STRATEGIC AREA I — Improve the Classroom and School Environment

Improve the classroom environment for teachers, support personnel and students by providing staff stability across the system, developing a package of incentive options that will enhance recruitment and retention, and establishing and achieving standards for classroom infrastructure.

Examples of initiatives under way in this strategic area include:

• Attracting and retaining highly qualified certified staff members;
• Retaining certified staff in high priority schools by offering a service incentive and a longevity incentive;
• Furthering professional development by recognizing teachers who earn National Board Certification with a financial reward;
• Promoting retention of annual employees by aligning the annual contract/work year;
• Attracting veteran teachers in greater numbers by increasing salary credit given for experience;
• Attracting and retaining minority candidates for certified positions by supporting employment development and advancement;
• Improving the on-the-job effectiveness of certified and professional/technical employees through the use of performance-based evaluation procedures;
• Broadening student learning options by expanding electronic learning capabilities within the district;
• And providing telecommunications services for all classrooms.

STRATEGIC AREA II — Improve Educational Access Across and Within Our District

Provide equal education across and within our schools by: determining how we may apply our best resources to our greatest challenges; identifying and remediating academic deficiencies early; and improving academic achievement by expanding ESOL programs and following up the local and state reviews of schools with teaching team support.

Examples of initiatives under way in this strategic area include:

• Implement innovative models of delivering ESOL services;
• Address student attendance issues and the high school completion rate;
• Expand external communication through the district Web page, print documents and cable television;
• Implement school councils in accordance with House Bill 1187.

STRATEGIC AREA III — Build Future Capability

Build a foundation for the future by: forecasting the personnel, infrastructure and technology requirements to support continued academic growth; identifying the range of funding sources necessary to support a dynamic system; and ensuring the quality control and assurances that measure the success of our academic programs and provide strict accountability for the public resources for which we are responsible.

Examples of initiatives under way in this strategic area include:

• Extend personnel management capabilities by implementing a Comprehensive Human Resources Information System (CHRIS);
• Upgrade information management capabilities by installing a comprehensive Student Information System (SIS);
• Support district and school improvement by crafting a comprehensive curriculum to be delivered online through the Curriculum and Data Management System (CDMS);
• Address high school students’ career development needs by providing a broader range of Career and Technology programs district-wide;
• Revamp the budget development process;
• Provide for student enrollment growth and facility needs through a managed program of facility expansion and infrastructure improvement.

As the Administration has implemented this plan and its strategies, some of the most significant changes seen district-wide have included:

Area Superintendents
A key organizational change planned in 2001-02 and implemented in 2002-03 is the introduction of six area superintendents. Each area superintendent oversees at least two high schools, as well as the elementary and middle schools that feed them. The area superintendents serve as supervisors and consultants for the principals of their schools, with a focus on improving student achievement. This reorganization has strengthened inter-grade-level communication and planning.

School Councils
More than 50 Cobb elementary, middle and high schools are now operating a school council. School councils were created by the A+ Education Reform Act of 2000 (House Bill 1187), which requires all Georgia schools to have a council by Oct. 1, 2003. A council is a local school advisory body made up of the principal, two certified staff members, two parents/guardians, and two members of the business community. Councils will provide advice and recommendations to the principal and the Cobb Board of Education on a variety of issues. These issues can include student achievement goals, curriculum and instruction, school and community communications, and local school board policies. Keheley Elementary, Dodgen Middle and Kennesaw Mountain High School were the first Cobb schools to implement councils, getting started in 2001-02.

SchoolMax
This new computerized Student Information System had been planned for years, but implementation was delayed as Cobb awaited direction from the state’s education reform act regarding what types of systems would be acceptable. Finally, SchoolMax was approved in 2001, and was installed and went online with the start of the 2002-2003 school year. Initially the system facilitated the process of high school scheduling, but eventually it will be expanded to the middle and elementary school levels as a fully integrated system that will streamline the collection, reporting and analysis of student data. SchoolMax will: increase the ability of teachers and administrators to access current student information; minimize the amount of administrative staff time required to develop school schedules; reduce to two months from 10 months the amount of staff time required to produce the state enrollment report; and eventually will provide parents of any students in the Cobb County School District online access to current information on their children, including grades, assignments, and other data.