Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School

Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School, a minimally staffed K-5 school in Savannah, Georgia, operated by Savannah-Chatham County, works with 216 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 605 students per school, that is 64% below typical.

Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School is one of 58 schools operated by Savannah-Chatham County, a district that enrolls 36,355 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School shows that 37% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder looks like 34% White, 20% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. Compared to Chatham County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School has 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.1:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.3:1 average. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 39.5%; this one comes in at 19.3%, -20.3 points off the demographic line.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Chatham County) records that median household income runs about $71,097, about 38% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School is one of 60 public schools in Chatham County (combined enrollment of about 36,380 students).

Nearest neighbor: Gould Elementary School, around 1.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 19.4%.

The campus sits in a rural setting. Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Looking at the recent track record. Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School's enrollment has decreased 32% since 2018, when it stood at 317 (now 216). The Hispanic share of enrollment rose from 7% to 20% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 22.6:1 in 2018 to 17.1:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.