The Cobb County Board of Education approved a balanced calendar for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years during its Nov. 11, 2009 meeting. Each school year will begin the first week of August and end the Friday prior to Memorial Day in May. The 180-day balanced calendar includes one-week mid-term breaks for students and teachers in September and February and a full week of Thanksgiving holidays. The first semester of each school year will conclude before the winter holidays in December.

In September 2009, the Board requested that Superintendent Fred Sanderson develop different calendar options for the Board to review. Four options were presented during the October 14 work session with varying start dates and breaks. These options were posted for review on the District Web site and all school Web sites, along with contact information for the seven Board members. The District used its automated calling system to notify 63,000 student households of the calendar options, and also included calendar information in its regular Board of Education e-mail newsletter, which reaches more than 24,000 community members. More than 8,400 Cobb County teachers and employees responded to a District survey asking which survey option they preferred. More than 50 percent voted in favor of the balanced calendar option.

The Cobb County School District will monitor the impact of a balanced calendar on key operational areas, including student achievement, attendance, and discipline, as well as teacher morale and retention. Evidence and data from some districts that have adopted balanced calendars appear to support at least some correlation between the calendar change and improvements in these areas. The District also will track potential impacts on maintenance and utility costs.

Conference weeks and any early release days for the approved calendars will be determined at a later date.

2010-2011 School Year Calendars

• 2010-11 School Year at a Glance Calendar

2011-2012 School Year Calendars

• 2011-12 School Year at a Glance Calendar

2012-2013 School Year Calendars

• 2012-13 School Year at a Glance Calendar

ROUNDABOUTS IN ROSWELL

The City of Roswell is preparing to begin construction on the City’s first roundabout at the intersection of Grimes Bridge Road and Norcross Street/Warsaw Road.  The five-leg roundabout will allow the removal of the traffic signal and allow traffic to move freely through the intersection.

Roswell DOT has prepared material to inform you about how roundabouts work and how to travel through them.  There is strong evidence from across the United States and in Georgia that confirms roundabouts:

• reduce accidents and injury crashes
• provide increased pedestrian and bicycle safety
• reduce vehicle speeds
• reduced vehicle delay and fuel consumption
• improve air quality by reduced vehicle idling
• reduce electricity usage (by removing existing traffic signal) therefore less cost to the city
• reduce road noise
• provide a sustainable, aesthetically pleasing improvement

In terms of the Grimes Bridge/Warsaw/Norcross roundabout project, it is important to note that:

• Modern roundabouts are safer than a traditional intersection with a traffic signal
• No houses will be taken or demolished as a result of this project
• No significant specimen trees will be removed or harmed due to this intersection improvement project
• The construction of this project requires no road closures
• The construction cost is estimated to be $950,000

Additional information is available in the Roundabout FAQs including City responses to misinformation being distributed in the community

Read a two-page Fact Sheet about the Grimes Bridge/Warsaw/Norcross roundabout project

Review the conceptual drawing of the Grimes Bridge/Warsaw/Norcross roundabout.

Review a two-page brochure discussing the navigation of a roundabout and the safety benefits of roundabout installation.

Watch a video produced by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

Several web pages specifically discussing roundabouts are listed below:

Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS)
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT)
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)
Arizona Department of Transportation (AzDOT)
University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies

If you have questions or need additional information, contact the Roswell DOT.

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

Presbyterian Church, 755 Mimosa Blvd, Roswell GA, in their gorgeous 1,000 seat sanctuary. Concert begins at 7:30, and seating begins at 7:00. 100% of ticket proceeds benefit four different programs that focus on disadvantaged children, one in our city, one in our state, one national, and one international !!! Tickets are $10, and can be purchased in advance (770-993-6316) or at the door. The perfect music to get you in the Christmas spirit !!!

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

Improving your FICO® credit score

It’s important to note that raising your FICO credit score is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick fix. In fact, quick-fix efforts can backfire. The best advice is to manage credit responsibly over time. See how much money you can save by just following these tips and raising your credit score.

Payment History Tips

• Pay your bills on time.
  Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on your FICO score.
• If you have missed payments, get current and stay current.
  The longer you pay your bills on time, the better your credit score.
• Be aware that paying off a collection account will not remove it from your credit report.
  It will stay on your report for seven years.
• If you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor.
  This won’t improve your credit score immediately, but if you can begin to manage your credit and pay on time, your score will get better over time.

Amounts Owed Tips

• Keep balances low on credit cards and other “revolving credit”.
  High outstanding debt can affect a credit score.
• Pay off debt rather than moving it around.
  The most effective way to improve your credit score in this area is by paying down your revolving credit. In fact, owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your score.
• Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score.
• Don’t open a number of new credit cards that you don’t need, just to increase your available credit.
  This approach could backfire and actually lower your credit score.

Length of Credit History Tips

• If you have been managing credit for a short time, don’t open a lot of new accounts too rapidly.
  New accounts will lower your average account age, which will have a larger effect on your score if you don’t have a lot of other credit information. Also, rapid account buildup can look risky if you are a new credit user.

New Credit Tips

• Do your rate shopping for a given loan within a focused period of time.
  FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.
• Re-establish your credit history if you have had problems.
  Opening new accounts responsibly and paying them off on time will raise your credit score in the long term.
• Note that it’s OK to request and check your own credit report.
  This won’t affect your score, as long as you order your credit report directly from the credit reporting agency or through an organization authorized to provide credit reports to consumers.

Types of Credit Use Tips

• Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed.
  Don’t open accounts just to have a better credit mix – it probably won’t raise your credit score.
• Have credit cards – but manage them responsibly.
  In general, having credit cards and installment loans (and paying timely payments) will raise your credit score. Someone with no credit cards, for example, tends to be higher risk than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly.
• Note that closing an account doesn’t make it go away.
  A closed account will still show up on your credit report, and may be considered by the score.

Provided by Bank of America Senior Home Loan Consultants:

Kathy Vitali and Bragg Boyd

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

Your East Cobb Realtor would like to share this important information with YOU!

Ninety-four percent of Cobb County 11th graders met or exceeded standards on the 2009 Georgia High School Writing Test. Cobb students’ average scale score of 224 remains higher than average scale scores for metropolitan Atlanta and Georgia. The scale used to measure achievement ranges from 100 to 350, with a score of 200 as “meets expectations,” and 250 as “exceeds expectations.” Administered in September to 7,496 students, the writing test requires students to write a persuasive paper on an assigned topic in a limited time window. The assessment is the part of the Georgia High School Graduation Test, a requirement for all students pursuing a high school diploma.

Cobb’s population of Students with Disabilities (SWD) and English Language Learners (ELL) also performed well on the writing test. The percentage of Cobb’s Students with Disabilities meeting or exceeding expectations was 75 percent, compared to just 62 percent of their peers statewide (see Table III). Sixty-nine percent of ELL students tested in the district met or exceeded expectations, compared to sixty-six percent across the state.

Individual schools across the district fared well on the writing test. At 13 of the district’s 17 high schools, 90 percent or more of the students met or exceeded expectations. Seven schools – Allatoona, Harrison, Hillgrove, Kell, Lassiter, Pope and Walton - led all others with 95 percent or more of students scoring at or above expectations, with Lassiter and Pope students topping the district at 98 percent meeting or exceeding expectations.

The Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) domains, or broad themes, covered by the writing test include Ideas, Organization, Style, and Convention. The Ideas domain measures the degree to which the writer establishes a controlling idea and elaborates the main points with examples, illustrations, facts or details. In the Organization domain, students are assessed on their ability to arrange ideas in a clear order consistent with the persuasive genre. Style points are awarded based on the writer’s ability to control language and engage the reader. The Conventions domain measures the degree to which the writer demonstrates control of sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. Test scores are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. In each domain, Cobb 11th graders scored higher than their peers across the state. Three of the high schools across the district had domain scores that were consistently higher than averages for both the district, metro area and state.

Superintendent Fred Sanderson said, “Writing is an essential skill for high school and beyond. We are pleased that these scores reflect the competitive ability of our students, especially for our special populations.”

In March 2010, Cobb 11th graders will be assessed on the language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science portions of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT).

For more information, click here.

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

The extension and expansion of the popular home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

The new law extends the existing credit for first-time homebuyers, worth up to $8,000, through April 30, 2010.

A new credit of up to $6,500 is available to qualifying existing homeowners who buy a new primary residence (or have one built) by April 30, 2010, if they owned their existing home for five consecutive years over the last eight years.  Second homes don’t qualify.

Home buyers have to repay the credit if they live in their primary residence less than 36 months and are not members of the military.

The new rule also raises the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers, from the current $75,000 and $150,000.

The maximum allowed home purchase price is $800,000.

Both first-time home buyers and others must close escrow by June 30, 2010.

Military personnel, deployed overseas for a minimum of 90 days in 2008 or 2009, would have until April 30, 2011 to claim the tax credit.

Buyers can claim the credit on their 2009 taxes, even if the purchase is made in 2010 by filing an amended return. Buyers who don’t owe taxes can have the credit refunded to them.

More information is available from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including a question and answer page.

That’s all good news for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors says as many as 400,000 resale transactions (1.2 million for both new and resale homes) were completed specifically because of the first-time home buyer tax credit, since it began, and that put a dent in the housing inventory.

Home sales also add property and sales tax revenues to the coffers of local governments as reduced inventory helps boost prices and home values.

Fortunately, the tax credit also has been available at a time when often have been below 5 percent.

Fortunately, the first-time home buyer tax credit’s availability has coincided with mortgage rates often hanging below 5 percent, according to Jeff Howard, CEO of Erate.com.

As the Nov. 30 tax credit deadline neared, reports from the Commerce Department, revealed new home sales slipped 3.6 percent in September and were down 7.8 percent from September 2008.

Tax credit history

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Congress first created a $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit for those who purchased a home between April 8, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

Later, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress extended the credit and raised it to an $8,000 tax credit for those who purchased homes by the current Nov. 30, 2009 expiration date.

By October 9, 2009, more than 1.2 million tax returns had claimed about $8.5 billion in the refundable tax credit, for both new and resale homes – according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

A TIGTA audit also revealed last month that nearly 90,000 taxpayers — including nearly 600 children — may have fraudulently enjoyed the credit, hoodwinking the government out of more than $600 million.

The new legislation includes provisions to stifle fraud after the Internal Revenue Service identified 167 suspected criminal schemes and opened nearly 107,000 examinations of potential civil violations of the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Cheating the IRS is a federal felony that comes with a fine of up to $250,000 and three years in a federal pen, or both.

To combat fraud, a HUD-1 Settlement Statement will have to be attached to the tax return to secure the credit.

Source: Broderick Perkins, operates the Silicon Valley-based DeadlineNews Group digital news service. Get the feed from the Deadline Newsroom

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

One of the most sought after communities in Marietta is EastHampton in prestigious East Cobb County, Georgia.

Comprised of 430 homes, this subdivision is located 20 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

EastHampton is privy to some of the highest ranked schools, not only in Georgia, but in the nation.  Pope High School and Walton High School were both named among America’s Top Public Schools.

Residents are able to take advantage of the complete amenity package the neighborhood provides including an Olympic sized pool with water slide, six tennis courts, a well appointed, two-story clubhouse with gym, two playgrounds and three lakes.

EastHampton is divided into sections – The Enclave, Lakeside, Overlook, Preserve, Estates and The Ridge.

Within walking distance of the Avenues at East Cobb and East Cobb restaurants that are easily accessible.

No wonder so many people find their home in EastHampton.

Welcome To Chimney Springs

Chimney Springs is a large, beautiful, proud community with homes ranging from the mid $200’s to the high $400’s.  A well-maintained neighborhood with a topnotch swimming pool and tremendous tennis facilities.

The Clubhouse is available for Homeowners to rent.

There are jogging trails, a bike path, basketball courts, three mini-parks, a lake-beach area, cul-de-sac islands and other common areas known as the Greenbelt Areas.

Homeowners Association membership is mandatory with home ownership.

Chimney Springs has the honor of being in one of the best East Cobb School Districts with Tritt Elementary, Hightower Trail Middle and Pope High School.

Take Johnson Ferry Road north, turn right on Post Oak Tritt and Chimney Springs will be on your right.

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com

CHIMNEY LAKES IN EAST COBB

Nestled in a perfect location that gives you the best of everything!

Chimney Lakes is made up of 350+ homes.  Their unique position allows residents to reside in Cobb County while possessing a Roswell address.

Home is where the best schools are for most families and Chimney Lakes is privy to Shallowford Falls Elementary, Simpson Middle and Lassiter High (listed as one of America’s Top Public Schools).

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Chimney Lakes has three convenient entrances/exits to the community.

From any of these three exits you will find gas stations, grocery stores, drug stores, health clubs, golf courses, and churches.  If you feel the desire to shop there is a Wal-Mart Superstore and a brand new Target Superstore nearby. Upscale shopping that is in the reasonably close area include: The Avenues of East Cobb, Northpoint Mall of Alpharetta, Perimeter Mall and the Buckhead District and also there is the Town Center Mall in Kennesaw.

From any of the three entrances you will find immaculately maintained, well-groomed and well-lit landscaping guiding you through the sidewalk-lined streets.  Of course, it couldn’t be called Chimney Lakes without a lake.  Residents are able to enjoy the deck overlooking the beautiful water, a gazebo, several walking trails, tennis courts, basketball hoops and a swimming pool.

Come see for yourself why Chimney Lakes is one of the most desirable communities of East Cobb!

Call or Email me today for all of your Real Estate needs! Jodi Smith, East Cobb Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Consultants.  Helping you find Homes in East Cobb, Homes in Marietta, Homes in Roswell and Homes in Alpharetta.  CELL:  678-763-6025 or EMAIL: jodismith@kw.com