Gloria Dukes was featured on the Georgia Middle School Association's website to highlight the 2005 Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch.

Mercer was honored as one of four Georgia schools given this distinction.

Gloria Dukes, principal of Mercer Middle School in Savannah, Georgia, came to Mercer as a first year principal. She came with an enthusiasm and energy that had an immediate and lasting impact on her entire school community. She adapted quickly to her new position and began making changes she felt would enhance the good work already being done at the school.

Prior to coming to Mercer, Ms. Dukes spent seventeen years as an English teacher and an assistant principal. An avid reader and writer, Ms. Dukes serves as one of the co-directors of the Coastal Georgia Writing Project and sits on the task force of the National Writing Project. She is particularly suited for Mercer's designation as a Magnet School for Writing and Mathematics. She also serves as a national coordinator for the Project Outreach Network, which examines issues or access, relevance, diversity, and equity in education.

During her classroom career, she experienced the honor of being named Teacher of the Year at several schools and was named the Savannah-Chatham County Teacher of the Year in 1996.