James MagazineJames_July-August_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 57
threat. And that could involve an
active shooter. The badge also helps
if there is a medical emergency.”
Every Cobb school has a nurse.
Then there are “resource officers”
who roam the schools and many
are Georgia Post-certified school
system police officers. And they
are armed.
Interestingly, Ragsdale said
they have also been effectively
using vapor-wake dogs in schools. I
didn’t fully realize everything these
canines can do. But the superintendent explained they are specially
trained to continuously sample the
air for concealed weapons and explosives, tracking potential threats
while just simply walking and sniffing around a school.
NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS
& INAPPROPRIATE BOOKS
Even before the Biden administration opened the borders, many
public schools were experiencing
an influx of non-English speaking
students (all too many illegal) that
by law cannot be turned away.
That obviously poses problems.
Ragsdale says that “we have 92
languages spoken in the Cobb
school district, but we have several programs to deal with that.
ESOL teachers (English Speakers
of Other Languages) are a tool,
and there’s naturally a lot of stress
on those teachers. But we have
successes. For example, we had a
kindergarten student who couldn’t
speak any English, but halfway
through the year was reading and
speaking it well. It’s amazing what
our teachers can accomplish.”
Finally, I asked about the controversy that arose in Cobb awhile
back over some inappropriate
books within the system that the
superintendent’s staff reviewed
and then deemed inappropriate for
students. Ragsdale said the superintendent has the authority to re-
move such materials; there’s not a
School Board vote that is required
to do that. The process only focuses on books which contain sexually explicit and graphic content.
The bottom line is that “we have a
review process where books can
be removed, and we make sure the
School Board and public are aware
of it,” he said.
Controversies like that one
come and go. But Cobb County’s
impressive record stands, making
it clear why the district is a model
studied by other school districts
around the country. And it should
be no surprise that just two years
ago, at the annual School Superintendents Conference, Chris Ragsdale was recognized by his peers
as an “innovative leader and an
inspiring voice.”
Phil Kent is the CEO and publisher of James
and James Magazine Online.
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