School bus

Parents and elected officials will meet during a town hall meeting Monday at Savannah’s STEM Academy with the goal of improving Chatham County middle schools.

Julie Wade, District 1 school board representative, says in the past, middle schools have been neglected in favor of focusing on elementary and high schools.

“To the extent that high schools need improvement most of that is coming from failed middle schools,” she says.

“If we can really close that gap in middle schools and use those three years to really get all those kids in the right direction high schools should be a real opportunity for those kids.”

School officials say the transition between K-8 and high school is challenging but can make the difference between academic failure and success.

“Middle school is that critical age where you have three years to really transition kids to a positive path or watch kids transition to a really negative path,” Wade says.

She says Chatham County officials are hoping a rise in local property tax revenues will help fund improvements to the school district, including middle schools.

Wade says turning schools around sometimes comes down to dollars.

“There are some students that come into middle school very far behind, almost in a triage emergency room situation. I think for those instances we really need to reduce classroom size and spend those three years really focusing on those kids, getting them up to speed and that takes money,” she says.

The meeting will have breakout sessions to discuss improvement areas including curriculum, classroom size and staffing expectations.

The gathering takes place at 6 p.m. Monday at Bartlett Middle School, 207 E. Montgomery Cross Road, Savannah, GA.

Tags: middle schools, Chatham County, GPB, GPB Savannah