Coastal Empire Montessori reports academic progress, new literacy program and strategic plan ahead of renewal

Stephanie Babcock Wright, representing Coastal Empire Montessori (SEMCO), presented the school’s 2024 Chevron report and updates at the Savannah‑Chatham County Board of Public Education’s April 9, 2025 informal meeting. The presentation prefaced the school’s upcoming charter renewal petition.

Babcock Wright said the school met or exceeded expectations in five of seven domains on the Chevron report, with four of those five domains scoring 100. She reported a 15% gain in math content mastery and a nearly 28‑point increase in the school’s progress score to 91, changes that moved the school onto the Georgia Department of Education’s progress list.

Coastal Empire provided subgroup and staffing data: about 45% of students are served in Tier 1 general education (including gifted students and some 504 plans), 27.5% in Tier 2, 7% in Tier 3, and 19% of students have IEPs. Mid‑year I‑Ready diagnostics showed approximately an 11‑point gain in reading and a roughly 20‑point gain in math between December and February testing, according to the presenter.

The school described curricular and program changes used to drive those gains: adoption of the Montessori Reading Acceleration Pathway (MRAP) and a supplemental Montessori literacy bundle aligned to the Georgia Early Literacy Act, structured literacy professional development through the Georgia Literacy Academy and Cox Campus, dyslexia risk screening and universal screenings, and revised curriculum maps that align Montessori methods with Georgia standards and pacing guides.

Board chair Atlee Fleming Prince described a governance and operational assessment used to develop a three‑year strategic plan and listed governance improvements including expanded committee capacity, board training, and a recruitment “board bank” of trained prospective members. Prince said the planned move to a new facility will not occur until fiscal 2027.

The presenters and trustees discussed enrollment and access. The school reported current enrollment around 207 and a waitlist from the prior year; leaders said they are deliberately holding some class sizes smaller to meet the needs of students requiring tiered services. Board members praised the data and the school’s board‑recruitment work and asked clarifying questions about MRAP, pre‑K status (the charter is for K–5 but the school operates an associated preschool), facility capacity and transportation constraints.

Coastal Empire said it expects more than 90% of student‑serving instructional staff to return next year and noted ongoing partnerships with GaDOE school effectiveness specialists, the Georgia Charter Schools Association, and Montessori‑focused organizations. The school indicated these changes will be incorporated into its charter renewal petition.