The Galloway School has a defined campus but no qualms about stepping outside the boundaries. The private school is surrounded on all sides by Atlanta’s Chastain Memorial Park where Galloway students field softballs, climb jungle gyms, ride horses and master putts. This past February, Galloway students, faculty and support staff headed to Midtown where they held a “school without walls” at the High Museum of Art. That likely won’t be their last road trip. Suzanna Jemsby, who became head of school a year and a half ago, believes that learning can happen anywhere. Her own personal and professional story is a testament to that philosophy.
Q: Your personal background is unusual. Can you talk about it?
A: My story takes you all over the world really. I was mostly raised in Great Britain and I moved here from Germany. My parents met in Zambia. I have family in Australia, the U.K., India and the U.S. and I am married to a Swede.
Q: Now Atlanta is home?
A: Atlanta is home. Our children were born here. Before Galloway, I was the high school principal at the Atlanta International School and then executive director of a nonprofit that really focused on working with teachers predominantly in public schools in Georgia. I have seen the city evolve and the landscape of education change dramatically.
Q: How so?
A: Sadly, I am seeing a decline in the quality of public school education — too many scandals, too many questions around ethical behavior. With the increasing population of students who don’t speak English as a first language, I am not sure there is a deep understanding of language learning in schools in this region of the world. At the end of the day, all schools, independent and public, are facing very similar things. The world is evolving very, very rapidly. We are talking about preparing kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet.
Q: How does Galloway fit into Atlanta’s educational landscape? The world’s?
A: Elliott Galloway, who founded the school in 1969, was very deliberate in his desire to build a diverse population, whether that be with different language groups, socio-economic background, gender, ethnicity, sexual preference. That is who we are today. A huge portion of our annual operating budget is devoted to financial aid. On the world stage, Galloway is there to provoke, to help people think beyond the walls.
Q: Like your partnership with the High Museum of Art?
A: That was really good at expanding the mindset of everyone. Schools call and say, “How did you do it?” If you are willing to do it, you can find a way.
Q: What would you say to more traditional parents who say Galloway is kind of out there?
A: There are folks who think we are out there and I am kind of proud of that. There is a desperate need for a school like this in Atlanta. We are at capacity and have a waiting list at every grade level. We send our kids to very, very prestigious places.
Q: What is it like having Chastain Memorial Park to the left, the right and across from you?
A: Our partners in the park are fabulous collaborators. Our students go to the horse park, golf across the road, play baseball and softball at Northside Youth Organization facilities. We have a number of kids involved at Farm Chastain and have classroom space above the bathhouse at the pool. We all are very happy here in the park and for good reason.
Q: You speak five languages, have published short stories and play the cello. How does that fit into your job?
A: My love of language learning has helped me build perspective. I hope I emit my love of reading and writing to the kids around me. I think I can be a role model. As a woman of color, there are not very many role models for young women, especially in leadership in schools in the South.
Q: Do you play cello for the kids?
A: I play with the school orchestra from time to time. I sing with the school chorus. I have a background in track and field and will gladly officiate a track and field event. I have been able to continue my pastimes through education.
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