DISTRICT NEWS:

2006-2007 Begins By the Numbers
On August 14, buses rolled in, bells rang, and teachers welcomed students back to Cobb's 113 schools. The first two weeks began smoothly, with 105,797 students enrolled at the most recent count, the highest first week enrollment in District history. Three new schools opened for the first time - Hillgrove High and Lovinggood Middle in Powder Springs, and McClure Middle in Kennesaw.

7,604 teachers are serving Cobb students this year; 306 of them are first-time instructors beginning their careers in Cobb. Nineteen of Cobb's 113 schools have new principals at the helm.

The Board is 'counting' on a successful school year for every student in Cobb.

2006 Classified Employees of the Year Announced at Celebratory Luncheon
The District and Cobb Educational Foundation held a celebratory luncheon for the 2006 Classified Employee of the Year awards on August 22. Honorees from each school and facility joined members of the Board of Education and District officials at Kennesaw State University, where Superintendent Fred Sanderson announced the District-level award winners.

The School Professional of the Year awards recognize an outstanding school employee from each academic level who has made a significant contribution to his or her school. Winners are Steve Stovall, Head Custodian at Russell Elementary; Deborah Jones, ESOL paraprofessional at East Cobb Middle; and Kim Allen, Guidance clerk at Pope High.

The Support Professional of the Year honors an outstanding employee from one of the District's operational support divisions. The 2006 winner is Tony Conner, Technology Support Specialist for Food & Nutrition Services.

All four Classified Employees of the Year were welcomed at the ceremony by Superintendent Fred Sanderson, Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Randy Reece, MACO Credit Union representative Amanda Arnold, and Debbie Abernathy and Sheri Brante of the Cobb Educational Foundation. Each winner receives a commemorative crystal bowl, as well as a cash award from the Foundation.

Smyrna, Mableton Charter Schools Unanimously Approved
At its August 24 meeting, the Board approved five-year charters for the Imagine International Academy of Mableton and the Imagine International Academy of Smyrna. They are the second and third startup charter schools to be approved in Cobb County.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:

Cobb High School Students Improve On ACT: Top State and National Averages
Recently released results of the ACT show that Cobb high school students improved on average in nearly every subject area of the test that assesses college preparedness. Cobb students’ average scores increased in English, Math and Reading, and were unchanged in a fourth subject, Science Reasoning. In addition, Cobb’s graduating class of 2006 posted composite scores that topped state and national scores for the fifth consecutive year.

Cobb students also measured well on the college readiness benchmark scores. These scores are used to determine whether students are likely to be successful in core college courses such as English composition and social science.

Compared to the class of 2005, students this year had higher average scores in English, Math and Reading, while Science Reasoning scores were unchanged. The District’s Composite score also increased from 2005, with Cobb students scoring 21.5 (out of a possible 36) compared to last year’s 21.3. Cobb’s Composite score was 1.3 points higher than the state average and 0.4 points higher than the national average.

Individual school results for the ACT are available on the District's Office of Accountability web page.

SPLOST UPDATE:
The good news story of SPLOST continues for Cobb County taxpayers. In July and August 2006, the School Board:

• Opened three new schools: Hillgrove High School, Lovinggood Middle School, and McClure Middle School. These new facilities will provide needed relief for several overcrowded schools in the rapidly growing west Cobb region. All three were constructed using SPLOST II funds and incurred no long-term debt for the school district or Cobb County taxpayers.

• Awarded a contract to Swofford Construction, Inc., Austell, Ga., for an addition and renovations at Campbell High School. The scope of the project includes: an 18 classroom addition consisting of 1 band, 1 choral, 1 graphic arts, 1 culinary arts, 1 drafting & design technology, 1 horticulture, 1 law enforcement and 11 regular classrooms; renovating the existing band room into an orchestra classroom; renovating the existing choral room into a drama classroom; upgrading the main electrical switchgear; providing air conditioning in the main gym; painting existing lockers; and renovating the auditorium. The cost of the project is $8.3 million.

• Adopted a resolution officially closing out several SPLOST II projects and allowing the school district to receive the final payment of State Capital Outlay Funds allocated for these projects. These funds total $2.3 million for the following projects: new Austell Primary School, new Barber Middle School, Dickerson Middle School addition, Floyd Middle School addition, Mabry Middle School addition, New McCall Primary School, Osborne High School addition and New Riverside Primary School. The resolution certifies that all accounts for labor, materials and services for the projects’ construction have been paid in full and that there are no claims of any nature outstanding, either liquidated or disputed. A copy of the Certificate of Resolution and the Architect's Certification are filed in the Superintendent's office.

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.