Several thousand Cobb County high school seniors will make up the second class of students to graduate against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The district said more than 8,100 members of the class of 2021 will graduate from its 17 high schools. The last day of school for Cobb students was May 26. Graduations were held earlier this week for Cobb Horizon, Lassiter, Pope, McEachern and Kennesaw Mountain students.
Students will graduate from Walton and Pebblebrook on Friday; North Cobb and Wheeler on Saturday; Campbell and Hillgrove on Tuesday; South Cobb and Kell on Wednesday; Harrison and Allatoona on Thursday, and from Osborne and Sprayberry on June 4.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a news release that nothing is more fulfilling for educators than to see their students’ successes come to fruition.
“All the accomplishments of our 8,100+ graduates — $99.4 million in scholarship offers and a multitude of state championships and other awards, to name a few — are examples that our graduates are prepared to take the next step, whether it is career or education-focused,” he said.
The class of 2021 is the second group of students to finish school amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cobb’s 2020 graduates had to adjust to school year that ended with shuttered classrooms and remote learning.
In the fall, the district reopened classroom to students who wanted to complete the school year with face-to-face learning, giving the class of 2021 a chance to wrap up their studies with some sense of normalcy.
Credit: Cobb County School District
Credit: Cobb County School District
According to the district, nearly 80% of graduates plan to attend a two- or four-year institution. One student was awarded the Zyler Johnson scholarship worth $561,000, while another earned the Inesa Miller scholarship, which amounts to $300,000.
Several Cobb students were awarded full-tuition Posse Foundation Scholarships and several more earned full-ride QuestBridge scholarships, Cobb schools said.
Other scholarships awarded to graduates include a full-tuition scholarship for Berklee College of Music, Navy ROTC Scholarship Nurse Option, University of Alabama National Merit Full Ride and a Cobb Schools Foundation Scholarship, the district said.
Cobb schools said several of its students were named winners of the $2,500 National Merit Scholarships and two other students won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships.
The district said its valedictorians will graduate with a mean grade point average of 4.7. The average GPA for salutatorians are 4.6, Cobb schools added.
Along with U.S. military academies, the district said its graduates plan to attend schools such as Agnes Scott College, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, George Washington University, Kennesaw State University, Mercer University, Royal Academy of Music in London, Spellman College, University of Georgia, University of Alabama and Yale University.
