Mission

Since our foundation in 2012, we have partnered with parents to educate children not simply to one day gain admittance to the best college, but to equip them for life, helping them discover who God made them to be. We work continually to restore the humanity of each child entrusted to us, as God works to restore his creation. Thus, our mission is partnering with God as His servants in seeking the restoration of His image in our students through education.

Vision

The Habersham vision is based on the time-honored tradition of Classical education, where students are taught to question, to investigate, and to dialogue, combined with an unapologetic commitment to the truth of Christ. Habersham emphasizes the great works of literature, the great discoveries of math and science, and the great ideas and figures of Western civilization, combined with a disciplined study of classical languages, thereby training students how to learn so they retain their love of learning.

We recognize the years of school life of children are a humbling opportunity to make a profound impact. Not only are students developing cognitively and physically, but they are forming lifelong spiritual and character habits as well. Their view of the world, their answers to life’s questions, and their view of the good life all take shape during these formative years at school. We seek to mold and shape both academic and spiritual formation in an integrated way. Cultivating a love of learning, equipping students to learn well, and grounding instruction in Christian orthodoxy and devotion.

Purpose

The Habersham School is committed to honoring Christ in establishing an education grounded in the orthodox Christian faith and the classical tradition that equips students to skillfully engage society with wisdom and charity and thoughtfully pursue moral beauty and eternal purpose in the modern world.

Vision

To graduate students who become more fully human and thereby thoughtfully engaged, culturally aware, and community minded.

Mission

Partnering with God as His servants in seeking the restoration of His image in our students through education.

Invention meets tradition

Habersham emphasizes thinking, problem-solving, creativity, ingenuity – all the skills needed to be inventive, whether in science, math, the arts, or humanities. We teach students how to learn, and give them the tools of learning, so they retain their love of learning. We are determined to develop students able to navigate the complex waters of the 21st century and inspire others in their wake. This vision is based on the time-honored tradition of Classical education and an unapologetic commitment to the truth of Christ.

Explore

Exploring represents active engagement – an act of initiative. Our goal is for every student to actively engage with people and ideas, keeping aflame the seeds of intellectual curiosity and a passion for knowledge that ignites in every student a natural propensity to question, to investigate, to dialogue, and to create. Students who explore become thinkers who can solve problems and take meaningful action. By exploring, students ultimately learn how to learn, thereby forever retaining their love of learning.

SMALL CLASSES, STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships are central to who we are. A remarkable student-teacher ratio of 8:1 enables individual attention and abundant opportunities for each student to explore, speak, discover, and lead. Further, students will learn to take the risks needed to truly explore when they know they are in a safe place – a place where failure is seen as an opportunity to learn something new.

A CULTURE OF THINKING & INDEPENDENCE

Habersham seeks to develop students who take responsibility and work hard while developing skills of active thinking, effective communicating, disciplined self-governing, and integrated understanding.

THINKING MEANS LEARNING – CHARLOTTE MASON

Brain studies about neuroplasticity now prove Charlotte Mason’s 100-year-old methods of how the mind is formed and how we learn. We support her notion, “The one who does the thinking does the learning.” This often counters the modern notion, “the one who memorizes the answer or completes the most worksheets does the learning.”

INSPIRATION & IMAGINATION

Charlotte Mason’s methodology defines and informs Habersham’s emphasis on “the one who does the thinking does the learning.” Applying Ms. Mason’s influence, Habersham aims to instill personal virtues such as excellent manners and habits along with an interest in nature and picture studies.

CLASSICAL PEDAGOGY

Habersham seeks to develop students who take responsibility and work hard while developing skills of active thinking, effective communicating, disciplined self-governing, and integrated understanding.

Restore

God is actively at work to restore in us His image. Foundational to our understanding of teaching, is first understanding that children are born persons. They are not an empty vessel to be filled or clay to be molded, but rather persons who bear the image of God. Their value and potential are immeasurable. It is the duty of the teacher and parent to give proper respect due these young people, to allow them to grow and learn in a life-affirming way. When dealing with persons, we aren’t interested in short-term, data-based outcomes. We are asking: How is this person growing? Who is this child becoming?

CHRIST-CENTERED

All learning is taught through the prism of Christ. Christian teaching is not preserved for one period tacked on to the end of a day. Habersham focuses on the integration of faith and life and acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord over all of life and the Bible as the final authority in matters of life and thought.

ATMOSPHERE OF JOY

Habersham seeks to develop students who take responsibility and work hard while developing skills of active thinking, effective communicating, disciplined self-governing, and integrated understanding.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Habersham teachers and families share a common commitment to the orthodox Christian faith. This contributes to the strong teacher-parent partnership necessary to draw the best from each child. A prerequisite to all hiring is an abounding and mature faith in Christ, a characteristic that binds together our team in singular focus.

DEDICATED TEACHERS

Brain studies about neuroplasticity now prove Charlotte Mason’s 100-year-old methods of how the mind is formed and how we learn. We support her notion, “The one who does the thinking does the learning.” This often counters the modern notion, “the one memorizes the answer or completes the most worksheets does the learning.”

INDEPENDENCE & INNOCENCE

Though we desire children to grow strong and independent, we also value them remaining age-appropriately so. Most children in today’s American culture simply grow up too fast. We desire to protect their innocence while preparing them well to address culturally relevant issues so they can engage the culture and defend their faith.

Live

Rooted in the immovable truth of Christ, we strive for all here to live as those who know and love – to know and to love God, others, self, birds, numbers, stars, music, art, literature, all that is Good, True, and Beautiful. A marker of a life well lived is the quantity and quality of the relationships within it. We seek to put children in the way of as many good, life-giving relationships as possible – not just with teachers and peers, but with God, self, creation, and the world of ideas, making education a joyful discovery.

MANNERS, RESPECT, COMMUNITY

Grounded in gratitude and an awareness of God’s grace, children are taught to respect and honor adults and peers alike. All students begin each morning by shaking the hand of a teacher or leader at the door. They are taught how to properly shake a hand and look in the eye, but we equally important, we also are communicating to them, “You are important to us. You matter and what you do here today matters.” Through the House System and small classes, students are taught to live in community. In the middle school, we offer Cotillion. In the high school, our spring formal includes a sit-down meal together. Students live out the manners and respect we teach them in community.

THE HOUSE SYSTEM

An intentional vehicle for creating meaningful student life combined with a structured student leadership program. The House System must be experienced to be truly appreciated. Four houses, each named after a patriot – Lafayette, Madison, Pulaski, Washington. Led by the student house prefect and his/her team of house leaders, each with their own colors, mottos, and logos, competing for points in service, leadership, arts, and athletics to win the coveted House Cup each year. This unique system breaks down barriers between ages and classes, offers younger students unique relational opportunities with older student mentors, and teaches all students the value of working together and winning and losing with grace.

EDUCATION AS A DISCIPLINE

Habits are like rails on a train. It is easier for a train to simply stay the course and pursue its path along the rails than to take a disastrous run off of them. So it is with children. Habits are difficult to change but once in place can offer a solid path for a lifetime. What are the moral and intellectual habits your children are learning? Habits stick around. Affections are caught, not taught. So when you step into a classroom where everyone is paying attention, the easiest thing to do is pay attention. At Habersham, we go to great lengths to cultivate strong moral and intellectual habits.

ACTIVE THINKING

Learning presupposes that students are thinking. Students are consistently encouraged to question, investigate, dialogue, and create. Classrooms emphasize analysis, synthesis, and creative problem solving – every day, all the time.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATING

For centuries, training in civil discourse formed the spine of Western education. The rhetorical forms provide a reliable approach to ensuring students can do more with information than recite it back to their teachers. Therefore, students consistently practice winsome and precise speaking and writing, in all subjects.

INTEGRATED UNDERSTANDING

Learning is more than individual subjects taught in parallel lines that never intersect. Students are taught to make mental connections, regularly drawing upon various experiences (their own and others’) and subject matter (curricular and co-curricular) to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the “big picture” of knowledge.

DISCIPLINED SELF-GOVERNING

The ultimate goal of a Habersham education is to become more fully human, that as self-possessed learners students are growing into our Portrait of Graduate. They are capable of taking initiative in becoming a positive cultural influence— in school and beyond.

“A Christian boy or girl can learn mathematics, for example, from a teacher who is not a Christian; and truth is truth however learned. But while truth is truth however learned, the bearing of truth, the meaning of truth, the purpose of truth, even in the sphere of mathematics, seem entirely different to the Christian from that which they seem to the non-Christian; and that is why a truly Christian education is possible only when Christian conviction underlies not a part, but all, of the curriculum of the school.”

-J. GRESHAM MACHEN, EDUCATION, CHRISTIANITY

Learn more about our School Profile.

Our People

Board of Governors

Glenn Burnsed

Dr. Brad Durham

Dr. Brian Kornblatt

Dr. Byron Colley

Carol Dusek

Casey Reeves

Marshall Davis

Rob Kelly

Leadership

Jason Manley

Interim Head of School, Upper School Director

Since 2015, B.S. Chemistry, Michigan State University, M.A. Science & Religion, Biola University

Daniel Clay

Gould Cottage Principal

Clay Hining

Director of Admissions, Chaplain, House System Director

Since 2021, B.S. Applied Mathematics, Georgia Tech, M.A.R. with Concentration in New Testament, Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College

Susan Barry

Upper School Athletics Director

Since 2012, B.S. Nursing, Clemson University

Administration & Staff

Amy Clay

Gould Cottage Office Staff, Campus Coordinator

Kathy Delk

Habersham Hall Office Staff, Campus Coordinator

Since 2013, B.S. Business Administration, Salisbury State University

Chaston Hart

Social Media

Since 2015, B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, Covenant College

Cameron Hunt

Middle School Athletics Coordinator

Since 2017, B.S. Erskine University

Nancy Martin

Lower School Teacher Development & Support

Jacquie Miller

Program Development & Support

Since 2013, B.S. Business Management, The College of William & Mary

Lindsey Mitchell

College Advising

Since 2018, B.S. Communications, Milligan College, M.A.T. Early Childhood Education, Georgia Southern University

Kate Welch

Assistant Athletic Director, Administrative Assistant, Human Resources

Since 2017, B.A. Biology, Mercer University, M.S. Physical Therapy, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Middle & Upper School Faculty

Susan Barry

Science, Upper School Athletics Director, Varsity Volleyball

Since 2012, B.S. Nursing, Clemson University

Connie Bayliss

Humanities Chair

Since 2014, B.A. English, Medieval, & Rennaissance Studies, Washington & Lee University, M.A. English, Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English

Brent Beaumont

Math Chair

Since 2012, B.S. Engineering, University of Arkansas, M.A. Liberal Arts, St. John’s College, MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary

Jay Carpenter

Humanities

Since 2018, B.S. Elementary Education & M.A. Curriculum Implementation, Bryan College,

Jennifer Edwards

Mathematics

Since 2018, B.S. Literature, West Point, M.B.A., University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Ph.D. Aviation-Human Factors, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Carin Hining

Humanities

Since 2015, B.S. Family and Community Services, Berry College

Dena Holt

Humanities

Millie Hoover

Humanities

Since 2018, B.A. English, Armstrong State University

Cameron Hunt

Mathematics, Middle School Athletics Coordinator

Since 2017, B.S. Erskine University

Mary Leece

Science & Mathematics

Since 2019, B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering, Baylor University

Becky Locke

Mathematics

Since 2017, B.S. Education, Georgia Southern University

Tony Scott

Varsity Basketball, PE

Since 2019, Health & Physical Education, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Emily Thompson

Science

Sarah Traut

Latin

Since 2019, B.A. Classical Studies & M.A. Classical Languages, University of Georgia

Hilary Tucker

Latin Chair

Since 2015, B.A. History & B.S. Journalism, Boston University

Danielle Wood

Science

Lower School Faculty

Alysia Clymer

PreK4

Since 2020, B.A. Early Childhood Education, Covenant College

Nancy Gallaher

Teacher Aide

Sara Ann Greenwaide

3rd Grade

Brandi Holloway

Kindergarten

Since 2020, B.S. Nursing, Armstrong Atlantic State University, M.A. TESOL, Azusa Pacific University

Shane Kavanagh

Teaching Assistant

Since 2019, B.A. Sport Management, Belmont Abbey College

Kelli Mickowski

1st Grade

Catherine Sage

Teacher Aide

Kriste Sanders

4th Grade

Since 2019, B.A. Journalism, University of Georgia

Katie Sparks

2nd Grade

Visual & Performing Arts Faculty

Zoe Fullmer

Visual Art

Jared Seff

Visual Arts Chair

Since 2012, B.F.A. Painting & M.F.A. Illustration, SCAD

Braelyn Snow

Visual Arts

Since 2017, B.S. Indiana Wesleyan University, M.F.A. SCAD

Lillis Weeks

Music, Choir Director

Facilities

Built in 1887, Habersham Hall served as the Chatham County Jail for nearly a century. Recognizable for its Moorish Revival style tower, the building is located in the heart of Savannah’s historic district. The three-story building which originally served as the jailer’s quarters currently houses The Habersham School’s upper school, while the former cell blocks now line a spacious courtyard, which the school uses for chapel, outdoor classes, and other community events.

Gould Cottage, located in the beautiful Ardsley Park neighborhood, was built in the early 1930s by millionaire Edwin “Jay” Gould of New York City and his Gould Foundation for Children to be used as a children’s nursery. The two-story Tudor-style building eventually developed from a nursery into a home for boys and girls in need. After nearly ten years of vacancy, The Habersham School purchased and restored the structure in 2014. The halls of this quaint cottage are once again filled with children, as Gould Cottage now houses Habersham’s lower school.

For the past 90 years, the Jenkins Athletic Club has served the Savannah community by providing a space for athletics and recreation. The JAC’s basketball facilities are home to The Habersham School’s JV and varsity basketball and volleyball teams

Hull Park was developed in the early twentieth century as a part of the Chatham Crescent neighborhood. The diamond-shaped park offers the neighborhood a playground, baseball field, and outdoor meeting space. Adjacent to Gould Cottage, the park provides a shaded area for outdoor lunches and classes, as well as recreational space for recess and P.E.

The Savannah Theater opened its doors to the public in 1818. Despite significant hardships throughout its first few decades, including fires, changing ownership, and financial strife, the theater became a staple of arts and culture in Savannah. Notable performers such as Oscar Wilde, Lillian Fields, and W.C. Fields have taken the stage at the Savannah Theater. After a fire in 1948, the theater was redesigned with its notable art deco facade and converted into a movie house. The Savannah Theater graciously partners with The Habersham School to offer a whimsical and dynamic environment for theater productions, summer camps, ballet performances, and recitals.

Media

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Employment

Who We Are

We are a team united in our desire to serve Christ and flesh out a Christian, classical education in the modern world.

We take seriously the responsibility of modeling authentic Christian living for our students, on and off campus, and we value our roles as mentors.

We are committed to modeling excellence and holding our students accountable for doing their best.

We take as much joy in learning as we do in teaching, understanding that each of us knows in part and is enriched by the perspective of others.

We cultivate a culture of collaboration as a Christian body and seek to create a place of work that is as life-giving for our teachers as it is for our students.

How to Inquire

We are looking for strong candidates for the 2021-22 school year. To inquire about positions that may be a good fit for you, please send a resume and cover letter to humanresources@thehabershamschool.org.

We are currently seeking strong candidates for the position of:

Upper School Drama Teacher (Part-time)

Upper School Humanities (Part-time)