The Board of Directors at Savannah Classical Academy (SCA) announced the appointment of Barry Lollis to the permanent position of Director.  This announcement coincides with confirmation from the Georgia Department of Education that SCA’s charter has been renewed for five years - a clear endorsement for the school’s current leadership.

Scott McGhie, Chair of the Board of Directors at SCA said "We went through a stringent process of reviewing applications and interviewing for this position and our board unanimously voted to remove the interim part from Barry Lollis’ title and appoint him as our school’s Director.  His commitment to the charter school model combined with his extensive experience in education and keen focus on student achievement, financial and operational successes has resulted in significant achievements for the school in the fields of academic success and staying true to the values, vision and mission of SCA.”  The charter school’s core values encompass compassion, perseverance, courage, respect, responsibility, diligence, temperance and integrity.

Lollis first joined SCA in 2017 as Director of Curriculum and Instruction to assist in the charter school’s removal from the Turnaround Eligible Schools list and moratorium on registration. In Summer 2018, Lollis became Interim Director of SCA; milestone data released by the State of Georgia at this time demonstrated that the percentage of students scoring at or above State Performance Target (SPT) levels had increased significantly in all grades at SCA over the 2017-18 academic year and the moratorium was lifted.  In addition, SCA outperformed or was close to every Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS) average score for all grades and in all of the areas measured.  In the 2018 Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS) assessment for 2018, SCA ranked number five among the 34 Kindergarten programs in SCCPSS and also ranked as the highest performing charter school in the district.  SCA went on to report outstanding results in the Georgia Department of Education’s 2018 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores as the school significantly outperformed both the District and State in these respected progress measurement tools.

A former high school Principal at Windsor Forest, Lollis came to SCA in 2017 and clearly has the right experience and expertise to build on these successes. A graduate of Georgia Southern University and Piedmont College with a Specialist Degree in Education, Lollis is an innovative educator who has worked in the Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) since 2004, starting his career working in a charter school.  He was recently appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia to serve on the Georgia Department of Education Charter Advisory Committee as the only charter school leader currently sitting on this state appointed educational committee.

Scott McGhie concludes, “We are delighted that the State of Georgia has confirmed SCA’s charter renewal for the next five years and that Barry Lollis has accepted the permanent position of Director.  The board is confident that under his leadership, our school will continue to offer an excellent education as it grows and becomes a K-12 school in August of this year.”