M. Ann Levett

M. Ann Levett, a Savannah native and proud product of its public schools, was appointed superintendent of Savannah Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS) effective June 1, 2017, after serving as the deputy superintendent and the chief academic officer of the district. Immediately prior to returning to SCCPSS, she served as dean of the school of education at Middle Georgia State College.

Prior to her tenure at Middle Georgia State College, Levett served as executive director of the School Development Program (SDP), a national school reform program at Yale University School of Medicine. In addition to coordinating SDP’s school university partnerships across the U.S. and its territories, Levett led reform efforts in Dublin, Ireland, and Rennes, France. She also consulted on significant community development projects in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and several major U.S. cities. In October 2007, she was appointed to the board of education for New Haven Public Schools in New Haven, Conn. She also served as a board member for two charter schools in New Haven. Upon returning to Georgia, she held several key positions at the state level and maintained her positions in several national and international organizations.

Levett earned a Bachelor of Science degree in speech and language pathology from Armstrong State College in Savannah after completing most of her studies in education at Savannah State College. She also earned master’s degrees in special education and public administration, and an education specialist degree in educational administration from Georgia Southern University.

Levett earned her doctorate in educational administration at the University of Georgia in 1992. In addition to her formal studies, she participated in leadership development programs at Harvard University, Yale University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Delaware, the University of California San Diego and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Prior to working at Yale University and Middle Georgia State College, Levett served as chair of the master’s in educational leadership and principal licensure programs at Antioch University McGregor in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She moved to higher education after spending more than 20 years in public education in the positions of interim superintendent, deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, secondary principal and special education teacher.

Levett also served as a National Review Panelist and Site Visitor for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue-Ribbon Schools (National Schools of Excellence) program for more than 12 years. She is a speaker for state, national and international conferences, and she operated as an educational consultant for school districts, community organizations, universities and other entities. Levett created and conducted leadership development academies for principals, aspiring administrators and parent leaders in addition to programs designed to address behavior management issues and special education concerns. She also wrote as a reviewer for two major education journals, The Journal of Negro Education and The High School Journal.