Four families share their stories

Walking through the grounds of Wesleyan School, it feels more like stepping onto a college campus. For those unfamiliar with the school, it may be surprising to learn that Wesleyan is actually a K-12 private college-preparatory nondenominational Christian school with an enrollment of 1,171 students.

Chris Cleveland, who has served as Head of School for nearly 20 years, describes Wesleyan as many do — a family. The Wesleyan family is made up of teachers, community members and, of course, students and their families.

The Cleveland family

Chris Cleveland, Head of School, has been working at Wesleyan School for nearly 20 years. He first served as the middle school principal in 2002, then principal of the high school in 2004, and became the Assistant Headmaster for Advancement in 2010. When Zach Young retired in 2014, the board appointed Cleveland to the position of Head of School.

In addition to being a loyal employee of Wesleyan and core part of the fabric of the community, Cleveland is also a Wesleyan parent. Living with his wife and family in a home that the school owns on nearby Spalding Terrace allows him to walk to work every day via an idyllic path through the woods, and his children have also been able to walk to school.

His two sons are both Evergreens, with his oldest currently attending Georgia Tech and his youngest just beginning his senior year at Wesleyan.

Cleveland has thrived in his role. He says that administration is the hardest, and yet most rewarding, aspect of working in schools that he has ever experienced.

“I love working in a team setting, I love having a leadership team to work with and to problem solve with, but it’s also incredibly rewarding when you see a vision come to reality and when you see the lives of students that are changed,” said Cleveland.

Overseeing a K-12 school has also provided a unique opportunity to be a part of kids’ lives from the time when they are first entering the school system to when they are ushered into the world as young adults. “Those things are incredibly life-giving from a leadership standpoint,” he said.

Part of his job is to oversee the hiring process with the help of board members. This is a very important part of Cleveland’s responsibility as he feels strongly that a school is only as good as the people who work there.

While students of all religions are welcome, as a Christ-centered college-preparatory school, Cleveland feels that it is imperative that all faculty members and teachers adhere to the same basic belief structure. The Wesleyan model requires that all employees are practicing Trinitarian Christians.

“When we describe ourselves as a Christian school, the reality is that a school can’t really be Christian, only a person can,” Cleveland explained. “We never want to be a place that is trying to shove the Bible down anybody’s throat. Our job is simply to live our lives as followers as Christ and we hope that that is appealing.”

Strong sense of family

Wesleyan’s mission is to be a Christian school of academic excellence, and that’s a vision that Cleveland feels is lived out every day. “The first single term that comes to my mind is community. There is such a strong sense of family and belonging here, and I think that that has generated a lot of loyalty to the school over the years, which we are incredibly thankful for.”

Above and beyond the experience of educating the minds of its students and providing opportunities for growth in athletics, arts and leadership, the school aims to provide a nurturing environment with a wide-reaching team of adults who work as a team and are dedicated to guiding each child through their formative school years.

“We love them right where they are. And we are going to give them our absolute best each day.”

Some of Cleveland’s favorite parts of the Wesleyan experience are, rather unsurprisingly, the moments when the community rallies together. That includes celebrations, such as the annual Hoedown on the quad which coincides with Homecoming, and also the hard times when a Wesleyan family might need support.

He recalled instances wherein students were diagnosed with cancer, and he witnessed other faculty, students and their families step up in the form of financial aid, prepared meals or acts of solidarity like shaving their heads and wearing commemorative shirts.

“To see our community really act as a family and rally around the families who are hurting or walking through difficult times, that is really encouraging,” said Cleveland. “We want to be good members and supporters of the community, but we also hope to be leaders.”