Three SCCPSS schools were recognized at the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders Conference in July for Advancing Achievement. Hodge Elementary, The School of Humanities at Juliette Gordon Low Elementary, and The School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High were on the list of 92 schools that have made improvements necessary to exit GaDOE's lists of schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement and Targeted Support and Improvement.

The Georgia Department of Education originally announced the 2022-23 lists of schools identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), and Targeted Support and Improvement(TSI) in December 2022, along with the list of schools that made the improvements needed to exit CSI or TSI status. In addition, to utilize federal 1003 funds to support improvement efforts, the CSI designation has been expanded to include the lowest 10% of schools, instead of the lowest 5% of schools. Schools ranked greater than the lowest 5% to 10%, will be designated as 'CSI – Promise Schools' to allow GaDOE's School Improvement team to provide supports to these schools to either sustain improvement or provide proactive supports before they fall into the lowest 5% CSI category.

Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to identify schools in need of additional support – in Georgia, these designations are referred to as CSI and TSI. CSI and TSI schools were last identified in 2019, as Georgia – along with other states – received a waiver of school identification requirements due to data limitations resulting from the pandemic.

The following Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools are identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement: A.B. Williams Elementary, Derenne Middle School, Mercer Middle School and Otis J. Brock Elementary.  The district has eight schools identified as CSI Promise Schools:  Butler, Haven, Hubert, Myers, Rice Creek, SCELA, Shuman, and Susie Kind Taylor Middle Grades Academy. The schools identified for Targeted Support and Improvement are Largo-Tibet Elementary School and Windsor Forest Elementary School.

Identification for CSI or TSI support does not mean a school is not improving or making progress, and many schools identified in 2022-2023 serve students who were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Progress component, which measures student growth, is not included in identifications for 2022-2023 because data was not available due to the suspension of state testing in 2019-2020.

“It is our responsibility as a state to provide the support all schools need to improve," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I want to be very clear, being identified for CSI or TSI support does not mean these schools are not making progress. Over the last several years our schools have faced enormous challenges beyond their control, and school leaders, teachers, and families have worked hard to get students back on track. CSI and TSI identifications allow us to come alongside these schools to ensure they have the resources and support necessary for academic recovery."

Typically, schools are identified for Comprehensive Support & Improvement (CSI) if they are among the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools in the state when ranked according to their three-year CCRPI average or when they have a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate less than or equal to 67%. However, Georgia updated its CSI entrance criteria for 2022 based on data limitations resulting from the pandemic. 

For elementary and middle schools, in Stage 1, all Title I schools are ranked based on the Content Mastery component score. The lowest 10% move to Stage 2. In Stage 2, Title I schools are ranked based on the Progress Towards English Language Proficiency indicator score. The lowest three-quarters move to Stage 3. In Stage 3, Title I schools are ranked based on the Readiness component score. The target number (5% of total number of Title I schools) of schools with the lowest Readiness component score are identified for CSI support.

Schools Identified for TSI Support

The criteria for Targeted Support & Improvement (TSI) remain unchanged, but utilize the CCRPI indicators and components available in 2022.

TSI schools fall into one of the following categories:

·         Consistently Underperforming Subgroup: The school has at least one subgroup performing in the lowest 5% of all schools in at least 50% of CCRPI components.

• Additional Targeted Support: Among all schools identified in the “Consistently Underperforming Subgroup" category, the school has at least one subgroup that is performing in the lowest 5% of schools in all CCRPI components.

How Schools Are Served

The Georgia Department of Education's Office of School Improvement works directly with CSI schools and provides assistance to help them improve the educational outcomes of their students. School districts are charged with providing supports to TSI schools, while the state provides professional learning and targeted technical assistance.