Best of the Best
YOU VOTED. A lot. In fact, 43,821 of you voted 460,725 times,
nearly
double the totals of last year’s Best Of contest. Whew!
But out of all the votes we received in our Best of Cobb contest, there were five winners
who pulled rank with you – our readers and their supporters - to receive the most
votes in their individual categories. Oddly enough, these five winners actually took home
the top 10 votes in individual categories.
Surprisingly, no restaurants made this year’s list but, hey – there’s always next year!
Here are your 2020 Best of Cobb top 10 vote-getters, in order of rank.
1. Mount Paran
Christian School
1275 Stanley Rd NW,
Kennesaw, GA 30152
(770) 578-0182
Mtparanschool.com
SECTION: Kids and Education
CATEGORIES:
Best Private School (3,852 votes)
Best Performing Arts Program
(3,477 votes)
Best Pre-School (3,451 votes)
Best Teacher, Kelly Moss (3,199 votes)
Yes, you read that correctly. Mount
Paran Christian School, which
actually came in first last year but for
the single category of Best Private
School, turned into a marketing
engine this year, garnering the top
four spots – and handily.
Mount Paran Christian School is
a preschool age three through twelfth
grade private Christian, non-denominational,
college prep school committed
to excellence in academics,
athletics, and the arts. The school is
located on 68 acres in northwest Cobb
County in the shadow of Kennesaw
Mountain and includes a historic
cabin and lake, extensive athletics
facilities, Dozier Hall (the high
school), Sewell Cottage (the preschool),
multiple playgrounds,
Mulkey Building (which houses
administration, the lower school, the
middle school, two gyms, two media
centers and a dining hall) and the
Murray Arts Center (a state-of-the-art
performing arts facility). Founded in
1976, MPCS is fully accredited (SAIS/
AdvancED) and, according to its
mission statement, unites with home
and church to prepare servant-leaders
to honor God, love others and walk in
Truth.
In 1976, with a staff of only two,
the Mount Paran Christian School
Learning Center was established. The
program began with a preschool-kindergarten
program at Mount Paran
Central Church of God in Atlanta. A
combined first and second grade class
and an after-school program were
added the following year. That same
year saw the development and
adoption of the name Mount Paran
Christian School (MPCS) and the
establishment of the first official
MPCS school board. Third and fourth
grade programs were added in 1978,
followed by one grade addition each
year through 1982.
During the 1984-1985 school
year, the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools found the MPCS
elementary program to be in full
compliance with all Association
standards, awarding the elementary
and middle schools their full accreditation.
Mount Paran Church of God’s
acquisition of a 65-acre site on
Allgood Road in Marietta in 1985
provided fulfillment of the vision for a
total high school program. Existing
facilities on the acquired property
were renovated and enhanced. The
high school program (grades nine
through 11) began in 1986 with 94
students. The following year, grade 12
was added, and MPCS received its full
accreditation through the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) for kindergarten through
grade 12.
With the rapid expansion of the
middle and high school instructional
areas, establishment of a wellplanned,
highly structured athletic
program soon followed, and athletic
facilities were constructed. In 1986,
MPCS became a member of the
Georgia High School Athletic
BY KATY RUTH CAMP
30 COBB LIFE | FEBRUARY 2020
/Mtparanschool.com