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Principals cite attendance gains, coaching and community partnerships as early drivers of improvement
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Summary
Principals from Mercer Middle, Hubert Middle and Whitefield Elementary told the Savannah‑Chatham County board the district’s coaching, additional staff and community partnerships are producing early attendance and MAP gains, though long‑term GMAS alignment remains under review.
Three principals presented school‑level updates to the Savannah‑Chatham County Board of Education on Dec. 17, describing targeted supports, staffing additions and early assessment gains.
Mercer Middle School principal Dr. Christian Panton said Mercer receives extensive district and GaDOE support, including full‑time GaDOE school effectiveness specialists and RISA coaching, weekly principal coaching and additional classroom staff. He reported projected NWEA MAP ELA gains of roughly 2 to 15 percentage points across grade bands and said 160 Mercer scholars—about 32% of enrollment—met or exceeded CCRPI Lexile benchmarks. "Mercer Middle School is demonstrating strong, accelerating growth as a result of focused instructional improvement," Panton said.
Hubert Middle School’s principal (identified in the record by role) outlined weekly principal coaching, collection walks, CT3 real‑time coaching and an Everyday Labs pilot to support attendance and wellness. He noted MAP/GMAS comparisons in the presentation and told the board Hubert’s average daily attendance rose from 87% last year to 94.2% this year, which the school credited with contributing to instructional gains.
Whitefield Elementary principal Robert Lewis described district supports (an SSO and above‑allotment positions), expanded ESL and counseling staff and a writing lab funded through Title I. Lewis reported fall‑to‑fall MAP growth in multiple grades (for example, third grade ELA projected growth from about 22% to 44%) and average attendance increases from roughly 91% last year to a current range of 94.3%–96% so far this year.
Board members asked whether MAP projections align with GMAS outcomes and whether attendance improvements directly translate into academic gains. District and school leaders said MAP is a diagnostic tool that shows early trends but does not perfectly predict GMAS outcomes; they emphasized the district’s 45‑day action plans, frequent observations and coaching cycles to sustain gains.
Support from community partners also featured in principals’ remarks: Mercer reported partnerships with Amazon Future Engineers and Georgia Tech; Hubert described collaborations with Curtis V. Cooper and Second Harvest; Whitefield highlighted 21st Century programming and community engagement events that drew large parent turnout.
Principals asked the board for continued technical support and for board members to amplify community engagement as schools pursue sustained improvement.
