Looking for diverse elementary school in Cobb County (Atlanta, Roswell: house, school districts)

[lavendar1972]

Hi!

I am a black parent looking for a home in Cobb county with a good elementary school. My child will not start kindergarten for a couple of years but I am searching early. I keep hearing about schools in East Cobb but I am concerned about the lack of diversity and low percentage of black students in those schools. I want my child to get the best education but I don't want him in a school were he is discriminated against because of his race. If anyone could tell me about the race relations in some of the East Cobb elementary schools, that would be helpful. Also, does anyone have a recommendation for the best diverse elementary school in any other Cobb areas? I currently live in Marietta in an area where the schools are not that great, so I am willing to move to a better district but I can not afford over $250,000. Does anybody know anything about charter schools in Cobb? Sedalia Park Charter School looks very diverse. Any suggestions would be extremely helpful. Thanks.

[GF72]

I don't think that Sedalia Park is a very good school, although I think those students will end up going to Wheeler High which is a good school.

So by diverse you mean more black students? Any school in East Cobb is going to have mostly white students, but there are a lot of Asian students in many parts of East Cobb too. The Walton High district (and its middle and elementary schools) is around 15% Asian students, though blacks and Hispanics together only make up like 3%. The Pope and Lassiter high districts to the north of the Walton district have slightly more blacks and hispanics, around 7% black. The Walton/Lassiter/Pope areas have the best elementary schools, but unfortunately it may be extremely difficult to find any house under $250,000. The Sprayberry and Wheeler high school districts have much more blacks, but the elementary schools can be hit or miss. Generally, the farther east you go (away from Marietta and towards Roswell) the better the schools are, but the prices also go up. You have to be careful though... I've driven past Powers Ferry Elementary School many times (which feeds to Wheeler eventually) and I would avoid sending my kids to such a run down school.

Personally, if I were you I would not worry about diversity as much as finding a house you can afford in one of the good elementary school districts. I grew up in East Cobb and graduated from school there and trust me, your son will not be discriminated against. East Cobb is a very well educated area that is not racist at all. You don't really need to be worried about racism until you get pretty far from Atlanta and it's inner suburbs like East Cobb.

[sahm3]

if you go to the Cobb County school district website and click to the left on data and student records , then click toward the bottom under diversity enrollment , you can then pick ANY county in the state and any School and get exact enrollement numbers based on diversity etc...

[kaday]

We moved here from up North and my kids are at Murdock. I was surprised to see how diverse the school is. I was led to think otherwise and was pleasantly surprised.

[GFWhite1959]

DIVERSE? Please explain.

[backfist]

lavendar1972

I can relate. I'm Black and a parent of 3. We want to get our kids into the best possible schools, while not sacrificing diversity (yes, like you, I know what diversity is, and I appreciate it). Unfortunately, the better schools are in East Cobb, and are not very diverse. It doesn't mean that your child will experience a lot of problems, but it's fair to ask why a community or school district doesn't share the same values as you.

We once considered Walton High for our sons. It's probably the best public high school in Georgia, but we didn't feel that the unique values that we instill in our sons would be a common value espoused by their peers, their parents or the school. Again, excellent school. But we prefer to find a very good high school that appreciates a diverse student body.

Have you considered Gwinnett schools? Fair warning; the schools tend to be crowded, but you'll have a much better chance of finding affordability, good schools AND diversity.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by backfist

We once considered Walton High for our sons. It's probably the best public high school in Georgia, but we didn't feel that the unique values that we instill in our sons would be a common value espoused by their peers, their parents or the school. Again, excellent school. But we prefer to find a very good high school that appreciates a diverse student body.

I'm a little confused. I don't know your situation and background, or anything about the school system in question, but why would you espouse diversity on one hand and yet choose to not send your kids to a school because the kids there might have different views from yours (and might not share the "unique values" that you have already instilled in your kids)?

Wouldn't that difference of viewpoint itself be a prime example of diversity (in that it exposes your kids to a different point of view than they might normally see)?

Or are you obliquely referring to a homogeneous culture within the school system that you don't want your kids to be a part of (or perhaps subjected to)?

I grew up in Suburban Minneapolis, a VERY different place culterally and ethnically from anyplace down here in Atlanta, so I might not understand some of the subtleties involved. :-) But it almost sounds to me like you are choosing to be isolationist and interested in creating an artificial environment rather than one which reflects the community in which you reside.

Nothing wrong with that; I'm just curious...

[backfist]

I'm a little confused. I don't know your situation and background, or anything about the school system in question, but why would you espouse diversity on one hand and yet choose to not send your kids to a school because the kids there might have different views from yours (and might not share the "unique values" that you have already instilled in your kids)?

We place a premium on ethnic and class diversity because (a) we're an interracial family; (b) we believe in its virtues and values. Cobb county has its history, and it's mostly homogenous for a reason. So if we were to live there and have our kids attend school there, then it would be wise for us to go in fully aware of the community, the people who live there, and why they live there.

We instill values in our children that include self-worth. We also have taught them that society makes value judgments. Now, we're not going to spend the rest of our lives in Georgia, so it makes sense that our kids learn that success and achievement come in all colors. And we believe that we'd do them a grave disservice by placing them in a school environment where the unspoken assumption is that high achievment is a predominantly white phenomenon. That's not our worldview, nor is it the real world. We need to be sure that our kids experience achievement and success as part of a real and diverse body of people.

BTW, we also lived briefly in suburban Minneapolis. Loved it ... for six months out of the year, anyway.

Edit: I went back and re-read your last post. I wouldn't say that we're being isolationists at all; quite the opposite. We believe the more the merrier. We're simply saying "East Cobb, you're way too homogenous, and we prefer to live in a community where people value diversity (or at least aren't hostile to it)." We're not going to try and demand a change, we're just saying that East Cobb hasn't evolved to our liking. The same could be said about Elk River or Wayzata or Minnetonka or Eden Prairie.

[lastminutemom]

As an education advocate, my perspective on this is a bit different -- I don't believe Gwinnett is dealing with diversity particularly well as a school system. Look at this article...

Race And Discipline: What Gives? | Get Schooled | ajc.com

I think that Gwinnett only looked into because advocates have been making noise about filing complaints.

That said, I can't say Cobb is any better -- I do know that the the Cobb Super is genuinely concerned about closing the achievement gap, though it makes him no friends among those overachieving Walton parents (regardless of their race )

I wouldn't send my kids to Walton either -- for different but similar reasons.

[backfist]

I wouldn't send my kids to Walton either -- for different but similar reasons.

Yeah, besides the diversity issue, kids don't usually handle affluence all that well. Our kids won't be getting BMW's or Lexus's to tootle around in. But seeing their peers flaunt their parents' wealth can have adverse affects. We don't want them developing a false sense of wealthy entitlement.

I could only imagine how out of place they'd feel at Walton, simply because their parents lived on a budget. How embarassing.