The Georgia Department of Education is recognizing schools that demonstrated exceptional achievement or growth in reading and mathematics during the 2024-2025 school year — naming Literacy Leader schools for excellence in reading and Math Leader schools for excellence in mathematics. Savannah Classical Academy (SCA) has been recognized by Georgia’s Department of Education (DOE) as both a ‘Literacy Leader’ and ‘Math Leader’ school for the second year. As one of only 406 schools achieving Literacy Leader status from among the state’s 2,314 schools, SCA has demonstrated strong achievement and growth in reading rates in the K-12 charter school’s Elementary, Middle and High schools.  Georgia’s DOE recognized schools as Math Leaders by measuring the crucial importance of numeracy skills in fifth and eighth grades.  SCA was one of 479 schools in Georgia meeting the qualifications to be recognized as Math Leaders. 

The Literacy Leader and Math Leader honors celebrate schools that demonstrate extraordinary student progress and proficiency. Schools are recognized for achievement, growth, or both on annual end-of-grade or end-of-course assessments. The criteria recognize the crucial importance of grade-level reading in third and sixth grades and numeracy skills in fifth and eighth grades and require higher growth from schools with lower achievement levels.

SCA students continue to demonstrate strong outcomes and outscored the county public school system and the state of Georgia on all twenty-two Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) achievement assessments. SCA scored exceptionally well in reading and math across all grades, reflecting the school’s commitment to literacy and numeracy. SCA’s reading proficiency was excellent in all grades with 97.2% in 3rd grade and 93.8% in high school.  In SCA’s math proficiency, the average percentage from K-12 grades was 75.1% and 100% in eighth grade, demonstrating that early enrollment and continuing attendance of this K-12 charter school, leads to consistent increases in proficiency as students advance through the grades.

“To be recognized at state level for our outstanding achievements for a second year is due to the hard work and commitment of our students and teachers in all grades, said SCA Chief Executive Officer Barry Lollis. “SCA’s instructional focus, nurturing environment and culture focusing on our eight core virtues strongly contributes to these academic achievements. We are seeing the positive results from families enrolling their children early in SCA so that they develop within our culture of high expectations.”

SCA is a K-12 school which is open to all students residing in Chatham County, is funded with public funds as provided by a charter that allows it to operate autonomously under a board of parents and community members. It is the philosophy of Savannah Classical Academy that all students benefit from a rigorous, content-rich, educational program that develops academic potential and personal character. Significant superior scoring and the recent accolades in being named a Literacy Leader and Math Leader demonstrate the excellent results of this approach. The school provides an environment that fosters academic excellence through the habits of thoroughness, the willingness to work, and the perseverance to complete difficult tasks. Through a defined traditional, classical curriculum, students are prepared to become active, responsible members of their community.   The school is open to all students living in Chatham County via a lottery. Families are encouraged to join the wait list for the 2024-25 school year and to apply for the 2025-2026 school year.

For more information about Savannah Classical Academy, please visit www.savannahclassicalacademy.org.