South Cobb parents unite to improve academics

Jay Young and other concerned parents like him were tired of seeing South Cobb County students receiving lower grades on standardized tests.

In late 2009, Young, along with 11 other people who met through common friendships, formed the South Cobb Academic Task Force (SCAT) to address the area’s achievement gap.

“There is a gap there,” said Young, one of five SCAT core members. “We’re trying to help provide information to parents in the South Cobb area and community. By simply forming, we’ve taken that big step that there’s a problem. The school board in its entirety and the system has a hard time admitting there’s a problem or gap.”

Cobb County Board of Education member David Morgan, whose Post 3 includes South Cobb, Pebblebrook and McEachern high schools, spurred the achievement gap discussion after talking about the issue at the April 13 board meeting at his March 26 town hall meeting at Mableton Elementary.

The Cobb County School Board received an earful about the gap from frustrated South Cobb parents at Thursday night’s school board meeting. Six of the 10 community members who signed up to address the board during its public comment segment talked about the area’s achievement gap, including Young.

Terri Robinson was one of those speakers. The marketing director of Powder Springs’ Community Alliance Partner Network, which develops partnerships with schools and nonprofit community organizations, told the board she had become “discouraged and disheartened” by the student achievement gap in Post 3.

Robinson later told South Cobb Patch that the achievement gap in the area comes from a number of factors, such as economics, transient households and a lack of “minimal resources devoted to tools and techniques” to close the gap.

“If it’s not on the school board agenda, it’s not going to be addressed, at least in a meaningful way,” she said. “Parents are tired of band-aids. We need major corrective surgery to get our schools back on track in Post 3.”

Valerie Testman told the board that she wanted them to “make a commitment to these schools and students.” As she left the podium, the parent of a Cobb County student urged the board to “please address our concerns because we do want our students to achieve.”

Nathaniel Riley Jr. also addressed the board and told them that there was “definitely a distinct difference” between South Cobb schools and others in the county. In addition to Young, the other core members include Clarice Barber-Page, Sharie Bassett and Albert McRae.

“There are specific issues that in many ways are unique to schools in the southern part of the county that we want to provide awareness of,” Riley said after the meeting. “For example, the achievement gap, that Mr. Morgan, our board member, has taken on as a priority is an issue that is pervasive in our schools. The community needs to know that not only does this gap exist, but they can also play a part in closing the gap.”

Young said the South Cobb Academic Task Force’s motivation for forming simply as a group was to increase parental involvement and awareness. Young also noted that SCAT is neither a for-profit or nonprofit to “take away the financial edge” that people sometimes are uncomfortable with when it comes to organizations. The group uses free media sources to alert its members of events.

“We’re not looking to create a legacy to look back at 20 years (from now) and pat ourselves on the back,” said Young, a professional photographer. “We’ve done this in order to help arm the parents of the South Cobb community in their fight to gain an equitable public education for their kids. All things aren’t equitable across the board.”

Morgan said he appreciated the efforts of the South Cobb Academic Task Force.

“Any time you can have entities in the community pushing for student achievement, that’s a good thing,” said Morgan, who became the first African-American male elected to the Cobb County School Board in November 2008.

Young said he plans to have a South Cobb Academic Task Force meeting in May. Interested parents can keep up with the group’s activities by visiting its website at http://scat.wetpaint.com.

Correction, May 3 at 7:22 a.m.: The original article stated that School Board member David Morgan would have his town hall meeting on Saturday. However, the meeting was held on April 30 and South Cobb Patch will have the story and video posted later today.