City: Atlanta, GA

Category: Education

Telephone: (770) 426-3300

Address: 514 Glover St.

Description: This fast-growing suburban area across the Chattahoochee River from Atlanta has the second-largest school system in Georgia and the 30th largest in the United States. Cobb has more than 107,000 students in 70 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, and 16 high schools. The system also has an Adult Education Center where adults 16 and older can take classes to improve their basic educational skills, work toward high school completion, or earn a GED. The teacher-pupil ratio varies by grade level and specific activity. In general, the ratio ranges from 1 teacher per 20 students to 1 teacher per 27 students. Almost 85 percent of Cobb graduates go on to college. The Cobb County system has 13 National Schools of Excellence and 30 Georgia Schools of Excellence. There is a variety of magnet programs open to all Cobb students by application and/or audition: a performing arts program; three math, science, and technology programs; and an International Baccalaureate program. Special education programs, designed for all disabled students, include programs for children with special learning disabilities, health impairments, and emotional/behavioral disorders. Cobb County, along with the Marietta City Schools, participates in Partners in Education, a program coordinated by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce that matches businesses with schools to provide enrichment and incentives to students. Cobb also offers after-school programs in all elementary schools at a nominal cost. There are programs for gifted students, and there is one open campus school, Oakwood High in Smyrna. Cobb County schools garner a significant share of honors, including numerous national and statewide awards for teaching excellence and school programs. Mabry Middle School earned the 2008-2009 National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Award, while Walton High student Andy Zhang was a Presidential Scholar in 2009, one of only 100 in the nation. Cobb also had five national Merit Scholars. Cobb County annually sends more than 100 students to the Governor’s Honors program, a summer session for outstanding students held on a Georgia college campus.