Forsyth County Schools names new Sawnee Elementary principal for 2026-27

Sawnee Elementary families will get a new principal for the 2026-27 school year, and the timing matters because the school is not just changing names at the top. It is handing leadership of a well-staffed campus on Canton Highway to Marla Callahan, a veteran administrator who arrives with experience in elementary, middle and high school settings.

Forsyth County Schools announced May 13 that Callahan will replace Kimberly Davis, who is moving into a district leadership role. At the time of the announcement, Callahan was assistant principal at Kelly Mill Elementary School. Her resume stretches across nearly two decades in Georgia education: she worked in Pickens County schools from 2008 to 2016 as a teacher and academic coach, served as assistant principal at Pickens Middle School and Pickens High School from 2016 to 2018, and then led Harmony Elementary School as principal from 2018 to 2023. She later worked as an assistant administrator at West Forsyth High School in 2023-24 before joining Kelly Mill in 2024.

Callahan’s background suggests a leader used to moving between school levels and managing different age groups, a useful trait for a campus as large and layered as Sawnee. The district says Forsyth County Schools serves more than 55,300 students from 129 countries who speak 69 languages, a reminder that the next principal will be working in one of the county’s most diverse environments. Callahan holds a bachelor’s degree in middle grades education from Brenau University, a master’s degree in education from Piedmont College and a specialist degree in educational leadership from Kennesaw State University.

Sawnee Elementary is at 1616 Canton Highway in Cumming, and its school day runs Monday through Friday from 8:20 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The school’s identity centers on The Chiefs Way, which emphasizes courage, honesty, integrity, excellence, focus and service. Those values will frame the handoff as parents look for continuity in academics, discipline and school culture.

The transition is not yet reflected on every district page. Forsyth County Schools’ administrator listings still showed Kimberly Davis as Sawnee’s principal after the announcement, while also listing assistant principals Wendy Hequembourg, Melissa Warner and Keith Whitaker, along with an assistant administrator. That suggests Callahan will step into a campus with an established leadership structure already in place, giving families a clearer path for continuity as the school moves toward 2026-27.