The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System wants input from staff, community, as well as student and alumni groups before hiring new principals at two schools.
Chief of Schools Raymond Barnes said the district is “piloting a revised principal hiring process” through Principal Profile Meetings scheduled for next week.
The two schools seeking new leaders are Alfred E. Beach High School and John W. Hubert Middle School.
Barnes said the meetings will help develop leadership characteristics and competency profiles to assist with principal selection at the schools.
School performance at Beach and Hubert
The two schools are among the district’s lowest performing within their respective grade clusters (elementary, middle school or high school) related to grade level Content Mastery and Readiness, according to the Georgia Department of Education’s School Year 2024 College & Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI).
Content Mastery factors include achievement scores in English language arts, math, science, and social studies on Georgia Milestones and Georgia Alternate Assessment 2.0. Readiness measures students’ preparedness for the next grade level, college or career. Readiness indicators for elementary and middle schools include literacy, student attendance, and beyond the core. High school students’ readiness indicators are literacy, student attendance, accelerated enrollment, pathway completion, and college and career readiness.
Hubert’s Content Mastery index for 2024 was the lowest of all district middle schools. Based on the state average for Content Mastery and Readiness in the district’s annual report from the April regular board meeting, Hubert is also one of 16 district middle schools that fell below the state average performance in both areas. Beach is one of eight district high schools that fell below the state’s average Content Mastery and Readiness scores. Additionally, 29 of the district’s elementary schools fell below the state’s average Content Mastery score, while 23 of them fell below the state’s average Readiness score.
The Spring 2024 and Winter 2023 Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) results for Hubert showed that 51% of eighth graders, 65% of seventh graders and 78% of sixth graders scored below grade level on reading status. Roughly 30 out of 440 students who took last year’s GMAS Math assessment at Hubert scored proficient or above.
The same GMAS results period showed that 52% of Beach High students scored at below grade level status on the end of course assessment for American Literature and Composition. Approximately 32.8% scored proficient or above on the Algebra portion.
GMAS scores for the 2024-2025 academic year have not yet posted.
Hubert Out Bad: Middle school has faced challenges this year
Hubert started out the first day of the school year down an assistant principal. As reported by The Current in August 2024, India Nicole Young resigned prior to the start of the 2024-2025 school year after being indicted on federal charges of theft of government money, property and records. At the time, the school district’s Information Manager Sheila Blanco told The Current, the charges were unrelated to Young’s “actions taken as an employee of the district.”
On Jan. 30, Young signed a plea deal with the U.S. Southern District Court of Georgia Savannah Division in which she agreed to five years’ probation and restitution of more than $230,000 owed to both the Social Security Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The plea deal also included 40 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months.
More recently, a Hubert staff member stated via text communication to the Savannah Morning News that head Principal Brian Dotson had been asked to leave the school around 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 6. The source shared that Dotson had been demoted and was asked to take a different assignment.
The staff member along with additional sources from the Hubert school community have been granted anonymity for this story for fear of reprisal against themselves and students.
Executive Director of Communications Stacy Jennings stated via a May 8 email that Dotson had been on approved personal leave as of May 6. She confirmed that teachers and staff reported to Network Superintendent of Secondary Schools Ronardo Reeves in Dotson’s absence. At the time, she stated that Dotson remained the principal of Hubert. No further update has been provided at this time.
The staff member and another colleague, in separate interviews, expressed concerns about leadership choices throughout the school year that worsened the culture of the school, which they felt had already had its share of challenges. Both sources stated that literacy remains a core issue. The staff members also alleged that students have been allowed to misbehave without recourse throughout the academic year, imperiling their peers and staff.
According to statements from a student’s family member and the two staff members, Hubert has also struggled to provide consistent special education (SPED) services, particularly to those with Individual Education Plans, or IEPs. The staff members alleged that SPED teacher and paraprofessional shortages have led to lost instructional time, particularly for seventh graders.
The family member said their student had experienced a dip in grades due to the prolonged absence of a SPED teacher who was temporarily reassigned. The family member said administrators, particularly Dotson, have lost control of the student population and do not respond to requests for family meetings or for student conflict mediations to be scheduled. The family member stated that Hubert students have posted videos of fights and other inappropriate activities to a non-school sanctioned Instagram page called HubertOutBad2024. The page features a video of a physical altercation involving two females in school uniforms. SMN confirmed through a source familiar with the situation that the students attend Hubert and that the altercation occurred on the bleachers of Hubert’s gym during the school day.
A third Hubert staff member alleged that district leaders have pressured school-level leaders across the county to suppress suspensions.
The third staff member’s comments come almost two weeks after West Chatham Middle School Spanish Teacher Lauren Waura spoke at the May school board meeting. She implored board members to address leadership issues she and other teachers felt had impacted the culture at West Chatham, including the current principal’s inaction addressing behavioral challenges, particularly in the hallways between bell times.
Additionally, WTOC reported the arrest of three parents after an altercation occurred Tuesday afternoon at Leroy Myers Middle School, 2025 E. 52nd St..
In response to a request for an interview with Barnes and Superintendent Denise Watts, school district officials said the district leadership was focused on conducting graduations this week and had limited availability. However, according to a Tuesday press release, Watts has called a press conference for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the “district’s commitment to continuous improvement and will provide updates on administrative steps to assess operational effectiveness of departments, including the district’s Campus Police and Human Resources Department.”
This is a developing story.
If You Go >> Hubert Middle
What: John W. Hubert Middle School Principal Profile Meeting
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 27
Where: Cafeteria at Hubert Middle School, 768 Grant St.
If You Go >> Beach High
What: Alfred E. Beach High School Principal Profile Meeting
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 28
Where: Richard R. Mole Auditorium at Beach High School, 3001 Hopkins St.
All members of the community are welcome. Please review the school district’s clear bag policy if you plan to attend.
Questions can be directed to sccpss.com/contact-us or 912-395-5582.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram.