by Audra Anders for The Aha! Connection
Peggy had never visited the Wesleyan School campus except for a swim meet. I toured with my youngest more than ten years ago and a lot has changed since then! So…we decided to ask our friend Jennifer Copeland if she would be up for a tour and lunch for our September Lunch & Learn. Lucky for us she agreed! Before I tell you about what we learned on the tour, I’ll share our lunch details.
We dined at Ted’s Montana Grill at The Forum. I had never been…mostly because I thought you could only order bison and not beef…but I was wrong! Jennifer and I both devoured yummy hamburgers on gluten free buns with fries and Peggy said her fish sandwich choice was a good one!
In the eleven years that I’ve worked with Jennifer, I had never actually met her live and in the flesh. It was such a pleasure to finally meet her and get to chat in her beautiful office at Wesleyan. Jennifer joined the Wesleyan staff in 2014 as the Director of Development at the same time as the former Head of School, Zach Young, retired. In 2017, she was promoted to Assistant Head of External Affairs and she now handles all the internal and external communications for Wesleyan PLUS she also manages transportation! Wesleyan currently has 26 buses for athletics and carpool routes! They’ve grown from one bus in 2015 but now over 200 students ride the bus to/from school. Fun facts: the bus from Brookhaven has the most students and Dunwoody is a close second.
Peggy and I learned Jennifer was born and raised Savannah, GA, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Mercer University and a Masters of Education in Education Leadership from Kennesaw State University. She has two kids who attend Wesleyan John (current junior) and Sarah-Virginia (current freshman).
The most noticeable change to the campus is the on-going construction of a new academic building to be named Young Hall, a nod to former Head of School Zach Young and his wife. The building will be ready for the 2025-2026 school year and will house all STEM activities and classes, the high school science department, an academic resource center, college advising and more! Wesleyan’s plan is to increase their academic space but they are not increasing enrollment. The goal is to focus on wellness, additional space and added resources. Wesleyan’s campus has the feel of a small college campus with all the academic buildings located on “the quad” and surround a beautiful lawn where students and faculty roam between classes and hang out for recess time.
When walking through the high school library, Jennifer pointed out this very informative poster about how they are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) at Wesleyan. They formed a committee to develop ways to incorporate AI in the classrooms, how it can be used and when it is not appropriate.
Following are some quick basic facts about Wesleyan school:
- 1,200 students total
- For the 2024-2025 school year, Kindergarten had 134 applicants for only 54 spots
- There are approximately 500 students in the high school
- The school motto is JOY (Prioritize Jesus first, then Others, then Yourself!)
- Various portions of Psalm 24 are engraved on each Wesleyan building
- Chris Cleveland, current Head of School, insists the faculty know every student and greets them by name and with eye contact.
I wasn’t aware of Wesleyan’s high school mentor program. Jennifer explained it to us and I LOVE the idea of this program. Basically every high school student is assigned an adult faculty or administration mentor. Jennifer has mentored the same group of senior girls since their freshman year. Every week they gather in her office to chat and simply hang out together and discuss random topics. My takeaway is that Wesleyan School is a place where the students are known. No one is anonymous or goes unnoticed. One of Wesleyan’s philosophies is that learning is more productive when done together. This is reflected by smaller class sizes (high school classes are capped at 13), mentor groups, daily structure, the naming tradition and more. Wesleyan’s goal is for every student to have multiple faculty who know them not only academically but personally.
Wesleyan is hosting a Family Open House on January 11th at 1 PM if you want to check out Wesleyan for your kiddos!
Oh…and I know what some of you are thinking….”I cannot afford Wesleyan, right?” Private schools are expensive indeed but you might be surprised at Wesleyan’s financial aid options. Wesleyan’s website really explains the financial aid well so be sure to check it out if you are interested. Admission season is spring with applications due end of January and decisions made in April.
Peggy and I were very impressed with the facilities, the adults, the kids, the atmosphere…thank you Jennifer for the tour!
5405 Spalding Drive
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
(770) 448-7640
