SLO LIFE FebMar 2020

| Q&A
PROCESS OF DISCOVERY
Fifteen years ago, SUSIE THEULE had an idea. Today, that idea has a name:
SLO Classical Academy. The private school, known to many as SLOCA, is a
uniquely California entrepreneur-in-a-garage start up story that now enrolls
412 students. Its director stopped by our office the other day to talk about the
challenges that come with balancing the management of a growing program,
which employees a staff of eighty, as well as remaining present for her
husband and four children. Here is some of what she had to say…
Okay, Susie, let’s talk about where you are from.
I grew up outside Chicago in a Northwest suburb
called Arlington Heights. I lived in only two
different houses there before going away to school.
For college, I decided that I wanted to get out
either to the beach or to the mountains, so I ended
up going down to San Diego. After graduation, I
ended up moving up to LA to get my doctorate
in clinical psychology. And, during that time, I
met my husband and got married. We lived in San
Clemente, which is an amazing little beach town,
but it’s still in Orange County. His brother had
gone to Cal Poly, so we had visited and knew that
we loved it here and knew we wanted to raise a
family here. So, when he had a job opportunity that
felt right, we moved.
And, how was the transition? As soon as we
arrived, I said to my husband, “How about we
start a school?” And the poor man had just been
through my doctorate, my dissertation, and my
psychology licensing, and we moved, and we had
just had our third child. He said, “Please, can
you please wait just a year?” So, a year later I was
looking for a book, and I met someone who was an
educator. She had always wanted to start a school
here and, so, we put our heads together and did a
bunch of work and ended up opening SLOCA in
2005. We started at four homes around the city,
including our own. We whitewashed our garage
and added a window. We had eleven first graders in
there and total enrollment was thirty-seven by the
first half of the year. I was pretty sure it wasn’t legal
for us to be doing this in our home.
You just jumped in with both feet. Yes, exactly. I
really had no idea what I was doing, literally. I just
knew what I wanted for my kids. I would do many
things differently had I known what I know now.
So, we really needed to clean that up, but we also
knew that the school would not be sustainable if
people are driving all over the city to four different
houses. And, I knew that if we were in a setting that
was an actual school site that more people would
be attracted to it and have a higher level of trust.
Fortunately, that proved to be true. We just kind
of grew and grew and grew for years, by leaps and
bounds. We rent the old Teach Elementary School
campus from San Luis Coastal Unified and we’ve
had a great relationship with the district, but we
are outgrowing it. It’s across the street from Cal
Poly and we also rent houses across the street to
house our high school. We’ve completely gutted
and remodeled five homes over there, but we’re
outgrowing them, as well.
Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about
your background in psychology. Sure, okay, I’m
a depth psychologist by training, so there are lots
of deep thoughts going on with me, and emotions,
and thinking about life. I have a rich internal life,
always thinking. My mind is running all of the
time. But, I really have a lot on my plate in terms of
just completing tasks and trying to remain present.
Every day, I’m aware of my weaknesses and how
I screw up with my parenting and my leadership.
People say to me, “I don’t know how you do what
you do.” And, I do it the same way everybody else
does it. I get up every day and put my clothes on,
take a shower, and just put one foot in front of the
other. But, yeah, I don’t know. I’m a bundle of other
things going on, I think, underneath this leadership
tag that I have somehow found myself in—I’m
a very reluctant leader. I really did this because I
wanted something special for my kids and then saw
that so many other people wanted that same thing
for their kids, as well.
That must be difficult to balance. You know, I really
am sort of a troubled soul. I’m very contemplative,
probably to a fault. So, everything that happens to
me goes through a process of discovery, wondering
what it’s about. I’m also a really deep feeler. I feel
a great, heavy responsibility, and so I carry that,
and I think about it a lot. I’m just contemplative
and thoughtful and can sort of get stuck in
that sometimes. And then I think what makes
it difficult is I really believe in living in the
moment. I really want to look in my kids’ eyes
and know what they’re thinking and feeling
that day. I also want to really know the people
I work with; and I’ve got a list of tasks that’s just
insane at work and at home. I have four kids. I think
that’s why going for a paddle on Lopez Lake works
so well for me. It gives me time to just sort of be
quiet. I don’t listen to anything out on the lake. I
just paddle and sort of pray and think. I try to tend
to myself a little bit. SLO LIFE
30 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | FEB/MAR 2020