The accomplishments and legacy of Northview's founder

Sheehan Banka, Features/Website Editor & Sarah Greenbaum, Staff Writer

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Striking blue letters emblazon these words on the cafeteria walls of Northview High School. The philosophically inspired quote is a testament to Northview's mission of instilling excellence in academics, arts, and athletics.

That mission, along with countless lasting influences on the school's staff, atmosphere, and student culture, originates from Northview's founder and very first principal: Peter Zervakos.

Zervakos delivers the morning announcements from his office on Northview’s first day of school.
Photo by Sarah Greenbaum.

Zervakos, commonly known as "Mr. Z," served as principal of North Springs High School before opening Northview in 2002. Upon founding Northview, Zervakos brought with him staff members from North Springs, including Northview's first assistant principal, Bobby Macris, and first athletic director, Robert Hunter.

Zervakos opened Northview to relieve the pressure on Chattahoochee High School, which had been receiving an influx of students at the time. He made it his goal, however, to make Northview more than a temporary substitute for kids who couldn't fit into Chattahoochee for population purposes. He saw Northview as a school that could be as good as, if not better than, its neighbors; it would only be a matter of time.

Northview Spanish teacher Zandra Horton recounts how quickly Zervakos achieved this goal.

"When we first opened...Chattahoochee High School was the school to attend," Horton said. "And then it only took Northview a few years to become the school to attend. The best school."

Zervakos began by establishing Northview's varsity sports teams with Robert Hunter. Even though Northview fields teams for 15 different sports today, the idea seemed almost crazy to some in its early years, as the school lacked any sports fields or stadiums.

"But he said, 'If you're going to choose to come to Northview, you're going to get the full high school experience,'" Northview's principal Martin Neuhaus said, quoting Zervakos. "'We're going to be that shining...star on the hill.'"

In the academic department, Zervakos instilled a drive for learning and excellence in both his students and fellow faculty members. Over the years, Northview's excellence in academics has become one of the school's best-known attributes. This excellence traces its roots to Zervakos' administration, as he pushed teachers to try out new subjects and imprinted a passion for education on the school's atmosphere, a passion that quickly spread to its students.

"He encouraged the faculty to continue to drive," Northview teacher Stephanie McCall said. "We had to fill in [for] classes we didn't have teachers for, and there was a course called Child Psychology. He came to me and asked me if I would teach it. I said I knew nothing about that. He said I'm a parent; I know children, I know students; and he encouraged me to do it. Today, I think back on that course, and it really was one of the finest courses I ever taught."

McCall also recalls Zervakos' urging for collaborative education, leading students to assist each other with whatever they may need at school.

"He encouraged students to have help sessions. And I remember one day, he was very concerned. There was writing on some of the pillars outside the bus canopy. We were thinking it was graffiti," she said. "And as we looked closely at it...it was calculus problems. [The students] didn't have papers, so they found what they needed. And obviously they were working together. I see that even today...I see students helping each other with math, or foreign language, or one of the courses they struggle with. That team approach [is] very strong here at Northview within our student body."

This collaborative learning effort persists among Northview's students today, even in Zervakos' absence.

"It's never Rogman's AP kids, or my AP kids, or someone else's AP kids," Northview science teacher Pallavi Rallapalli said. "They're all taking AP Bio. So they are all friends."

Along with academics, Zervakos displayed an intense passion for the arts. When he left Northview in 2009, he moved to Roswell High School as a band director, a role he had previously served in at Milton High School as well. His love for band infused Northview's traditions, as even today, the school drumline performs in the courtyard on the mornings of home football games.

Zervakos also showed his dedication to overall excellence by having some involvement in nearly every school activity during his tenure as principal.

"Whenever we had an activity, he was right there behind us," McCall said. "Whether it be cleaning the grounds on our Saturday cleanup day, whether he was out there with a shovel and a pail...he was there participating."

Northview English language arts teacher Elizabeth Lake describes how Zervakos' commitment to well-rounded involvement motivated a similar zeal in his students.

"Mr. Z wanted [us] supporting and uplifting each other in our pursuits," Lake said. "Packing the stadium for every football game...going to support band concerts and chorus concerts and orchestra concerts and all the plays. It didn't matter what they were personally involved in; students prioritized going to support their friends' activities."

Zervakos' desire for excellence is embedded in Northview's culture, from the school's student and staff populations to its potential names. Referencing his vision of Northview as "a star on the hill," Zervakos proposed the name "Acropolis," alluding to the ancient Athenian citadel built atop the city's hills. The Acropolis is a historical wonder, embodying the epitome of architectural excellence in its time. A vote among the school's incoming students, however, solidified "Northview" as the name it still goes by today.

Even as the name "Northview" stuck instead of "Acropolis," Zervakos' Greek heritage made a lasting impact on the school. Northview's four pillars of compassion, integrity, positive attitude, and personal responsibility are an homage to the columns popular in Greek architecture. Teachers hand out Kudo Cards to students representing these pillars; students can use these cards as lottery tickets to win a prize by depositing them in the glass boxes outside the cafeteria.

Even the cafeteria wall quote on excellence has Greek roots. It originates from Will Durant's book "The Story of Philosophy," in a section quoting the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Northview students (left to right) junior Emily Arnette, junior Veronica Monroe, junior Caleb Bertrand, and senior Ali Beg point to the quote on the cafeteria wall.
Photo by Sarah Greenbaum.

Northview also has an annual tradition of giving Arete Awards to students who best demonstrate the Greek concept of arete, the purest excellence of any form.

"[Zervakos] wanted everyone to be excellent," Neuhaus said. "That doesn't mean every day is excellent, doesn't mean every decision is excellent, but a pursuit of excellence. It's just living each day to your full potential."

Zervakos frequently cooked Greek delicacies for his faculty, building bonds by holding meals together.

"He would always make us Greek food," Northview science teacher Anu Bhardwaj said. "We would always look forward to that. A full, hand-cooked, traditional Greek meal."
Many of Northview's long-lasting staff members remember Zervakos for his unadulterated kindness and efforts to develop genuine connections with the students and staff.

"We were his last freshman class," Rallapalli, once a student at Northview herself, said. "He was big into knowing who everyone was."

Kind words about Mr. Z seem to reverberate throughout Northview as teachers recall their experiences with him.

"He was such a nice person," Horton said. "He was one of the few people that is kind, but it's like natural kindness, you know? He wasn't kind because of his job, like 'I want to get people to like me.' He was just a people person. He honestly cared about his teachers."

Zervakos also established Northview's Principal Advisory Group as an opportunity for students to voice their opinions and suggestions regarding school policies.

"He was walking around the food court during lunch and just meeting and talking to the students, hearing from them as to what they needed and what they wanted," McCall said. "They buy into the fact that this is their school."

The Principal Advisory Group is still active today, and held their first meeting of the 2026-27 school year on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Zervakos passed away in 2013 after spending years fighting a neurodegenerative condition diagnosed as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Northview honors his legacy through the preservation of its Greek details, its students' persistent passion to learn, and the memories its staff have cherished for 25 years.

"Every day I walk in, I say hi to Mr. Z as I walk past and just try to do the best I can to honor him," Neuhaus said. "He was one of...the most influential people in my life."

Above: Northview principal Martin Neuhaus waves to the photo of Mr. Zervakos outside his office each morning.
Below: Neuhaus recreates Zervakos’ pose from delivering the morning announcements on Northview’s first day of school.
Photos by Sarah Greenbaum.

Though Neuhaus joined Northview in 2022, he already knew Zervakos from the turn of the century, as the founding principal was Neuhaus' mentor. Lake joined the school in 2005, while Bhardwaj, Horton, and McCall, have all worked at Northview since its opening in 2002, as have custodian Chip Ashby, math teacher Steven Bombard, data clerk Vivian Elliott, and math teacher Brian Stone.

"The fact that so many of the teachers have remained here year after year [is] a true testament to the quality of the students we have," McCall said, "and [Zervakos'] directing and modeling was really what has made Northview as successful as it is today."

In just a few years, Zervakos transformed Northview from a crutch for Chattahoochee to an attraction for parents around the county. With a scorecard of 98.23 out of 100, Northview is currently ranked among the top 5 schools in the state and top 200 in the country in terms of CCBI, or the College Curriculum Breadth Index, which measures the depth of course material as sufficiently preparatory for college.

"His philosophy was, 'Let's be the best version of ourselves that we can,'" Neuhaus said. "We have more than 25 state championships in athletics...and looking at the academic lens, Northview excels."

As Northview's students keep passing their tests and classes, Zervakos' influences withstand the test of time. The school's diverse curricula reflect his passion for education, and the Northview faculty continues his mission to instill excellence in academics, arts, and athletics.

The first batch of students to enter Northview High School began their journey on Monday, Aug. 12, 2002. Twenty-four years later, through the efforts of tens of thousands of students, hundreds of staff members, and one passionate founder, the school remains a shining beacon of excellence. The legacy of Peter Zervakos lives on at Northview.

Peter Zervakos: The pursuit of excellence

Kate and the sky