time for teachers to interact with their instructors.
The laptop computer program is a component of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that earmarked $11,250,000 for providing Cobb teachers with individual computers. The District’s goal is to enhance teachers’ abilities to deliver curriculum to students through up-to-the-minute technology and communication.
Defibrillators To Be In All Schools
By First Day of New School Year
Nearly every facility in the District will soon have Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) available for response to heart-related emergencies. More than 500 employees earned Red Cross 'First Responder' certification this spring, helping ensure Cobb schools are equipped to respond to a heart attack.
NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS:
Cobb Schools Make Newsweek's List
of Top American High Schools
Campbell, Pope, and Walton High Schools were included in Newsweek's list of Top 1,200 American High Schools. The list is based on a 'Challenge Index' that analyzes the percentage of students that take advanced tests. More information is available at Newsweek.
Osborne High School Receives
MetLife Bridge Builders Grant
Osborne High School has been awarded the $5,000 MetLife Foundation Bridge Builders Grant that will fund a special initiative focused on building better relationships among adults and students at the school. Administered by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the award is given to 25 schools nationwide that propose unique ways of improving their educational environments.
The MetLife Foundation funds the Bridge Builders Grant Program to benefit middle and high schools serving large numbers of low-income students and/or underrepresented minorities.
State Baseball Playoffs
Congratulations to the Kell, Kennesaw Mountain and Lassiter high school baseball teams for reaching the state baseball playoffs this month. Kell and Lassiter have continued into the semifinals, with Kennesaw Mountain's team ending its run in the quarter-finals.
Tritt Teacher Brad Cohen Featured
On Oprah Winfrey Show
Brad Cohen, second grade teacher at Tritt Elementary, was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday, May 19. Part of a segment called 'Against All Odds,' Cohen discussed his life as a teacher with Tourette Syndrome, and his book, "Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had." Assistant Principal Hilarie Straka, who was instrumental in Cohen's hiring, appeared with him on the show.
A synopsis of the show, including a photo gallery, is available here.
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