Public Schools in Smyrna and City of Marietta Public Schools (Atlanta: appointed, 2013)

[hautemomma]

We're moving to ATL and, to date, have been relegating our search to Marietta in the Cobb County cluster of public schools said to be "the best." That tends to mean East Cobb (ultimately with your child ending up at Pope, Wheeler or Walton for high school). However, I've spotted some very nice, more-my-style homes in Smyrna and Marietta (closer to the square, I guess), and it's being suggested that the Cobb County schools for which Smyrna is zoned AND the City of Marietta School District absolutely are horrible. Is this true? It's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around the price points of these homes and them even being in the same county, but the schools in the City of Marietta district and Smyrna being abhorrent.

Can someone shine a light on this for me?

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by hautemomma

We're moving to ATL and, to date, have been relegating our search to Marietta in the Cobb County cluster of public schools said to be "the best." That tends to mean East Cobb (ultimately with your child ending up at Pope, Wheeler or Walton for high school). However, I've spotted some very nice, more-my-style homes in Smyrna and Marietta (closer to the square, I guess), and it's being suggested that the Cobb County schools for which Smyrna is zoned AND the City of Marietta School District absolutely are horrible. Is this true? It's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around the price points of these homes and them even being in the same county, but the schools in the City of Marietta district and Smyrna being abhorrent.

Can someone shine a light on this for me?

East Cobb actually includes the high school districts of Walton, Pope, Lassiter, most of Wheeler, most of Sprayberry, and half of Kell.


OK--concerning Marietta City Schools. They are good. People often spread false information about areas of Metro Atlanta due to prejudices and an over-reliance on "test scores."

For Marietta City Schools, please read and use this post below:
//www.city-data.com/forum/19574712-post5.html
*it will have all the information you need!


Smyrna also has good public schools. The high schools and middle schools in the area are ok/decent--but are getting better. Campbell High School has a highly-regarded International Baccalaureate Programme.

For the Smyrna Area (which includes Mableton and Vinings--many people just say "Smyrna/Mableton/Vinings"), I recommend that you look for homes in the following five elementary school districts:

Smyrna
King Springs
Nickajack
Teasley
Mableton

(Russell and Harmony-Leland could also be possibilities--they are up and coming)


Below is some helpful information about the public schools and the areas I recommended in the Smyrna Area:

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...Elementary.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...ngs%202013.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...kajack2013.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...Smyrna2013.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...s/Mableton.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...ps/Teasley.pdf

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...s/Campbell.pdf

District Attendance Zone and Other Maps

http://www.cobbk12.org/schools/CCSD_...terns_2012.pdf

CCSD Elementary Schools

Cobb County High School Magnet Programs

IB Program


I hope this helps some. Good Luck!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by hautemomma

We're moving to ATL and, to date, have been relegating our search to Marietta in the Cobb County cluster of public schools said to be "the best." That tends to mean East Cobb (ultimately with your child ending up at Pope, Wheeler or Walton for high school). However, I've spotted some very nice, more-my-style homes in Smyrna and Marietta (closer to the square, I guess), and it's being suggested that the Cobb County schools for which Smyrna is zoned AND the City of Marietta School District absolutely are horrible. Is this true? It's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around the price points of these homes and them even being in the same county, but the schools in the City of Marietta district and Smyrna being abhorrent.

Can someone shine a light on this for me?

...The Cobb County schools in the area of Smyrna (largely in the Campbell High School cluster) and the City of Marietta school system are not really all that bad (and most certainly are NOT horrible), it's just that those areas deal with a lot more urban issues because of their lower overall levels of affluence than the area that feeds into the school clusters of East Cobb.

The Campbell HS cluster in which most of Smyrna lies, and the area of the City of Marietta school system has A LOT of lower-priced multi-family housing complexes (apartments, aging townhomes, rentals, etc) inhabited by a lot of lower-income transient families, many of which have limited English proficiency.

It is because the schools in Smyrna and Marietta have a lot more lower-income, transient and limited-English students and a lower overall level of wealth and affluence that the schools in Smyrna, Marietta and other areas of Cobb County are often at a disadvantage, both in terms of public perception and academic scoring, than the schools of the highly-affluent East Cobb area.

I know that it is hard to believe that there are areas within a suburban county that could be so dramatically different, but with a population of 708,000 people, more people live inside of Cobb County than live inside of the city limits of major U.S. cities like Detroit, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Washington DC, etc.

With such a large and fast-growing population there are some pretty urban-like areas inside of Cobb County, a historically-suburban community that is known mostly for its legendarily-affluent suburban neighborhoods in East Cobb.

If you find something that you like much better, don't be scared away from Smyrna and Marietta as the schools are not as bad as some people might have you believe, particularly when compared to the highly-affluent and higher-income enclave of East Cobb.

But just recognize that the schools in those areas have to deal with a lot more urban issues than the schools in the higher-income enclave of East Cobb.

The Campbell cluster has reputation of being able to do relatively well despite having a highly-transient population while the Marietta school district gets a lot more community support with a strong sense of community pride that is rooted in the traditions of the Old South (the Old South-steeped history and traditions of Old Marietta as it is sometimes called).

The Marietta school district does very well despite having a large population of lower-income and transient schoolchildren, though there are select areas of concern throughout both the Campbell HS cluster and the Marietta City Schools system, particularly at the elementary school level and somewhat into the middle school level.

If you find a home that you really, really like in Smyrna or inside the city limits of Marietta and have a concern about the performance of the schools in the area you have an interest, Great Schools.org is a great website to reference with academic scores, socioeconomic makeup and parental reviews of local schools.
http://http://www.greatschools.org/georgia/

Good luck on your search and I hope that you find something that you like and I hope that you find what you are looking for.

[lorilove]

Excellent advice by both aries4118 and Born 2 Roll

[westau]

I don't think most people would say they are horrible but they are average and much further down the food chain then the others you mentioned. As with anywhere else though most of how a child does in school depends on the parents and the work ethic of the kid as long as the school is good enough and has the right opportunities.

With that said I would probably start by expanding your search to Lassiter, Kell, and Sprayberry school zones before going to city of Marietta schools or the Smyrna area.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

If you find something that you like much better, don't be scared away from Smyrna and Marietta as the schools are not as bad as some people might have you believe, particularly when compared to the highly-affluent and higher-income enclave of East Cobb.

B2R, I'm by no means knocking what you and others in this thread are saying. It makes sense to me.

However, I am always surprised when suburban schools are regarded as "not that bad" whereas city of Atlanta schools like Toomer are spoken of as "social experiments" and places where one's children would be "guinea pigs."

[lastminutemom]

A lot depends on what hautemomma is looking for in terms of peer groups for her children.

I know many parents who want their children surrounded mostly by children from families who prioritize education, support the school and have time to physically be in the school. I know others who are confident in their children's ability to thrive anywhere and believe that the school doesn't have to be "perfect" for their children to succeed. I know very few, who put effort into school selection, that want to place their children in a school where few parents are involved, at home or at school.

What I know now, that I didn't know two decades ago, is that in a poorly managed system, you have to have a cohesive group of parents to advocate for effective school based leadership and probably teachers. (I am big believer that the quality of the principal is directly related to the quality of teaching staff. I have seen a bad principal run off good teachers in record time.)

A recent example, DeKalb County just appointed Ralph Simpson as principal of Towers High School, one of the lowest performing schools in the metro area. Less than two years ago, it was discovered that when he was serving as an area superintendent he sold books he wrote to schools he supervised. He was demoted, but he should have been fired. Now he is going to be serving as a principal. Some parents are outraged, but not any from Towers and the system is ignoring the outrage. I promise you he wouldn't have been appointed to Lakeside High School.

DeKalb County School System administrator suspended

[Marsha33]

Have you moved to Metro Atlanta yet? If not, you'll need to spend some time here to see what area you like the most. Gwinnett, Fulton and Fayette Counties also have some really good schools. Also, do you know where you'll be working? Smyrna is great for quite a few employment areas---Vinings, Perimeter area, downtown, midtown, Buckhead, and the airport. Once you know where you'll be working, you can rule out some areas based on the commute. Then as you look at houses, focus on the areas where the houses meet your style and budget.

Smyrna has several elementary schools that are very good--King Springs, Teasley, and Nickajack. And the new Smyrna Elementary will be good. Also, Cobb County has charter schools. For high school, it's very common for students throughout the county to get accepted to magnet programs and some transfer to other high schools within the county. The IB program at Campbell gets excellent reviews. If you are able to pay for private school, Smyrna is a reasonable drive from just about every top private school because it's close to Buckhead and Sandy Springs.

[viningsgt]

Smyrna and Marietta are great places to live, and both are among the closest suburbs to the city core. The elementary schools in Smyrna listed above are great. A family member has worked at two of those schools, and there is great parental involvement, the kids are great, as is the administration and staff. I would have no problem sending my child to any of them. The problem comes with the middle and high school in Smyrna. These schools pull from such a large area, you get quite a mix of incomes, types of housing, etc. This doesn't mean the schools are "horrible", but "lastminutemom" points out the decision parents must make regarding these types of schools. Also, kids that attend the elementary schools listed above tend to go to private school after elementary school or move away to "better" districts, so if this isn't an option for you, your child most likely will lose relationships built in elementary school. I wish it wasn't this way, but it is what it is.

[Cameron H]

Originally Posted by viningsgt

The problem comes with the middle and high school in Smyrna. These schools pull from such a large area, you get quite a mix of incomes, types of housing, etc.

I don't have kids and haven't been in school myself for quite some time, but is this a thing that really emerged with standardized testing? Isn't it a *good* thing for your children to be exposed to different races, socio-economic groups, backgrounds, etc.?

I went to school in a somewhat rural area and shared the classroom with whites, blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, poor children of tenant farmers and bankers' kids, and everything in between, and I feel like I benefited from it, even though a lot of my classmates would have been at a real disadvantage in any standardized testing.

They didn't make me dumber. They probably made me a little wiser. They made *no* difference in my ability to learn.