By Gregory Wallace

Dr. Beth Farokhi has been selected as the new interim head of the Galloway School in Buckhead. She has more than 30 years experience in education and has been a leader in her work with Georgia State University and the Georgia education system.

Farokhi began as a classroom teacher in the Cobb County public schools. After receiving her masters from Emory University and doctorate from the University of Georgia, Farokhi served a 24-year tenure as an administrator in the College of Education at Georgia State University.  During that time she served as director of curriculum development and of the faculty evaluation process. She also served as liaison from the Office of the Dean to Georgia Professional Standards Commission and Board of Regents.

Farokhi designed a faculty development plan for the University System of Georgia and created the 2004 Georgia State University Leadership Academy for Women. She also served as co-principal investigator for the Integrating Gender Equity and Reform grant, a National Science Foundation collaborative with five Georgia higher education campuses.

After leaving Georgia State in 2005, she pursued a variety of avenues, including running for political office, and recently, for the position of state school superintendent. Mere days after being defeated in the primary, Farokhi received the call to step in as head of the Galloway School.

Farokhi is excited about the opportunities to apply her wide range of skills that the position provides her. “I’m a former parent of the Galloway School,” she said. “I had two sons that came through the program, from pre-school all the way through high school. I understand the school from multiple perspectives: one being a parent, but also as an educator, understanding the dynamics that go on each and every day here.”

Farokhi also knew the school’s founder, Elliott Galloway, for many years  and learned to “live and breathe the philosophy of his vision for the school that values learning in a joyful environment that stretches our kids to the best that they can be as individuals.”

For more information about the Galloway School, visit www.gallowayschool.org.