[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6017443,"mediaKeyId","5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e","parentId",5776018,"title","District rolls out attendance pilot using AI “nudges”; board hears metrics and school list","audioSeconds",1007,"startMs",1601000,"endMs",2608000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e&start=1601&end=2608","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e/thumbnail_1601000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6017443/Georgia/District-rolls-out-attendance-pilot-using-AI-nudges-board-hears-metrics-and-school-list","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6017443-8866193dbbae01576ad725975e98719d/orig.mp4?Expires=1775013781&Signature=dWrF1sOI6oiRVrKcn7RPJuvE07xMq-N0QB8piApDvxIP~FRCtJuiTeTyOfRVWrvCRVY7oXaV2gjknESPkDxHMrXAVDE6~xbJsd459ahL3nwD3lmTQ8~khbVN0~LdwJ1PzYtTG5qax9UyUYci~T2MRmNzPjMPUGBSjUoOkEq21ES44BbpjOrm3Y6eRbqQXwgB~ZJDcTdUkt00wPNkRmRkcdtD-xGOJciUzFs52e~ob1aAwXKjujXHNE5-xDsLMA5LXfc9J8cxzoG4eB6nisrjh4ZRAntbefeW9JbThDVL2UmeUjRSDZdbf3BG4YIwtDbfeP354jbIcrKGnyGCRFqn6Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","SCCPSSCommunications","date","2025-09-03T00:00:00Z","article","District staff described a tier‑2 attendance pilot at an informal Sept. 2 board meeting that will use an AI‑powered communication tool to send automated letters and two‑way text “nudges” to families and to provide real‑time aggregated data to school and district teams.
Mr. Butler, a district staff member leading attendance work, said the district is using a PDSA (plan, do, study, act) model and listed three expected outcomes: reduce chronic absenteeism, improve attendance rates and increase family engagement and conversion to supports. “When we reach out to a family, if our follow‑up made a difference and it converted into the student actually leveraging a resource and coming into school,” Butler said, that conversion is a key measure.
Dr. Taylor, who presented details of the pilot, said the tool will automatically generate a mailed visual letter comparing a student’s attendance to peers, send interactive multilingual SMS messages with links to resources and flag outdated contact information. “Families would get personalized outreach that’s easy to understand and offers concrete steps that they can take,” Taylor said. The district will track whether families respond and whether they use referred supports.
Staff named the schools selected for the pilot: elementary — Hodge, Brock, Haven and Gadsden; middle — Duran, Mercer and Hubert; high — Beach High School and Groves. Pilot participation criteria included principal buy‑in, active campus attendance teams and existing tier‑1 attendance interventions. The presenters said they would use aggregated pilot data to adjust strategies and to learn whether the tool reduces chronic absenteeism; staff cited examples from other districts of nearly seven percentage‑point drops after similar interventions.
Board members asked for more rigorous analysis and historical triangulation of attendance drivers. “I do renew my request for regression analysis of the things of the data that we already collect,” said Board member Austin Sprout, requesting statistical analysis to determine which interventions drive change. Staff said some household‑level information is collected by social workers and other casework but may not be housed in district platforms; Dr. Quintina Miller Fields was identified as having case‑level social‑work data collected during home visits.
Board members raised rollout and communications concerns, noting September is Attendance Awareness Month in Georgia. Staff said additional support sessions for principals and district attendance teams would be held and that communications work would begin with the district communications office and school sites. The presenters emphasized the pilot is intended to complement — not replace — school staff outreach and social‑work follow up.
The presentation included pilot metrics and selection thresholds cited by staff: elementary chronic absenteeism target under 15 percent, middle school between 20 and 30 percent and high school under 30 percent, per the presenter’s description of selection criteria. Staff described expected next steps: pilot launch, real‑time monitoring of contact rates and family conversion, and analysis for possible wider rollout.
The presentation was informational; no motions or votes were taken at the informal meeting. Board members asked staff to return with additional analysis plans and clarified that parent facilitators and social workers may be incorporated into the pilot rollout and family outreach.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Informal Session - September 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","District staff described a tier‑2 attendance pilot at an informal Sept. 2 board meeting that will use an AI‑powered tool to send automated letters and two‑way text messages to families and to provide real‑time aggregated data to school and district teams.","taxTitle","Savannah-Chatham County, School Districts, Georgia","taxId",15361,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6017438,"Quarterly change‑order report: board hears about fire‑marshal, asbestos and mold concerns",325,4775000,5100000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e&start=4775&end=5100","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e/thumbnail_4775000.jpg","/articles/6017438/Georgia/Quarterly-changeorder-report-board-hears-about-firemarshal-asbestos-and-mold-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6017438-4af7a1942fb09470fe3cabf9269d1c44/orig.mp4?Expires=1775013781&Signature=hYI29Faqpq2-2-gHjjDetJAwzwYQjsVc8WurBUJmBHlFisYhqnx9FJVEuJskrKGv6gRX8BzUT9mBdKSDIf3rLrwBpEPNrleGJQxvP88c8fNK-mXZrVcKj~vmt7GBaOqZ2x~-~AEgHdUhRPYfuDgSZJmBrLq~~KqCb813NfEhCniKg4kq9ciQDSOzkhp8Dixn4bRNbKEROwAylbX30Ry8yAXXrjHhIiCn4rZYmirrvkivei5-505RqwKHoKvYPFWlKy6G5Tqj06BzG6CL6s0MSeybISarA8E2V9nLqcJkPcnB0~hbnJD7Vqpg4C3KOtxIyqOB~7SgaM9JJDelGiVbUQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A district facilities staff member presented the second‑quarter change‑order report at the Sept. 2 informal meeting, reporting 24 finalized change orders for April through June 2025; six of those had previously been presented to the board.
Board member Grabowski asked why the installation of strobes and smoke detectors had been missed during planning and whether the district could adjust internal design procedures to avoid recurring code‑related change orders. A facilities staff member said fire marshals sometimes add requirements at final inspection that are not present on approved plans, resulting in additional costs. “They typically have a lot of additional things besides what would be approved in the plans for them to give their final inspections and approvals,” the staff member said.
Board member Ringman raised a separate item on asbestos‑abatement additional costs and asked whether the district’s pre‑bid procedures could be improved to identify hazardous materials earlier. The staff member acknowledged that hidden conditions such as asbestos often surface during renovation and said earlier testing or different preconstruction procedures can reduce surprise costs.
Board member Howard Hall raised concerns from employees at 208 Wall Street reporting mold exposure symptoms. Staff said Human Resources, the Office of Instructional Excellence and the Office of School Leadership remain at the 208 Wall Street location but that plans for updated space and relocations are underway; staff said plans for the needed facility updates had been finalized about two weeks earlier. The presenter told members that any employee reporting health issues at that address should contact their immediate manager so the district can find alternative workspace immediately.
The discussion was informational. The meeting then moved to an executive session. No board votes on the change orders were taken at the informal session.","A district facilities staff member presented the quarterly change‑order report for April–June 2025 at the Sept. 2 informal board meeting and fielded questions about fire‑marshal additions, asbestos‑abatement costs and mold complaints at 208 Wall Street.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6017448,"Evans Construction outlines youth apprenticeship push; board hears update",568,332000,900000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e&start=332&end=900","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5776018-fd6d80b9e46736f860c1ec4b91d7670e/thumbnail_332000.jpg","/articles/6017448/Georgia/Evans-Construction-outlines-youth-apprenticeship-push-board-hears-update","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6017448-85caeb3db627f9a9ef928a0c39730a5e/orig.mp4?Expires=1775013781&Signature=OuEOJn49VpEH3EmMbtNFyp~pvdXrHikYMgazQPIPfOs3wiSxMFJVW-LpMMItN5KoQPuagS-khABnbrWzedIo2geL9ZQYsLVtLR~NzbBkxkxDqDnppB-a00pgCIuFyi-6MNlMLbe5Kv4ezJJhvF399MyEhAXyjZRTaJdh2TOc64bKA1s~bgqUYnuCPAu07XDMPMKe8DOT8FEGlJz-n29IuhwX2tW82Edtznrx~D57C8fQ5ph1ZW6KvHzUFm1jcHHO~M0R3HEWe3BtbiKn3tgQkrV0LJUOejVzfnmpgZ51npyZzmldgwTMJdrobIyDUq94ZsH0KcvVt8jZ9GQV~d4wjA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Jeff Jepsen, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Evans Construction Company, told the board of education at an informal Sept. 2 meeting that his company is partnering with the district to expand youth apprenticeship opportunities in construction trades.
Jepsen said Evans has signed work‑based learning agreements with four private employers, helped establish a new lab and classroom space at Windsor Forest High School and supported hiring two construction teachers there. “This is not about a job. This is about a career,” Jepsen said, describing a four‑year industry certification that he said will allow students to travel and work in many places.
The presentation matters because district officials and employers said the skilled trades workforce is aging and local contractors report shortages. Jepsen said the program uses an NCCER curriculum aligned to Georgia high‑school graduation requirements and industry certification standards and that some students already placed with employers are working while in school.
Board members asked how the program would reach younger students and whether it would pair with technical colleges. “Our hope is to get it going in mechanical, plumbing and electrical,” Jepsen said, adding the district cannot place under‑16 students on job sites for safety and legal reasons but can expose seventh‑ and eighth‑graders to the pathway. He said Savannah Tech has discussed dual‑enrollment options for students who cannot access classes at their high school.
Board members also asked about participation limits, transportation and whether private schools were part of the partnership. Jepsen said the four work‑based learning partners are ready to employ 16‑and‑older students and that early transportation solutions are being discussed informally with employers; he said private schools he visited did not have the lab space or staffing to run similar programs.
Jepsen told the board he has already connected about 10 students this year to employers and said students in the program can begin earning pay in high school; he gave example pay figures from industry experience and said apprentices often earn about $20 per hour while in school and may reach six‑figure annual earnings over time with experience and overtime, depending on the trade and hours worked. He emphasized that the program provides industry‑recognized certifications that travel with students.
The presentation was information only; the Sept. 2 session was an informal meeting and no motions or votes were taken.
Board members, district staff and Jepsen discussed marketing the program to students, using guidance counselors and social media, and the need for clearer logistics when students at multiple schools want to participate in a single incubator site. “What we really need within the schools is marketing this program to the kids,” Jepsen said.
Jepsen also described his advocacy for a recent state law change he said expanded higher‑education benefits for surviving families of first responders and, in a last‑minute amendment, included educators. He identified the legislation as House Bill 56 (codified as Senate Bill 62 at signing) and said it was signed by the governor in July.
The board thanked Jepsen and did not take action; the discussion was recorded for information and possible future agenda items.","Jeff Jepsen of Evans Construction described a multi‑year effort to expand construction and electrical youth apprenticeship pathways in Savannah schools, including signed work‑based learning agreements, a new lab at Windsor Forest and industry‑aligned curriculum. The presentation was informational; no board action was taken.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

District rolls out attendance pilot using AI “nudges”; board hears metrics and school list

Quarterly change‑order report: board hears about fire‑marshal, asbestos and mold concerns

Evans Construction outlines youth apprenticeship push; board hears update