Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts, Savannah GA

Original Research by School Decision on Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts

Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts is a pre-K through eighth-grade school located in downtown Savannah. It serves an enrollment made up of substantial diversity, with a nearly equal mix of Black and white students, alongside smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. About half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, positioning this as a mixed-income school drawing from a Savannah housing market anchored by the Historic District's walkable grid and waterfront corridor.

The school's name signals its arts focus, though specific program details were not available in the available data. Its academic profile shows mixed results. In English language arts, Garrison's strength appears in the upper middle grades: students in grades six, seven, and eight show proficiency rates well above the midpoint, with particularly strong performance in grades six and seven. Early grade reading, however, is much softer, with third grade proficiency considerably lower than upper grades. This pattern is not uncommon in schools transitioning instructional approaches, and it may interest a parent to look into with the school whether Garrison has shifted its reading instruction in recent years. The district-wide Science of Reading initiative that rolled out across Savannah-Chatham public schools could be a factor here.

Mathematics proficiency is more consistently moderate across grades three through eight, clustering around the middle of the range. There is no particular strength, but no particularly weak grade either. Performance on end-of-year assessments in science and social studies at the tested grades (grade five in science, grade eight across subjects) falls in the solid middle range.

State testing data span only the current school year, so trend information is not available to assess whether the school's results are improving, stable, or declining. The data sections on this page show proficiency figures by grade and subject.

Savannah itself is a high-growth coastal city where the historic downtown, anchored by Forsyth Park and the squares, blends with a rapidly developing suburban ring absorbing population overflow from central areas. The school's downtown location places it in walkable, mixed-use terrain with access to civic and cultural amenities. Housing values in the Savannah zip code are above state but below national benchmarks, and rents are running above the prior year, reflecting pressure from regional growth.

The Savannah-Chatham County schools are under a major facilities restructuring tied to western county growth. Phase I boundary shifts, approved in early 2024, reset attendance zones across roughly twenty schools, and voters approved a sales tax continuation in March 2025 that will fund new construction and renovation projects through 2030, including a new high school and K-8 campus in the rapidly growing Pooler area west of the city. These district-level changes mean that families' school assignments and building conditions are in flux; a parent should confirm current and projected enrollment and facility plans specific to Garrison with the district.

The school offers grades pre-K through eight and is therefore not a complete K-12 pathway; students transition to high school elsewhere in the district after eighth grade.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 34% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 42% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 29% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 20% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 59 pts above county median

Grade 761%

School 61% · District 25% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 28% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 26% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 32% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 33% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 29% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 56 pts above county median

Grade 778%

School 78% · District 30% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 28% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Science

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 35% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 17% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 21% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

This schoolSavannah-Chatham County, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income69%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income71%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income67%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income95%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income66%Higher-income78%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income70%Higher-income91%21 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income54%Higher-income81%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income72%50 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income82%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income65%34 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income73%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income56%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income71%25 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income45%Higher-income69%24 pp gap