On Thursday, April 18, students, faculty and supporters of Savannah Classical Academy gathered at the Savannah-Chatham public charter school for the official unveiling of the school’s newly restored gymnasium. The gymnasium was funded through community donations and features the artistry, craftsmanship and labor of a number of local Savannah residents, including muralist Adolfo Hernández Alvarado.
“We are grateful to every single individual who believed in the passion behind our mission and helped turn this project into a reality, and to our athletics director, Mr. Eric Parker, who was instrumental in coordinating with our vendors through this process,” Lollis said. “As SCA is on track to serve grades K-12 beginning in August 2019, it is vital that we create a strong sense of a well-rounded community within our school by retaining and attracting students who are interested in athletics as well as a classical education.”
As part of this special event, the SCA boys’ basketball team and the SCA girls’ volleyball team, which recently made it to the 2018 GHSA volleyball state playoffs, competed against each other in a friendly volleyball game. The game would not have been possible prior to the current renovation, because the gymnasium did not meet state standards.
As a result of the restoration, the school plans to start hosting basketball and volleyball games in the gym during the upcoming school year. Previously, it was used as an exercise space.
During the unveiling, SCA Director Barry Lollis and Board President Scott McGhie acknowledged donors who helped fund the project. They gave special recognition to the Hodge Foundation for its significant contribution. The Hodge Foundation is an organization dedicated to helping relieve the suffering of the people of Chatham County and was created through an endowment left by Sarah Mill Hodge.
Lollis and McGhie also took the opportunity to recognize students who made honor roll, high honor roll as well as those with perfect attendance. Attendees were also given an update on a number of recent academic successes such as the SCA significantly outperforming both the district and state on the 2018 College and Career Ready Performance Index. They also learned that SCA is ranked number five among the 24 Kindergarten programs in Savannah-Chatham County Public School System according to the district’s 2018 Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills assessment, and three out of the eight Chatham County students who were selected as REACH Georgia Scholars are Savannah Classical Academy students.
