Our Vision
Mabry Middle School, located in Northeast Cobb County, enjoys a solid reputation for high academic achievement, outstanding fine arts programs, innovative STEM-focused education, a rich history of advanced technology, and a diverse offering of student clubs and activities. As such, our vision is to "maximize student achievement in a culture of caring" so that our students achieve at high levels and are also provided opportunities for social-emotional learning and support. Programs such as Sources of Strength and our school-wide Positive Behavior Program, provide students with rich, meaningful opportunities to become leaders and role models while also growing academically.
Mabry is widely acknowledged for excellence in music, with nearly 90% of 6th grade students enrolling in the music programs each year. Our Band, Orchestra, and Chorus programs consistently earn Superior Ratings at Georgia Music Educator's Performance Evaluations, and as a result, they receive invitations to perform at district, state and national conferences and events each year. In addition, individual students routinely earn spots in district and state honor ensembles.
Mabry is also a STEM-focused school and we have earned CCSD and Advanced Ed STEM certifications. In addition to our focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), we believe strongly in the importance of arts-integration. Therefore, because STEAM embeds the concepts of STEM and recognizes the importance of the fine art programs such as music and visual arts for the creative processes that lead to innovation and invention, STEAM certification is Mabry’s next step. Through our focus on STEAM concepts, we will continue to prepare students to be divergent, innovative thinkers as we increase our emphasis on collaborative, cross-curricular approaches to problem and project-based learning.
Our Mission
Our vision of “maximizing student achievement in a culture of caring”, has led us to our focus on Mabry’s HEART: High Expectations, Achievement, Relationships, and Technology". “Mabry has HEART” is widely recognized by the community as symbolic of the collaborative work of teachers, students, and the community. The acronym can be used to capture the essence of the school's focus for continued improvement in preparing students for college and career readiness, as well as our priority of supporting our students through intentional, social-emotional learning.
High Expectations: Our School Strategic Plan focuses on moving more students to higher levels of achievement through collaborative, data-based decision making and STEAM implementation. Reading, research, and literacy strategies are emphasized in each subject area and writing as evidence of thinking is a pervasive emphasis throughout the school. Student reflection and meta-cognition is a school-wide focus and students routinely reflect on their specific achievement data for the purpose of making goals for improvement. In classrooms, students are challenged to think at high levels through instructional strategies such as peer collaboration, interdisciplinary connections, arts-integration, and problem-based learning.
Achievement: Historically, Mabry students consistently achieve at high levels on state and national assessments. Students are given a wide variety of opportunities to meet academic goals and eighth grade students are offered opportunities to take high school credit courses in mathematics, science, foreign language, and visual arts. Advanced Content (AC) classes are offered to students in the core academic subjects at each grade level, based on eligibility. Local, state, and national assessment data is closely analyzed to ensure that students are placed in the most rigorous and challenging environment possible.
Relationships: Mabry is particularly well known for providing research-based best practices under the umbrella of prevention/intervention student leadership programs such as Sources of Strength, which foster mutual understanding, respect, tolerance, and civic engagement for both the youth leaders and the school community-at-large. In addition, we believe in the power of positive discipline so that students are provided clear guidelines for appropriate behavior and rewarded with incentives and recognition when those expectations are met. Incentive programs such as the Principal’s Charger Club, Charger Champs coupons, and Chargers of the Month are some of the ways that students are recognized for being Respectful, Responsible, and Safe. Mabry also supports the importance of social-emotional learning through the implementation of the research-based, Second Step program, which is designed to transform classrooms into supportive, successful learning environments where students are equipped with the social skills needed to thrive emotionally in today’s complex world.
Technology: Mabry has a rich technology background, which includes the Mabry Film Festival, produced from 2001 to 2010, and technology integration resulting in the receipt of the 2006 Intel Scholastic Technology Grant. Mabry has continued the technology focus with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative, and a myriad of applications that promote student collaboration and engagement. We have wide access to technology with seven computer labs, as well as several student laptop and iPad carts. We prioritize digital citizenry skills and we provide school-wide lessons on that topic. Furthermore, our continued focus on STEM and STEAM strategies ensure that our students are provided consistent opportunities to utilize technology for project-based activities. Teacher leaders, participating on the STEAM Team, serve as examples of innovative practices, extending their support to peers in order to further enhance technology integration throughout the school.
As you can see, Mabry truly has HEART, and we work hard to “maximize student achievement in a culture of caring”!
Cognia Review
Cobb families know the Cobb County School District has a reputation for excellence, as Cobb’s students consistently perform better than their peers. You could live anywhere, yet over 200,000 parents choose to raise their children in Cobb. You know that a Cobb education gives your children a competitive advantage for scholarships, college, future employment, and life.
Once again, Cobb families can feel even more confident their students are receiving a high-quality education following the most recent accreditation review by Cognia, one of Cobb’s accrediting agencies and one of the largest in the world.
After recently completing an Accreditation Engagement Review, which took almost one year to complete, every school in Cobb County has been accredited for an additional six years.
