young NY teacher looking to relocate to GA (Atlanta, Alpharetta: apartment, home)

[NYTeacher1]

Hello... I am currently finishing up my Master's Program for Literacy (I received my bachelor's in teaching) in New York and I am thinking about moving to Georgia next year when my Masters is complete. I am a single woman, age 22, and am not really a city girl; the part of New York that I live in is an hour and a half north of the city and it's more of a suburban area than an urban one. I am looking for somewhere in Georgia that has nice districts (I do not want to teach in a corrupt school) with good pay for teachers. I also would like this area to be a nice place to potentially raise a family since I plan on eventually marrying. I have been looking at 2 counties that seem to have good schools and pay for teachers... Cobb county outside of Atlanta and Columbia County outside of Augusta. I have heard good and bad things about different areas in these counties but I would like to know some other opinions from people who live in or near these areas...or anyone that has any good info! Also, would there be any other counties that any one would suggest that fit my description? Thanks so much!!

[BobKovacs]

If you're looking to be more rural, Cobb's not really the place- it's pretty well developed. You may want to look just a little further out in Cherokee or Bartow counties- they both have good school districts, you'll be able to afford more house/apartment than in Cobb, and they're less suburbanized (for the moment) while still being close to Atlanta.

[pgsutk98]

I am a teacher (though now I stay at home with my kids) I would advice you to look at either Cobb, Fulton (but you probably would want to be in North Fulton as opposed to South Fulton), Forsyth, Cherokee or maybe even Gwinnett. I have taught in Fulton and Cobb. Every county has areas that are less desirable than others to teach in, as I have taught in the "bottom of the bottom school district" and the middle range,too. The "top school districts" are a little tough to get into as a new teacher b/c there is not much "turnover" and I'm sure you can guess the reasons why. However, you can usually try to transfer to another school within your county after 2 yrs of service.

Alpharetta and Cumming areas in North Fulton (North and South Fulton are one county just literally on opposite ends of Atlanta) have a lot of good schools, as does East Cobb and areas of West Cobb.

The City of Atlanta pays the best, ( or did last time I checked) though the areas of "desirable" teaching is very small as you can imagine as the City of Atlanta school district encompasses both high income areas and lower income areas all within a few blocks of each other sometimes. Gwinnett Co and Fulton pay well too.

Some ?'s I would advice you to ask and consider when looking at employment at a school are Student Free/Reduced Lunch %, Student Mobilty rate, teacher turnover (very key), % of parent involvement in PTA and PTA involvemnent/support for the school, Title One rating, size of enrollment, and discipline issues. These are all public records, so you aren't asking for anything that isn't out there for anyone to know.

Also, look at how long the principal has been at the school and teacher avg tenure. Stability in leadership and teachers and parental involvement are all major keys to success in schools. Test scores only reflect a small picture of what's going on at the school so don't let those deceive you.

Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions.

[Suerifik]

I agree with pgsutk98. Cobb (East Cobb), Cherokee and Forsyth County's would all be good choices. My kids went to Pope H.S. in E. Cobb and we now live in Cherokee. Cherokee and Forsyth are more rural with a bit more room to roam, yet close enough to get to Atlanta when you want to go. Not as crowded or expensive as E. Cobb either. My daughter-in-law has been teaching in Cherokee for two years and is very happy with the school system and the pay.

[galove]

I agree with the above statements. Check out the Mill Creek Cluster & Collins Hill in Gwinnett County also. I wouldn't advise Columbia County (I've lived in both counties) there are many more issues in Columbia County and MUCH less parental involvement there. This area does not offer much for young adults or teens for that matter, in my opinion creating some of the issues that they have. I think you would have better luck in ATL area.

[marian-46]

Monroe County Ga.has an excellant school system and is about an hour south of Atlanta. It is a very small town ,good pay , everybody knows everyone and the area needs good teachers.