New Superintendent: 'Strong start' to first day of 2023-24 Savannah-Chatham school year (2024)

New Superintendent: 'Strong start' to first day of 2023-24 Savannah-Chatham school year (1)

Denise Watts has completed her first “first day” of school as Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools' (SCCPSS) Superintendent. During a press conference Thursday afternoon Watts said, “If today’s strong start is any indication of how we’re going to finish the school year, the finish will be epic on all accounts.”

She stated that the district welcomed about 36,000 students into classrooms today and highlighted the following:

Transportation

Buses ran as expected with only one bus driver calling out. Watts assured there was support waiting in the wings to step into that route. She did mention later that there is still a need to fill open positions for bus drivers.

She acknowledged the role that many parents played in ensuring their students’ safe arrivals to school today, whether via the car line or walking them into the buildings on their first day. She said there were no incidents reported on roads near or around schools.

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Nutrition

Watts mentioned that she enjoyed a lunch of pizza with a group of sixth-grade students. She took the opportunity to highlight the teams that provide lunches to children every day as well as remind parents that breakfast is free. She also encouraged parents to complete free and reduced lunch forms as their children may qualify for those programs.

New Superintendent: 'Strong start' to first day of 2023-24 Savannah-Chatham school year (3)

Staffing shortages

“Most of our teachers are in place,” Watts said without providing specifics. She alluded to agility in the SCCPSS’s HR team response to make sure every room had a teacher in it today. “Many of our schools are fully staffed. We are working on areas where they are not. There are a couple of concerns maybe in some special ed areas, but what I had observed today is our team deploying support from central office to fill any vacancies of holes that needed to be filled. So, where there is not a teacher, we have a very strong plan of support.”

She went on to mention that continued areas of concerns for staffing relate to custodian, crossing guards and bus driver openings ― although Watts did not provide numbers for how many vacancies remain. “We are trying to get those positions filled as soon as we possibly can. We have contingency plans in place so that we don’t have a situation where a service isn’t being offered. We want to get every kid to and from school who needs a bus.”

She admitted the driver situation isn’t ideal, but advocated for patience from families. “If you are a parent and you experienced some frustration today, just give us some time. Things will change. It takes a couple of weeks for these things to fully work as expected. But, by all accounts, we’re well on our way.”

Parental partnership

Watts thanked teachers, school leaders, central office staff and the media for contributing to an “amazing first day of school.” She also thanked parents for their partnership to make the day as smooth as possible.

“We encouraged parents to register early and we saw that today. We did not see lines of students and parents in the hallway waiting to be enrolled. Parent partnership cannot be overstated.”

She heard a few people mention that Day 1 felt like Day 10 meaning that the planning and preparation of all involved paid off. “I saw classrooms where learning was taking place day one. Students had notebooks and teachers were up on their feet. Books were being read to students. It was a strong indication of what is to come in terms of success for our district.”

Highlights of the day

Watts reminded those in attendance at the press conference that she is not only the superintendent but a parent of a student in the school district. Her son had his last “first day” as he began his senior year of high school. So, seeing parents walk into classrooms and drop off their students ― somewhat anxious, somewhat excited ― was nostalgic for her, especially during her stop at the Acorn Academy.

“Pre-K kids showed up as if they had already done this at some point and time in their lives. Pre-K students were definitely a highlight because that’s our starting point in providing a quality education.”

Coming Next Week

Kurt Hetager, chief public affairs and administrative services officer, offered that the initial indication from data released at the state level on Friday was that students in third grade reading on grade level have seen some significant increases in their Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) scores.

When asked to comment, Watts said they would be looking more closely at the data in the coming days and plan to provide a media briefing next week addressing GMAS as well as broader details about the district’s focus on literacy as its “North Star.”

Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at jschwartzburt@gannett.com.

New Superintendent: 'Strong start' to first day of 2023-24 Savannah-Chatham school year (2024)
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