Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
New Briarwood Christian School superintendent, Gus Martin, has worked in Christian education for the last 25 years, beginning in his native Australia, then moving to Tacoma, Washington before accepting the Briarwood position in July 2023.
The search for Briarwood Christian School’s new superintendent spanned more than 2,500 miles across the country and ended in Tacoma, Washington.
Gus Martin, who was chosen to fill the position at BCS, has worked in Christian education for over 25 years and said he has a personal passion for successful Christian education.
He was recruited to Briarwood from Life Christian Academy, where he served as head of school for the past 5½ years, the shortest amount of time he’s spent at a school. He described Life Christian Academy as the educational ‘jewel’ of Tacoma, Washington.
When he arrived, Life Christian Academy was in financial distress, and their senior pastor had been dismissed, which was troubling to the church community. Martin helped turn things around and more than doubled the attendance.
BCS has had its own issues over the past several years, and Martin said he will work to bring the community back together.
“There’s some broken trust in the community, and I think for me, I’m just going to be taking time to reestablish relationships, rebuild the community and reinvigorate trust,” he said. “And as a Christian school, we should be able to live in harmony with a common purpose.”
A native of Tasmania, Australia, Martin had spent his entire life there prior to his job in Tacoma. He did, however, spend his senior year of high school in an exchange student program at Del Norte High School in Crescent City, California, where he graduated in 1989.
An accomplished athlete in several sports, Martin became a professional tennis player at the age of 18. He attended the University of Tasmania, and his journey in the education field began as a high school science and computer studies teacher.
Martin served as dean of the secondary school at Leighland Christian School in Tasmania for 11 years, before spending 14 years as head of school at Genesis Christian College (preschool through 12th grade) in North Brisbane.
Describing himself as both a strong and transformational leader, Martin said he also likes to lead from among the people.
“I’m really, really approachable,” he said. “I love to sit down and talk to people. When you start a new job, there’s a learning curve and there’s always a story. [You have to] understand the landscape and figure out how to strategize how to move through that, and that’s why I think relationships and trust are going to be everything.”
Martin said that in the absence of people in key positions at BCS, the team has rallied together. He’s encouraged by the opportunity to further the educational transformation that happens at the school.
He has been impressed by not only the school itself, but also the hospitality his family has experienced.
“If you really want to learn about the community, you’ve got to be prepared to sit down and talk, and sit down and listen,” he said. “Because everybody’s experience matters. And if you don’t listen, you can’t do a good job.”
He will continue to meet with families to listen and learn and share from his heart what he sees for the school in the future, he said.
Martin and his wife, Felicity, bought a home near BCS before they’d even seen it and are continuing to settle in. They have three children: Jake (21), a senior at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in honors business management; Gabby (19), a sophomore at Texas Christian University and a triathlon runner; and Jani (16), a junior at BCS who will also play on the tennis team. They also added a new labradoodle puppy, Suki, to their family.
“The most important thing for us as a family is raising our kids well, so we invest a lot of intentional effort in how we raise our kids, and making sure we develop their faith is such an important thing for us,” Martin said.
In his introduction letter to the school community, Martin said his desire is “to carry forward, support and build on the exceptional prior leadership of BCS, its board and the admirable work and achievements of the faculty and staff.”
When asked about plans for the future, Martin said, “I like to put my roots down deep and be stable. I hope this is my last stop.”
