Marietta in History
First Woman Principal at Marietta High School
1949
Mary Hall Swain didn't like to think of herself as the first woman principal of Marietta High School because she believed that gender had nothing to do with job performance. However, society was biased against professional women. Appointed at a time when all county schools had male principals, Mrs. Swain was paid about a thousand dollars a year less than her male counterparts. Raised by progressive parents who encouraged her to be whatever she wanted, she was educated at the University of Georgia and began her teaching career in Calhoun, Georgia. When her husband accepted a job in Atlanta she tried staying at home but missed the academic life. She taught at Smyrna School, Osborne High and Marietta High, where she became principal in 1949 and led the school for about eleven years.
Mrs. Swain believed that a disciplined environment encouraged learning, and she found the staff and community to be supportive. A conversation among a recalcitrant student, his or her father and the principal usually produced good behavior. Should a student reach a third offense for missing class, smoking or using profanity, there was a 30-day suspension. A fourth offense merited permanent expulsion. After she left Marietta High, she served as assistant superintendent and curriculum director, later joining the staff of Kennesaw Junior College when it opened in 1966. There she taught English until her retirement eight years later.
Scott, Thomas A. Cobb County, Georgia, and the Origins of the Suburban South.