Savannah Chatham County Public School System teachers, students and counselors faced disrupted learning experiences since March 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. By developing a new plan of action, they came out of it with a 90% graduation rate the class of 2020-21. This was an achievement school officials are proud of.
"So, like everyone, we were concerned," said Bernadette Ball-Oliver, associate superintendent for secondary schools. "I think what helped is that as we began to phase back in, our counselors and advisors had the ability to establish meetings with those students."
What it takes to graduate
Following a seven-year trend, the school district has seen its graduation rate increase from 87.1% to 90%. In order for students to graduate, they need 24 credits and must maintain a grade of 70 or higher in required courses, including four years of math, English, science and social studies. Students receive four credits each in English, math and science. For social studies, students earn three credits, and a half credit each in American government and economics.
In addition to these core requirements, students also need world language credits based on their particular pathways. On the college track, students are required to take two credits of a world language, although three are recommended. Students on the Career, Technical and Agriculture Education (CTAE) pathway need one credit in a world language, but two are recommended.
Students on the CTAE track must take four additional CTAE courses and 3 electives. Students on the college pathway need six electives.
All students are required to take physical education and health courses, which are both a half credit. In addition to course work, students must complete at least 20 hours of community service by the end of their junior year in order to graduate.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
The graduation rates
Among the district's 10 high schools and 11 programs, eight high schools recorded graduation rates of nearly 90% or higher. Numbers shown here are senior class size/number graduated/percent graduated:
- Savannah High Early College: 45/45/100%
- Woodville-Thompkins Career and Technical School: 162/162/100%
- Savannah Arts Academy: 231/233/ 99.1%
- Johnson High School: 173/202/ 85.6%
- New Hampstead: 332/342/97.1%
- School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High: 124/134/92.5%
- Windsor Forest: 232/251/ 92%
- Jenkins: 230/254/90.6%
- Islands: 210/236 89%
Ball-Oliver said the biggest increase was at Savannah High in its liberal studies program, where graduation rates increased 7% between the 2020 and 2021 school years.
Based on data from the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE), both Beach and Groves high schools experienced decreases in graduation rates. Beach dropped from 80.6% in the 2019-20 school year to 73.5% in 2020-21 school year. Groves High School saw a decrease from 76.4% to 73.8% during the same time period.
Ball-Oliver attributed the decreases in the two schools to the impacts of the pandemic. She declined to provide more information on what affected graduation rates in those two schools. She said that the district is working individually with students and graduation teams to help students get their diplomas.
Pandemic challenges and pivots
Once the district decided to switch to virtual learning during the 2019-20 school year, according to Ball-Oliver, the district organized graduation teams comprised of teachers, mentors, administrators, social workers, and counselors from each high school to meet the needs of each senior student. Ball-Oliver said the process included home visits.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Savannah High School of Liberal Studies Principal Gequetta Jenkins "and her team have done a lot of work around making sure structures are in place to support those students, like before, after school, during school and Saturday school,” Ball-Oliver said. “They implemented a lot of the same structures that you would have seen at Johnson, Windsor, Savannah Arts and Woodville."
At Beach and Groves high schools, the graduation teams meet biweekly. At the other high schools, teams meet monthly. During the course of the pandemic, schools are continuing to focus on student needs, teams assign teacher-mentors to students, conduct daily check-ins, and reach out to parents.
Ball-Oliver said that once the district began to hold in-person learning in August 2021, schools continued to provide supports for student, including one-on-one tutoring; summer before- and after-school programs; and technology to help students with learning.
She added that even though the district provides multiple opportunities for success, parents play a big role in student progress. “Our biggest partner, too, are the parents and making sure that they stay connected to the school and are part of the process.“
Student Withdrawal and Records Management (SWARM) also plays a role in the graduation teams by locating students who may have fallen through the cracks because of frequent moves or by experiencing homelessness or other interruptions in their education.
Improving communications
During the course of the pandemic, the goal, said Jenkins High School Principal Heather Handy, was to develop a relationship with the senior class. She said seniors were assigned to an advisor and met weekly with them to discuss grades, challenges and even conducted home visits.
“So, there is a network here that can reach out to homes, but also reach out to other teachers within the school to make sure that all students are reaching those needs whatever they need at the time,” Handy said.
Todd Perkins, a 10th-grade honors teacher and graduation team member at Jenkins, said creating a structured environment for students helped improve communication. And 12th-grade math teacher Krista Broadrick said flexibility was key and likened teaching seniors to getting them across the finish line.
“It’s kind of an extra push,” she said. “They are almost there.”
English teacher Paul Sidney said the school has something called Warriors Way, which allowed school counselors, administrators and teachers to communicate with students during the pandemic.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Sidney said even during the pandemic students were still able to rise to the challenges.
"I tell them all the time you did this on a pandemic,... pat yourself on the back, you really put forth the effort, you didn't give up. And you stuck with it. So you earned that, "he said.
One of those students who made it across the finish line in a pandemic was a 2021 Jenkins graduate Georgia Kestner, who completed her senior year online.
"I learned a lot of new things online, but it was sad not being able to get the senior experience like most people," she said. "I did my entire senior year at home in my bedroom and worked online during the whole year."
Kestner said online learning was a lot more challenging because, at times, it was hard to ask teachers or her classmates for help.
"They definitely were on top of us to make sure all what we needed to graduate," she said.
Another graduate Daniel Delo participated in hybrid learning during his senior year, because it allowed him to work with a teacher and saw it as much easier than online learning.
"During school, the guidance counselors were very involved in our learning," Delo said. "Teachers were really reaching out to students, to check-in about their grades, willing to help, ask questions and put time aside outside of the normal time to help students catch up from work."
At Jenkins High, principal Heather Handy credits the success from teachers, staff and the students for their hard work for making sure students were able to graduate. "I have an excellent team here and I'm just really proud of the work that they do day in and day out to make sure these kids are successful."
To see a comparison of 2019, 2020 and 2021 graduation rates, read this article at savannahnow.com/news/.
Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or on Twitter @biancarmoorman.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: "You earned that": Savannah-Chatham County's class of 2021 graduation rates reach 90%
The Latest
Featured
