Savannah Classical Academy Interim Director Barry Lollis was one of only a handful of district representatives selected to present at the sixth annual Georgia Education Leadership Institute. This year’s Institute focused on one overarching theme – All in for Georgia’s Students – which guided the selection of speakers and programming elements for the 2018 conference.

During this conference educational leaders studied innovations from around the state in curriculum and classroom instruction, while others focused on partnerships with business and industry; school climate and safety; identifying, developing and retaining great teachers; or best practices for business and operational management which are all core contributors to the success of school systems.

Over 50 education leaders attended Lollis’ breakout session which focused on effective sustainable school improvement strategies. He shared how to effectively increase student outcomes and graduation rates in diverse schools, sharing an example from a school where he served as principal in which the graduation rate increased from 63% to 92% while also exceeding the state CCRPI Score. Lollis also shared insights into the huge progress made at SCA in his current role where students’ academic achievements and milestone data have improved dramatically during the last academic year.

The Institute featured two key note speakers – David Moody, who empowered attendees with a better understanding of how to support students, staff and colleagues dealing with trauma; and Dr. Melissa Gratias, who helped guests take control of the workday in order to gain control of their time. The conference culminated with a powerful opportunity for attendees to hear from leaders in the field of school safety and mental health.

“This was a great opportunity for me to share the knowledge I have gained through my experiences in the education field and to discuss ideas with other education leaders,” said Lollis. “It’s important that educators share tools with each other as we all strive to educate students and help them to develop into contributing members of society.”