The summer break is over for students in the Cobb County and Marietta City school systems, as classes will resume Thursday for the 2019-2020 school year.
Both systems which will collectively see about 120,000 students storm their schoolhouse doors to resume their lessons. Cobb County school’s enrollment will be around 111,722, according to its fact sheet. Cobb schools spokeswoman Nan Niel said the projected enrollment is “in line with what we expect on the first day of school and is similar to years’ past.” Marietta City Schools is projecting about 8,772 students to return to class, said spokeswoman Jen Brock. Brock said the system’s enrollment has held steady.
Other school systems starting the school year Aug. 1 include Barrow County, Cherokee County, Decatur City, Forsyth County, Henry County, Newton County, Paulding County and Walton County.
Personnel
Several principals named to new schools will greet students Thursday: Tommy Perry, South Cobb High School; William Dryden, Frey Elementary School; Kristie Brown, Garrett Middle School; Dr. Peter Giles, Kell High School; Dr. Andy Bristow, Durham Middle School; Dr. Dana Giles, Pebblebrook High School; Travis Joshua, Lindley Middle School; Dr. Loralee Hill, Griffin Middle School; Dr. Kevin Carpenter, Cheatham Hill Elementary School; Paul Gillihan Wheeler High School; Dr. Benji Morrell, Pickett's Mill Elementary School; Dr. Shannon McGill, Timber Ridge Elementary School; Jenny Douglas, Vaughn Elementary School; Dr. Patricia Alford, Dodgen Middle School; Cissi Kale, Due West Elementary School; Nathan Stark, Kennesaw Mountain High School; and Alvin Thomas, Tapp Middle School. In Marietta, Ayodele Richardson, will be the new principal at Dunleith Elementary School.
RELATED: Cobb County, Marietta 2019-2020 school calendars
There are about 18,300 employees in the Cobb County School District. Marietta City Schools boasts 1,234 employees. Cobb will welcome more than 1,000 new educators for the 2019-2020 school year, Kiel said. Seventy new teachers will begin their tenures Thursday with Marietta City Schools, Brock added.
School bus transportation
Cobb County schools in March introduced the Here Comes the Bus app to allow parents to track their child's bus in real-time on a map. The district will have 1,000 buses running roughly 1,000 different routes each day, with the entire fleet traveling about 13 million miles throughout the school year. It notes about 70 percent of its students ride the bus.
Marietta City Schools has its Traversa 360 app, which also allows parents to follow the real-time location of their child's school bus. The system said about 80 percent of its students ride school buses, which travel about 630,000 miles per year. Those buses also complete 336 trips each day.
New construction
The new gym and performing arts center at Harrison High School and the gym and theater at Walton High School will open Thursday. Lassiter High School’s gym replacement project is scheduled to be finished later in the fall, and Osborne High School’s new classroom building will open to students in August 2020.
Cobb school leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony July 22 for the new replacement Clay/Harmony Leland Elementary School, which is expected to be completed by May 2020. Also on track for May 2020 completion dates are the replacement King Springs Elementary School and the Cobb Career Academy.
Marietta City Schools is making progress on its new Marietta High School College and Career Academy and the replacement Park Street Elementary School. The College and Career Academy is expected to open in August 2020 while the new Park Street school will be done by July 2020.
Breakfast and lunch menus
You can learn more about meal pricing, how to apply for free/reduced lunch and a rundown of what your child will be served by school nutrition staff members on the school districts' websites. Marietta City Schools has its information here while Cobb County's details are here.
Watch out for students, buses on the roads
Cobb County commuters should expect increased congestion as more school buses, student drivers and parent chauffeurs will be on the roads. The Georgia Department of Transportation has shared some safety tips to help you navigate school zones, buses and children:
•Stop behind and do not pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
•If the lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, opposing traffic must stop unless it is on a divided highway with a grass or concrete median.
•Remember that the state's Hands Free law is still in effect and officers are enforcing the law. Motorists are not allowed to hold their cell phones or support those devices with any parts of their bodies while they are driving or stopped at a traffic signal or stop sign.
AJC reporter Arlinda Smith Broady contributed to this article.
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