Good day, and welcome back! 

First, here is a quick housekeeping request: Please keep those comments and questions coming!! As we end this year and look forward to the next, Just the Facts will continue addressing common questions or concerns you have raised! 

It is hard to believe just how fast a year can go! It feels like we were just celebrating "Back to School," and now we're getting ready for more than 8,000 graduates to walk across stages next week! Time really does fly by. 

Seeing as we are at the end of our 2023 – 24 academic year, I thought this would be an excellent time to look back and reflect on the school year. This time of the year is always reflective and gives me pause to hold up the proverbial measuring tape and see how much we have achieved and areas we can improve upon. So here is that annual inspection.

 I believe most will agree with me that 2023-24 was a banner year for our district. Thanks to the community's support, we wrapped up an extremely successful ED-SPLOST 5 program and immediately kicked ED-SPLOST 6 into high gear. The work and trust of our community, with 100% of our school posts voting to approve our ED-SPLOST, means that our district still enjoys some of the safest, most well-equipped, and well-kept school campuses in the state. 

Across our county, ED-SPLOST projects are making life better for our students and community by ensuring the next generation has safe and comfortable schools while our teachers improve our students’ educational experiences. 

As a former teacher and assistant principal, I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to know that our community prioritizes our students and invests in their futures. By the way, ED-SPLOST isn't the only place where Cobb residents "walk the walk" of valuing our kids; we also prove it with our commitment to keeping our Forbes-recognized leadership and staff to teach your children. 

Over the last five years, our Superintendent has made a habit of proving to our employees how much we care about them. How? By valuing them above the latest unproven fads that some ask us to spend our money on. 

Cobb puts its money where its mouth is—we tell our staff that they are the best and then prove it by paying them better than any other district in the state. We don't burden our dedicated teachers and staff with extra work because we believe their plate is already full. Thus, we do not waste their time with flash-in-the-pan educational crazes that will disappear as the next news cycle begins. 

Georgia's BEST is another way we prove our commitment to our staff and students. By providing the opportunity for a "no-cost" graduate degree to our staff, Cobb is paving the way for a higher quality of life for every member of our community, especially our students. 

Our teachers have signed up by the thousands to take advantage of earning advanced degrees with a multi-year commitment to stay in Cobb County. This program is a win-win: our students get teachers with better instruction, and our teachers move up the pay scale, which, if invested, can become almost a 1 million dollar benefit!

But really, it's all about our students, isn't it? And Cobb's kids are amazing. This isn't just a lifelong Cobb resident tooting Cobb’s exceptional horn; the proof is too numerous to add up completely, but here are just a few of the amazing things OUR students have accomplished in the last year. 

• Cob students graduate at a higher rate than their peers across the state. 
• Cobb students topped their state and metro peers in ALL subjects on Georgia Milestones. 
• Cobb students led the state's SAT average of 1,045 by 59 points and the national average of 1,003 by 101 points. 
• Cobb students also outpaced their peers across Georgia and the nation in the ACT. 
• Cobb schools and students have won nearly 50 different state championships and dozens of accolades in theater, music, art, and more! (Including a national championship!) 

These accomplishments aren't everything; there's so much more! But, if I want to keep your reading time to five minutes or less, I really must wrap this edition up. The fact of the matter is that Cobb County truly is the best place to teach, lead, and learn; this is true because our community values its schools. You have made our district the wonderful place it is, and you are the reason for all of our success. Congratulations on a monumentally successful 2023-24 school year. Here's hoping next year is even better. P.S. Before school ends next week, please reach out to a graduating senior or even a first grader and tell them, “Job well done”! Your words are much more meaningful than you can imagine. 

Board Chair Randy Scamihorn