James MagazineJames_July-August_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 55
ames occasionally
highlights public
school systems
around the state
and for this issue
we chose Cobb
County— the 23rd
largest school
district in the country. This comes
at a time when Chris Ragsdale has been serving a dozen
years as school superintendent,
so I checked in with him for a
wide-ranging interview.
I learned that, during his tenure, student achievement has been
skyrocketing. U.S. News & World
Report rankings, which include
some 18,000 schools nationwide,
has consistently ranked multiple
Cobb schools in Georgia’s top 25
over the past 12 years. The district
is a reliable leader in Georgia on
student SAT and ACT scores. As for
Milestones standards, the system is
ranked No. 1 in all categories.
Consider, too, the recent
announcement that various Cobb
students received National Merit $2,500 Scholarships and college-sponsored Merit Scholarships.
These students are part of an
elite group of approximately 6,700
seniors nationwide who receive
these coveted scholarships. The
recipients represented eight high
schools and a wide range of career
fields— including medicine, engineering, computer science, business and materials science.
Furthermore, when talking
with Board of Education members,
you’ll hear that employee satisfaction is at a high level. They note
that their system has been ranked
in recent years by Forbes magazine
as one of “the best places to work.”
SERVING THOSE WHO TEACH
I wondered what motivates the
superintendent to keep pushing
for excellence. He responded by
stating his core belief: “There are
those who teach, and those who
serve those who teach. And I’ve
always been on the side of those
serving those who teach. That’s
my leadership style.”
Ragsdale has been in the
education world for 34 years, but
his background was in technology. He started in Paulding County
serving as the chief information
officer. “I worked there 14 years
and came to Cobb in 2006 as chief
technology officer until 2014. Then
I became deputy superintendent
and then the School Board voted
me in as superintendent,” he said.
(By the way, Ragsdale earned a
bachelor’s degree in information
systems, but received a master’s
in educational leadership from
Kennesaw State University.)
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
I asked him what, in working
with the School Board, were chief
accomplishments that have made
in recent years. He emphasized
that “safety in our schools is the
number one priority along with
providing the best education at
the lowest cost.” He also pointed
out that the graduation rate continues to climb and is among the
best in the state. He added that a
great accomplishment is that Cobb
led the state by introducing BEST
(Building Educator Success Together). It’s a unique recruitment
and retention program enabling
Cobb educators to pursue an advanced degree in high-need areas
at no tuition cost to them.
J U LY/AU GUST 2026
SUPERINTENDENT CHRIS RAGSDALE
55
