Sail Charter Academy - School for Arts-infused Learning, Evans GA

Original Research by School Decision on Sail Charter Academy - School for Arts-infused Learning

SAIL Charter Academy serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Evans, a family-oriented suburb north of Augusta. The school sits in an affluent, predominantly White residential area where home values have remained stable and the community is investing visibly in new civic infrastructure, including a developing town center and performing arts venue.

SAIL is a charter school, meaning it operates with more autonomy than traditional public schools but is publicly funded on a per-pupil basis. The school's enrollment is small and concentrated in the elementary grades, with just about thirty-five eighth graders. The student body is predominantly White, with meaningful representation of Hispanic and Black students, and only a tiny fraction qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's overall affluence.

On state assessments, SAIL's results show modest proficiency across the board. In math, about half the elementary grades reach proficiency in third through fifth grades, with that figure dropping to about forty-three percent in the middle grades and just over thirty percent in sixth grade. English language arts proficiency runs lower, beginning around thirty-two percent in third grade, climbing slightly to about forty-eight percent in fifth grade, then falling back to around thirty-one percent in sixth grade. Science proficiency sits near fifty percent overall, and social studies proficiency is notably weak at about thirteen percent in eighth grade. All told, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint compared to other districts in Columbia County.

What stands out most is that the school's academic trajectory has declined meaningfully. Publicly reported data shows its statewide elementary ranking has dropped substantially over the past several years, and third-grade English language arts proficiency now trails the state average. Nearby Columbia County schools such as Martinez, Greenbrier, and Riverside elementaries have been outperforming it on state measures.

The school's defining characteristic is its arts focus. SAIL markets itself as an arts-infused learning environment where creative disciplines are woven into the curriculum. This represents a different pedagogical choice than the typical district school, and families drawn to arts-centered education find that philosophy appealing. For families prioritizing strong state assessment performance or traditional academic breadth, the data suggest a parent may want to look further into what academic supports are in place and how the school's recent performance trajectory may affect middle school readiness.

In December 2021, Columbia County commissioners approved a bond arrangement enabling SAIL's expansion, the first structural growth beyond its previous K-8 footprint. The school is currently undergoing that facility work, so families should expect changing capacity and possibly new program scope in coming years. The charter's per-pupil state funding model means growth requires external capital—the bond was necessary to unlock physical space that enrollment demand alone could not fund.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 2 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 17 pts below state median

This schoolState Specialty Schools II- SAIL Charter Academy - School fo, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.