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The recent classification changes of Kell and Pope high schools made by the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) could be telling signs age demographics in Northeast and East Cobb communities are changing. And don't forget the economy.

Teams from both schools will move from the AAAAA classification next year to compete in AAAA play where Sprayberry already sits waiting.

Kell and Pope teams met during the 2009 season in Region 5AAAAA. Next year, however, the neighboring teams will play in the same region in the AAAA classification, where Sprayberry will also play.

While Northeast Cobb has seen the demographic changes before, it is a new experience in East Cobb, which began developing in the 1980s, about 20 years after its northeast neighbor. However, though Kell and Pope will move next year from Region 5AAAAA to join Sprayberry in the new Region 5AAAA because enrollments at the schools have gone below 1850 students, it does not necessarily mean the schools will see dramatic or continued drops in numbers.

Enrollment numbers from the Georgia Department of Education explain why the schools would want to move out of a classification that includes schools home to more than 3,500 students. Sprayberry, which moved to from AAAAA to AAAA in 2008 and is the oldest school in the local area, has seen numbers fall from 2,100 students in the 1999-2000 school year to 1,744 this year. However, that number is up from 1684 last year and is higher than the 1,740 students that filled the halls in 2006-2007.

Two year after it opened in 2003, Kell, found off Lee Waters Road in Northeast Cobb, had 1,843 students and moved to 1904 in 2006. Since that time, the school has stayed above the 1800 mark.

Pope, located on Hembree Road in East Cobb, has gone from 2,082 students during the 1999-2000 school year to 1,823 in October, 2009. The drop since the end of the 2008 school year has been about 50 students to the current number of students attending Pope.

With recently-built neighborhoods sitting empty or in bankruptcy in Northeast and East Cobb, there is little doubt the bad economy has played a part in the drop in numbers. However, Cobb County District 3 Commissioner Tim Lee said another element may be playing a part in the numbers.

"As communities mature, it's natural to see changes in the make-up of those living there," said Lee. "This is a district people love to live in, and as those who have lived here for years move, new families will move back into the community. It's a natural transition."

Pope Principal Rick Beaulieu said he also sees the changing numbers as part of a pattern, and a lot of thought went into moving to the AAAA classification.

"Before we made our decision, we did a study," said Beaulieu. "It looks like it is a cyclical issue. The feeder middle schools have smaller classes, but the elementary schools look to be larger. Pope has an extremely good academic reputation and will continue to be a community that people will want to move into."

Sprayberry athletic teams have competed in AAAA play since 2007 but without local rivals. That will change during the 2010-2011 school year.

All three principals at the re-classified schools have said they see the changes as positives for their schools and teams. That includes Sprayberry Principal Ed Wagner, who was the school's athletic director before taking over at the school for the 2009-2010 school year. He said the experience for his teams competing in the AAAA classification has been "great" and adding Kell and Pope as Region 7AAAA foes will only add that experience.

"This will enhance the rivalries with Pope and Kell," said Wagner, whose school has been located at the corner of Sandy Plains and Piedmont roads for 36 years. "Our attendance zone does border the two schools, and parents and students know each other in the community. Sprayberry is looking forward to renewing old challenges by competing in a region with Pope and Kell. It will be fun."

Kell Principal Trudie Donovan said she looks forward to seeing teams form her school compete against schools "closer to our size" and battle Pope and Sprayberry in region play.

"We've been competing against schools with bigger pools of students," said Donovan. "And we did a very good job of competing. This will make the local rivalries that much better. And playing in the same sub-region adds even more to those rivalries."

Part of the excitement of moving to AAAA is personal for Beaulieu.

"The rivalries with Kell and Sprayberry are going to fantastic for many reasons," said Beaulieu. " Ed Wagner, Trudie Donovan, and myself are good friends, and each school is going to be extremely competitive with one another to claim who the best in Cobb County each year. We'll take great pride in representing Cobb County to the best of our ability in the new region, as well as in the state."

The three local schools, along with Osborne, East Paulding, Hiram and North Paulding, will be considered the northern half in Region 5AAAA competition starting in the 2010-2011 school year.

Lassiter High School, on Shallowford Road in Northeast Cobb, still has 1972 students and will remain in the AAAAA classification.

The GHSA currently has five classes, AAAAA, AAAA, AAA, AA, and A, (called "five-A", "quad-A", "triple-A", "double-A", and "single-A" respectively) based on the schools' student population. Each class has eight regions, numbered one through eight, based on the geographic location of the schools involved. Region 1 of each class is usually the southernmost region, with the region numbers generally increasing as one moves north. Regions have been realigned every two years. Starting in 2010 realignment will happen every four years. Regions generally have ten schools, but can range from four to 16 teams.

Currently, classes are determined with a clear cut off: schools with 1850 and greater enrollment are placed in AAAAA, 525 maximum enrollment for class A, and the remaining schools evenly divided between the other three classes. Prior to 2008, the largest 15% of schools were placed in AAAAA with the smallest 15% in class A and the other schools evenly divided between the other three classes. Schools (but not individual athletic teams) can elect to play up to a higher classification but cannot play down to a lower classification than their enrollment places them.

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