What's Going on with The Chastain Campus?

Credit: Adam Berardi

While Upper Learning is still located at the Northside Galloway Campus, we don’t know much about the future of the new campus or what’s going on at the Chastain campus. The journalism class visited the Chastain campus and looked at the construction site. While there we talked with the ML Principal, Mrs. Bell, and the Assistant Principal, Mr. Bennett. Beforehand, we additionally talked with the Assistant Head of School, Mr. Peden. 

Mr. Peden informed us of the plan for the new building. He started by mentioning that Galloway had finally gotten the green light to build on the property. They're adjusting the height requirements, redesigning the interior, and reconfiguring the layout. Additionally, the 3rd floor had to be completely relocated from going on top to being moved to ground level on the side of the building, reflecting the model of a “J.” Thus far, as we approach the end of March, there has still been no actual construction done on the property. They are still in the planning/design phase and plan to start actual construction in the next few months with hopes of finishing the new building during the 2026/2027 school year.

Regarding the other spaces around the old campus, SAGE has been helping plan their new kitchen space. They visited other schools' kitchen spaces to help benefit the design process and create an efficient space for themselves. Galloway plans to extend and open up the courtyard in comparison to the original circular courtyard barricaded by Gresham. They will upgrade the Early Learning playground while keeping enough space to accommodate middle school and high school students. Finally, the most notable upgrade is that graduations will finally take place on Galloway soil rather than in the Chastain Amphitheater which has hosted graduation for years. Although it feels like we, the students of Galloway, have been sitting around and waiting for progress, Mr. Peden and the Galloway staff have put a lot of thought into this whole process, and we should see the pace begin to pick up as 2025 progresses down the road.

As far as how the demolition of the old campus has affected Middle and Early Learning, they've had to adjust most of their daily routines. For example, during carpool, middle schoolers are dropped off at the top of Eliott Galloway Way, while the early learners are dropped off on the green. The shuttle has been another adjustment, as some middle schoolers who take advanced classes in Upper Learning transport back and forth between campuses. Along with the kids, Ms. Larson, Mr. Solomon, and Mr. Guignard also switch between campuses. Another adjustment is how the middle school lobby has essentially turned into the front office. Mrs. Little receives all of the packages on top of all the parents looking for directions. 

We were told that people are expecting the construction to begin before the end of this school year and hopefully be done by 2027. We learned that there has been lots of work put into this project behind the scenes to ensure that the middle school’s life wouldn't be affected too much. Overall, there have been a lot of adjustments needed, but as far as how things are going, students and faculty have adapted well.