Cosby Elementary School

I attended CHS from first grade through high school. As a native I know its pros and cons -- and there are both. Like the other reviewer, I went on to graduate college without owing much to the education I received at Cosby. I had to re-educate myself post high school in order to catch up with my college peers. Things are looking up with the elementary part of the school (Cosby is essentially K-12 on the same campus) these days but the high school is in dire need of improvement. There are good, even great teachers at Cosby, but they're rare, and even those few are stymied by the nepotistic administration. This is a multi-generational issue that's not easy to resolve. Its been this way for a long time. Teaching jobs have always been some of the highest paying there (and thus coveted) but are also very political since the administration is staffed by so many with familial ties (and thus allegiances) to one another. The end result is sadly a broken, and anti-meritocracy system. A place where lame teachers are kept on for years and any attempt to advocate for big change by an intrepid few, could mean put ting your teaching job in jeopardy. Its a problem that is rooted in both culture and socio-economics. Poverty, fear of change, and educational ignorance begets another generation of the same, and on and on. Despite this the residents are some of the friendliest folks you'll ever meet. Very content with having very little. And while that's a quality to admire, its also reflective of low expectations and having to cope with little hope of ever doing better than living paycheck to paycheck. Like most poor school districts, Cosby exhibits an over-emphasis on sports. Sports serve to both entertain and offer seemingly a way out. Academics are not a priority in the county (If they were you'd see high school test scores that would indicate it -- and you don't). Most families also raise kids with little encouragement of seeking higher education -- sad but true. Few jobs yields an anemic tax base that provides for fewer resources than richer counties, and less resources prevent the county from attracting and hiring the best teachers, paying for facilities, training, and acquiring the technologies needed to train for the 21st century work place. As a result, companies that require skilled labor avoid places like Cocke County. You and your school-aged kids should too.