AUGUSTA, Ga ()- New Richmond County Schools Superintendent Dr. Malinda Cobb is laying out her vision for the district’s future.

“The first thing that we’re going to really begin doing is getting out into the community and doing a lot more listening. Listening and talking. So with our new strategic plan, part of what we want to do is have more two way communication,” explained Dr. Cobb.

Dr. Cobb has spent more than 20 years as an educator and administrator in the Richmond County School system.

She started as a teacher at T.W. Josey High School, where she was named Teacher of the Year. Later, she served as principal of Goshen Elementary School and the Academy of Richmond County. She has been a member of the superintendent’s cabinet for 3 years, most recently as Associate Superintendent of Academic Services.

She has served as interim superintendent since Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw’s retirement on January 1, 2025. She officially took over as school superintendent on August 13.

She said that her history with the Richmond County School System gives her a unique perspective that someone from outside may not see.

“I think whenever you serve a school system as a teacher, and then become a principal and work at the central office, you’re just so invested in the community,” Dr. Cobb said.

Dr. Cobb is prioritizing safety in Richmond County’s schools.

“We’ve started some metal detectors in several of our high schools. Cost does not allow us to just put it in every school all at once. And we also want to do it right. And at particular schools where there may be worry about an incident, we have our public safety come in and we do some random wanding.”

Dr. Cobb plans to change the school district’s ranking as one of the lowest performing districts in Georgia. Part of that is providing a well rounded education which includes getting students to engage by coming to school and also participating in extracurricular activities. She said that making sure students and staff have what they need for proper education is key.

“Part of what we are focusing on is making sure that we have a well-trained staff and we have a very dedicated staff. I would put our staff up against any staff out there,” she said. “Making sure they have the resources they need. We’ve been going through textbook adoptions to make sure they have those quality resources.”

Dr. Cobb believes it takes a village to raise children, so she also plans to work to increase parents’ engagement in their children’s education.

“It definitely is a shared responsibility. There is no question about that. And we just we allocated two parent liaisons to work with all of our different families to go out to the schools, because we heard from some of the families that we want to help, but we don’t know how to help.”

Dr. Cobb told NewsChannel 6 that she wants her legacy to be that students, parents and staff remember their time in the Richmond County School System fondly. She added that she doesn’t care if anyone remembers her, as long as the work she does affects positive change.