Superintendent's Office: Biography

Dr. Emily Lembeck assumed the office of Marietta City Schools (MCS) Superintendent on July 1, 2005, becoming just the 12th superintendent in the system’s 113-year history, leading the Marietta City Schools’ 12 schools, approximately 8,000 students and 1,300 employees.

Dr. Lembeck served as Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Operations of Marietta City Schools from 2001 until her appointment to the superintendence in 2005. In that role, she was responsible for the school system’s overall instructional program. Before her successful career in school administration, she dedicated eleven years to the classroom as a teacher in Florida and Georgia. Beginning in 1991, she served as Instructional Lead Teacher at MCS’ West Side Elementary for three years, followed by six years as principal of Dunleith Elementary School and then a year as principal of Marietta Middle School. In each of these positions, her student-centered approach to teaching resulted in improved test scores and increased parental involvement.

A graduate of Brooklyn College in New York, Lembeck holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Georgia, a Masters in Administration and Supervision from Nova University in Florida, and a Bachelor in Early Childhood from Brooklyn College in New York.

Career Highlights
Under the direction of Dr. Lembeck, in June 2008, Marietta City Schools became one of Georgia’s first Charter School Systems. MCS is also an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School district. On April 23, 2008, the school district became only the second IB World School district in Georgia authorized to offer the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) for grades 6-10. MCS is one of only a few school systems nationwide able to provide the full IB (K-12) continuum. In 2000, Dr. Lembeck launched Marietta Reads!, a citywide effort to foster reading and literacy. Marietta Reads! successfully helped the city of Marietta illustrate how it has increased student test scores and book circulation, and consequently led to Marietta’s selection as an All-America City (AAC) at the 2006 National Civic League AAC competition.

Community and Professional Activities
Dr. Lembeck is an active member of many professional committees and organizations including the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Leadership Cobb Class of 2000, the Kiwanis Club of Marietta, Cobb Executive Women, Cobb Chamber of Commerce, and Cobb Education Consortium. She currently serves on the Junior Achievement of Georgia Board of Directors and the Junior League of Cobb-Marietta Advisory Board, as well as on the board of the Marietta Schools Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club, Cobb Community Services Board and Board of Health, Regional Commission on Homelessness, United Way of Cobb County, Communities in Schools of Cobb/Marietta, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and the Cobb County Library Foundation.

In recognition of her many professional and community contributions, Dr. Lembeck was most recently named Woman of the Year 2008 by the Cobb Chapter of the American Association of University Women. She was also recently named one of the 75 Notable Women in Cobb by the Junior League of Cobb-Marietta – 75th Anniversary (2008). In 2008 and 2004, Dr. Lembeck was named one of the YWCA Women of Achievement. In 2006, she was named Cobb County Boys & Girls Club 2006 Board Member of the Year for her work as a strong youth and community advocate, and she earned the 2006 Willie Hill Leadership Award for contributions to the Cobb County Community.