Educators that Excel: Colleen Znosko

By Olivia Putnal DeLong | Photo by Sara Hanna

Current School: Cambridge International School
Years in Education: 9
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Favorite neighborhood stops: Swoozies for gifts, Kazoo Toys (a school parent owns the store!), Zoës Kitchen and Arden’s Garden

Cambridge International School Creative Director and Head of Project Learning Colleen Znosko seems to be a jack-of-all-trades. The 29-year-old Lawrenceville, Georgia, native graduated from Atlanta’s St. Pius X Catholic High School and attended Georgia Southern University where she received her bachelor’s in fine arts. She began her career as a coach with Playball, a sports and life lessons camp that serves various schools, including Wieuca Road Baptist Church Day School, Peachtree Road Lutheran Preschool and Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School. In 2011 she joined Cambridge as an art teacher. Two years later, after much encouragement from her administration, she moved into her current role.

Things haven’t always been easy for Znosko, however. Two years ago, she developed a bacterial infection called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in her spine, a condition that could have developed during two previous sports-related injuries—a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and a herniated disc in her lower back. Her doctors told her that she shouldn’t work with children because the infection weakens the immune system and it would be risky for her health. She refused to comply and, thanks to daily antibiotic infusions given to her at the time of diagnosis, she is able to do what she enjoys most.

At Cambridge, she created La Petite Academie, a program that helps children ages 3 to 6 understand concepts such as geometry and math through art.

“Her program highlights the great masters such as Matisse and Monet, and provides the children with a foundational knowledge of art basics and an appreciation of the world through the eyes of an artist,” says Cambridge Executive Director and Founder Suzanne Darley.

That’s not all.  Colleen envisioned and implemented a pay-it-forward campaign for the 2013-2014 school year in which the students were inspired to help others.

“On the last day of the Georgia 400 tolls, our children gave over 40 letters to motorists and paid their tolls. The children earned their money through doing work around the school and the letters were drawn to encourage motorists to have a wonderful day,” Darley says.

Soon, Znosko’s role at Cambridge is going to become even greater—she is currently in Director’s Training.

And it’s no secret that Znosko’s students adore her.

“Miss Colleen has taught me about so many things. I learned the difference between organic and geometric shapes in her class,” says 5-year-old student Ashley Krivo. “I love Miss Colleen and wish I could stay at Cambridge forever, but I am going to first grade next year. Miss Colleen loves everybody the same and I will visit her.”

Along with teaching, some of Znosko’s other passions include kayaking, playing tennis or hiking with her dog Tonka.