770.993.2940
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1055 Willeo Road
Roswell, Georgia 30075

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770.993.2940

info@highmeadows.org

1055 Willeo Road

Roswell, Georgia 30075

Our History


High Meadows School

Address
1055 Willeo Road
Roswell, Georgia 30075

Contact Info
770.993.2940
info@highmeadows.org

School Hours
Monday – Friday
8:25 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.

You could say that High Meadows School began on an afternoon hike with friends, which is extraordinarily appropriate for the legacy High Meadows still holds today.

While exploring the land that is now our campus, forward-thinking educators Jody Holden, Bill Crawford, Jay Dickerson, and Michael Drake conceived the idea of a progressive school and summer day camp designed to emphasize exploration, discovery, and multi-age learning.

At that time, the property was part of the former residence of Mr. and Mrs. Nat Franklin and was known as Franklin Farm. In honor of the 4o+ sprawling acres sitting atop one of the highest points in Roswell, the new owners, and our school founders named it High Meadows.

That was more than four decades ago, and still the school is unlike any other. Here, children connect with nature and learn from their environment as they ascend in academic knowledge.

Founders

High Meadows School founders Jody Holden, Jay Dickerson, Mike Drake, and Bill Crawford had worked in various capacities at the Chattahoochee School, located where Roswell’s Chattahoochee Nature Center is now. All four had the experience, vision and drive to create a dynamic school that would support inquiry-based learning and the natural intersections of academics and our environment.

Bill Crawford provided fiscal leadership, managing the finances for both the School and the Camp, and took on the role as first groundskeeper. Jody Holden was a long-time professional educator, and had been head of the Chattahoochee School. Her vision of education guided High Meadows’ mission in its early days, and remains the cornerstone of our program today as an active member of the board of trustees.

Jay Dickerson and Michael Drake were also experienced educators with a strong interest in the summer camp program. Both men blended their traditional education backgrounds with a great respect for the innovative methodologies implemented at High Meadows.

Timeline

High Meadows began by offering early education and camp programs for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. As recognition for excellence and demand for enrollment increased, the school added new grade levels, faculty and staff, buildings, classrooms, and outdoor learning spaces.

1973

First classes for preschoolers between the ages of three and five

1974

First primary class of kindergarten, first- and second-graders

1975

First elementary class of third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders

1978

Classroom/multi-use building added (now it’s the Connections Building)

1985

Parent organization, S.H.A.R.E. (School Home and Reach Everyone) created to organize activities, enrichment programs, and volunteer opportunities

1986

Computer lab opens

1986

First implementation of Nature Studies Program

1989

Norfolk Southern gives the school its storied caboose

1992

First middle school program for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders

1993

First eighth grade graduates

1993

Sheryl Smith Robertson serves as first Head of School

1993

The school is purchased from the original owners by a group of parents, community members, and teachers, and it becomes a nonprofit organization

1997

Paul Ebrahimi is Head of School

1998

Middle Years Building is complete

2002

Accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

2004

Liz Gembecki is Head of School

2007

Becomes an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the globally-recognized IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)

2010

Jay Underwood is Head of School

2015

The High Meadows Center for Progressive Learning is established

2016

The Neal M. Gibson Maintenance Building is complete

2019

Bud Lichtenstein is Interim Head of School

2020

Lisa Baker is Head of School