Ruafika Cobb named Ira B. Jones Elementary School’s next principal

Press release from the office of Asheville City Schools:

Following the May 4th meeting of the Asheville City Board of Education, Ruafika Cobb has officially been named the new principal of Ira B. Jones Elementary School.

Effective immediately, Cobb will begin her permanent position with Ira B. Jones where she’s “looking forward to continuing to build and foster relationships with the students, staff and families of the Jones community.”

Cobb has served as the school’s interim principal since October 2019. Since starting, she has worked hard to establish and maintain a positive rapport as well as tenaciously ensured processes and schedules were created to facilitate collaboration through engaging, culturally relevant lessons. Additionally, her focus has been on providing on-going opportunities for student data to be shared and discussed.

An experienced educator with almost twenty years of experience, Cobb began her career as a Math and Science teacher at Frisbie Middle School in Rialto, CA.

In 2005, she began her Asheville City Schools tenure as an Algebra I teacher at Asheville Middle School. There, she not only designed lesson plans that catered to students’ interests and diverse needs but also used effective classroom management and discipline strategies which motivated her students to succeed. A distinguished educator, Cobb was even named Asheville City Schools’ Outstanding Secondary Math Teacher in 2008!

Following her time at Asheville Middle School, she was Hall Fletcher Elementary School’s Math Coach for two years before becoming Isaac Dickson Elementary School’s Assistant Principal in 2012. This new position meant that, from 2012-2018, Cobb was Dickson’s testing coordinator and equity team leader administrator. Additionally, she served as an instructional leader, cultivated an environment that encouraged open
communication as well as mentored teachers in the creation and implementation of powerful learning environments, lesson plans and student assessments.

In addition to juggling her many assistant principal responsibilities, Cobb even served as Asheville City Schools’ 2013 Summer School Plus Program Administrator, organizing and developing summer school opportunities for five elementary schools.

Cobb served as Asheville High School’s assistant principal from August 2018 – October 2019 before becoming Ira B. Jones’ interim principal in October 2019.

In addition to her experiences with Asheville City Schools, Cobb was an adult education math teacher at Asheville-Buncombe Community College from 2015-2017. She was also asked to present at both the 2017 and 2018 Integrated Comprehensive System for Equity National Conferences.

Mrs. Cobb earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Tuskegee University as well as a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership from East Tennessee State University.

When asked about her educational philosophy, Cobb immediately responded “Students have to feel safe and loved at school in order to succeed. Yes, it’s incredibly important that they progress academically, but I’m much more focused on our students loving what they learn.”

A firm believer that positive, strong relationships are the foundation for student growth and development, she added, “it’s important that students find school to be enjoyable and build those positive relationships with their fellow classmates, staff and teachers. For most students, elementary school is their first glimpse at learning. If they love school now, we have an excellent shot of them becoming life-long learners.”

During her free time, Mrs. Cobb enjoys scrapbooking, baking, cooking, watching movies and spending time with family. She lives in Black Mountain with her husband, Demeseh, and their three children, Kokayi, Keyvaun and Ashanti.