Alumni of the Galloway School are an incredibly loyal group. We are ever-conscious of how our formative years were nurtured by a unique pedagogy that encouraged a love of learning for its own sake and individual exploration within a community of curious minds.
While this idealistic philosophy about education is central to our allegiance, our experience was rooted in the physical environment which incubated our intellectual development. After all, the veneration of the human spirit’s potential extends to its material creations. The Gresham building, like all recognized architectural treasures, holds a majestic presence. Perched on a hill overlooking Chastain Park, its brick walls shield an intimate, authentic interior that has cultivated countless students for generations.
What is truly shocking is that, devoid of reason, the School itself has been responsible for the relentless pursuit of destroying the Gresham building, its beloved home. Its Administration has perpetuated the claim that Gresham’s replacement is unavoidable, rebuffing all questions to the contrary. Expert opinions however do not support this stance. In fact, specialists in Architectural Preservation who have toured the building affirm that Gresham can be rehabilitated and upgraded to modern educational standards at less cost. Despite evidence contrary to its justification, the Administration has relied on blind faith in its stewardship to secure support for its objectives, effectively deceiving its most ardent followers.
What has now become a hackneyed mantra, “it’s about the students,” emanates from a mindset that does not question, does not seek out facts, does not require proof and only repeats clichés and talking points. This simplistic approach fails to recognize that rehabilitating Gresham is inherently about the students. That is, it’s about preserving the physical embodiment of the School’s ideals that have fostered growth and learning of its students.
A profound reverence for the School’s founder, Elliott Galloway, seems to have transformed into a simplistic fidelity to the Administration and forgets a fundamental distrust in authority inherent in his teachings. The Galloway School has always valiantly represented a buttress against a world which emphasizes expediency, hierarchy and conformity. While the immediate concern is about its architecture, the overarching fear is that the core qualities that made the Galloway School so special have already been lost.
These core qualities, however, are not only expressed as abstract ideals—they are also memorialized in the very walls of Gresham. In light of these concerns, the Administration should reconsider its present path towards needless destruction of its material essence.
The Galloway School originated out of the redemption of a forlorn building transformed into a vibrant home for the diversity of thought. That place and that vision deserve to be revitalized, not erased.