DISTRICT NEWS:
Lost Mountain's Jennifer Dawson Named District Teacher of the Year
The District named Ms. Jennifer Dawson of Lost Mountain Middle School as the 2006-2007 Teacher of the Year on Monday, Sept. 18. Superintendent Fred Sanderson and Lost Mountain Principal Terry Poor joined Dawson’s parents and a theater full of her sixth grade students at a surprise assembly at the school. Ms. Dawson is in her 7th year of teaching at Lost Mountain and works to find unique ways to make social studies 'click' with her students. “Words can’t adequately express how much I love my job," said Dawson. "Inspiring students to engage critically and dually in the wider world is indescribable.”

More information about Jennifer Dawson is available on the District Web site.

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

• Awarded a bid to Liebert Cabinets in the amount of $650,000 to replace server cabinets as part of the district-wide SPLOST II network refresh. The purchase of these cabinets will enable the district to provide an air conditioned, monitored environment for school servers. Replacing the server cabinets prolongs the life of the servers and provides monitoring of the server environment. Existing server cabinets are at end of life, are costly to repair, and can negatively impact server life and performance.

• Heard a presentation by Moore & Cubbedge, LLC regarding the annual SPLOST II Performance Audit. The purpose of the performance audit is to determine whether:
1) the sales tax proceeds are being disbursed in compliance with the SPLOST II resolution approved by the Board on May 7, 2003;
2) sales tax proceeds are disbursed in a fiscally responsible manner;
3) adequate controls have been established to ensure proper management of the sales tax proceeds received;
4) the District's construction project expenditures are comparable to other school system building construction program expenditures in the metro Atlanta area;
5) the District's technological expenditures are reasonable considering the volatile market environment for these products; and
6) investment of the sales tax proceeds received by the District has been conducted in a sound fiscal manner. The audit must be performed in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards and must conform to the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-491. A copy of the audit is available on the school district Web site.

• Approved the final project closeout for an addition at Griffin Middle School. By certifying that all accounts for labor, materials and services for the project’s construction have been paid in full and that there are no claims of any nature outstanding, either liquidated or disputed, the District will be eligible to receive $150,723.60 in State Capitol Outlay Funds allocated for the project.

• Awarded a contract in the amount of $2.2 million to YLH Construction Company, Inc. of Atlanta for an addition and renovations project at Hightower Trail Middle School. The scope of the project includes: adding two instructional units (band and orchestra); modifying the existing choral room to be ensemble and practice rooms; modifying the existing band room for choral; modifying the existing orchestra room for drama; installing HVAC in main physical education gymnasium; installing marker boards; replacing folding walls; replacing theatre lighting; and installing landscaping.

• Awarded a contract in the amount of $2.0 million to C.P. Richards Construction Company, Inc. of Lithonia for an addition and renovations project at Milford Elementary School. The scope of the project includes: additions and modifications of administration and pupil personnel service area; providing a fire suppression system in the existing building to accommodate the new addition; upgrading electrical main switch gear and panel; replacing plumbing fixtures not upgraded during SPLOST 1; replacing roof and air conditioning in the existing physical education building; and replacing the existing terra cotta sewer line from the original building

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.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
26 Cobb Schools On Governor's List of High Academic Performers
The Governor's Office of Student Achivement recognized 26 Cobb County schools for improving academic performance, part of the release of the state's Public Schools Annual Report Card.

Schools were recognized in two categories - for greatest gains in meeting and exceeding academic standards, and for having the highest percentage of students meeting and exceeding the standards. These factors are determined in Georgia's Single Statewide Accountability System, which began in 2005.

Awtrey, Lost Mountain and Simpson middle schools represented Cobb in the Greatest Gains category. Honoree schools in the Highest Percentage category include Bullard, Davis, Due West, East Side, Ford, Mt. Bethel, Mountain View, Murdock, Rocky Mount, Shallowford Falls, Sope Creek, Still, Timber Ridge, Tritt, and Vaughan elementary schools; Dickerson, Dodgen, Hightower Trail, Mabry, and Simpson middle schools; and Harrison, Lassiter, Pope, and Walton high schools.

Simpson Middle School was among only 15 schools in the state that received awards in both categories.

Congratulations to all of our Cobb winners. More information is available on the State of Georgia Web site.

School Improvement Survey Available on District Web Site
School Improvement Survey results for the 2005-06 school year are now available online.  The School Improvement Survey is a perceptual survey designed to provide information to schools for improvement planning.  Staff, parents, and students are surveyed each year and results are forwarded to local school principals.

Update on No Child Left Behind
The No Child Left Behind Act is a federal law that currently sets expectations for public school performance. The law is highly complex and its parameters and evaluative components are often difficult to communicate in a simple, concise way to parents and school district stakeholders. One example is the choice option available to parents whose children attend schools that repeatedly fail to attain Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the law.

Parents have posed many questions about how the choice option works, and how sending and receiving schools are determined. Answers to these questions, and many others regarding NCLB, can now be found on the school district Web site. By visiting the school district home page and clicking on the “No Child Left Behind” button link on the right side of the page, parents will find links to a variety of information about the federal law, state-determined performance requirements, and the district’s own action plans for schools. This information is provided by the school district as a means of furthering communication about NCLB and its significant impact on public education in Cobb, Georgia, and the nation.

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION:
Golf Tournament Raises More
Than $43,000 For Cobb Schools

Thirty-four teams of golfers took over the Cobblestone Golf Course in Acworth Sept. 25 for the 2nd annual Cobb Homecoming Classic tournament. A benefit for the Cobb Educational Foundation, the tournament raised more than $43,000 in funds that will directly impact Cobb students and teachers.

The tournament kicked off with a bagpipe performance by Mt. Bethel Elementary Assistant Principal Don McCook, accompanied by the North Cobb High School drum line.

Many of the participants represented companies that do business with the District, strengthening the connection between the Cobb community and our schools.

More information about the tournament and the Foundation is available online.