Balanced Calendar Back on Agenda

Scott Sweeney's first meeting as chairman of the Cobb Board of Education on Wedesday will feature an old subject. 

David Banks, Sweeney's fellow East Cobb representative on the school board, wants to move up the start of the 2012-13 school year two weeks to Aug. 1. 

His proposal is one of many items on the first regularly scheduled work session of the year, and it rehashes the familiar school calendar arguments that occupied much of the school board's activity last year. 

But as The Marietta Daily Journal indicated on Tuesday, it's unlikely Banks' move will garner much support on the board, which has been split along 4-3 lines on the issue in the past.

The work session begins at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Cobb County School District main office, 514 Glover Street, Marietta. (Here's the full agenda for the meeting.)

Sweeney, elected this year, is among the school board majority that voted to revert back to a traditional school calendar for the current academic year.

That vote set in motion from parents for the rest of 2011. Last month, balanced calendar proponents started a website and an online petition drive . 

Banks, whose term expires at the end of this year, told the MDJ that he receives "thousands of emails about the calendar, I think that’s what the public wants."

He also claims that his proposal would improve staff morale, reduce student absenteeism and save the school system an estimated $1 million in operating expenses.

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On Sunday evening at SIP Riverside, the , , and PTAs will be hosting “An Adult Night Out’’ to help promote the Rachel’s Challenge program at each school and other PTA projects. Tickets are $25 and include unlimited tapas from a special “PTA buffet.”

Tickets are limited to 50 per school. Email for more info or to reserve and pay for your tickets: Griffin - Donette Konneker: aerohydro@earthlink.net; King Springs - Kara Gold: kara.gold@yahoo.com; Nickajack - Faye Yost: fayeyost@yahoo.com.

The event is on Jan. 22 from 6 - 8 p.m. at located at 4403 Northside Parkway.

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(CCS) in Smyrna is holding an Open House for prospective families on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. The morning session will begin with a brief overview of CCS and then transition to time observing our students and teachers in the classrooms. The evening session also begins with a presentation, though a bit more in depth. Parents are then invited to speak directly with our faculty and administration.

Applications for school year 2012-2013 in grades K4-8 are already being taken and will be processed beginning Feb. 1 after current families have re-registered.

Established in 1975, CCS is currently celebrating 36 years of Christian education. CCS is committed to partnering with Christian families in the nurture and education of their children by providing a classical academic program in a distinctly Christ-centered environment. CCS students are taught to think biblically and analytically, to articulate fluently, and to embrace a life-long love of
learning in order to influence our culture for Christ.  

Their distinctive classical approach to learning draws upon proven methods, which are structured around three traditional stages of development in children: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. These are also teaching methods implemented throughout each subject and grade level Pre-K 4-8. For more information, call 770-435-1596 or visit www.ccssmyrna.org.