Cobb Schools unveil partnership to pay for educators’ graduate degrees

Thanks to a partnership between the Cobb County School District and the University of West Georgia, 500 educators have the chance to obtain graduate degrees free of charge. 

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the initiative last week which was unanimously approved by the school board, which is allocating $500,000 of surplus funds from the district’s current budget to jumpstart the first year of the program. The program is called Georgia’s BEST, which stands for “Building Educator Success Together,”.

Ragsdale said that Cobb teachers who apply and are accepted to the program will have the chance to start their studies by the summer.  Through the partnership, UWG will discount tuition and fees by as much as half for Cobb educators, with Cobb schools underwriting the remaining cost.

Cobb employees accepted to the program will have the opportunity to pursue various degrees offered by UWG, including master’s and doctoral degrees and teaching certifications, like Tier 1 and Tier 2 Educational Leadership certifications, for those who already have advanced degrees.

Cobb County is requiring Educators who participate in the program to commit to three more years teaching in CCSD after obtaining their degrees.