Southern California to Atlanta (Roswell, Alpharetta: school districts, living in, low cost)

[Boston Ken]

Hi, originally from Boston my wife and I have been living in Southern California for 5 years now. We have two small children, 3 year old daughter and 18 month old son. We have been told that Cobb County is a nice area and we will be visiting the area this coming April. I am a school teacher and will be looking for a teaching job so I am interested in areas that are growing and in need of teachers. Any information about Cobb County and the school districts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[merlin70]

Cobb is known as a decent school system. However, personally I like the N. Fulton schools in Alpharetta and some in Roswell. They are a little more cosmopolitan and politically middle of the road, whereas Cobb is more right-wing (witness the recent flap over evloution stickers in the textbooks for example). Depending on your views and teaching philosophy the county's differences could be a factor. Cobb is generally far, far more conservative than Fulton.

Not sure on the pay, I would guess Cobb is a little higher but I'm sure Fulton is pretty competitive. In any case, the extremely low cost of living in metro ATL compared to any location in S. Cal might render pay a moot point.

[Loiyan]

I think Fulton pay is higher, check out fultonschoolsdotorg. They seem to have lots of positions available and new schools opening, so you should not have a problem finding a position. I am also a teacher planning a move to the Atlanta area, but I will be applying in Gwinnett and Dekalb counties, and I will probably live in Gwinnett, I also have a small child, and the schools in Gwinnett may not have as high test scores as North Fulton schools, but there are still some good schools in Gwinnett and its cheaper to live there. Dekalb just seems to have the best benefits package and they pay the most, but there are only a few schools that I would actually want my son to attend or that I would even want to work, according to what others have told me. But I think Dunwoody is in Dekalb so there should be some good schools there. Plus I think they have some good magnet schools. Futlon is having a job fair sometime in February and I hear they hire on the spot, since most principals will be present and they will be hiring for the new schools as well.

[Boston Ken]

Thanks for the information.