Cherokee Begins Mountain Education Charter High Partnership

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — The Cherokee County School District is kicking off its new partnership with Mountain Education Charter High School, with classes set to begin in Woodstock this summer.

The Cherokee County School Board recently unanimously approved contracting with Mountain Education to take over the Cherokee County School District’s evening high school program, currently known as Polaris Evening Program. Beginning in June, Mountain Education will run the evening school program at the Etowah East building on the Etowah High School campus, and expand services using the same successful model already in place in counties across north Georgia. Just as with Polaris, there will be no charge to students to enroll in evening classes with Mountain Education; classes are open to students ages 15-21, and to age 22 for special education students.

“Mountain Education will offer our high school students the continued opportunity to earn their high school diploma in the evenings, and will provide them with new services including a mentor to coach them onto graduation and nightly dinners catered by local restaurants,” Superintendent of Schools Brian Hightower said, noting that an evening high school has been a valuable academic choice in the Cherokee County School District for many years. “We’re excited about this partnership and the benefits it will provide to our students.”

Like Cherokee County School District, Mountain Education, which was founded in 1993, is accredited by AdvancEd, and students earn credits toward the same high school diploma as they would at any other Georgia public high school. Mountain Education also is accredited by NCAA. Students will complete self-paced course work online using computers at the school, with one-on-one support from teachers; classes have a 14:1 student-teacher ratio. Students will meet weekly with their mentors for coaching and support.

Classes will be offered at the Etowah East campus from 4 to 9 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays beginning in June, with flexible class scheduling within those operating hours. In addition to offering full-time programs for students who enroll with Mountain Education, it also offers students the opportunity to retake individual classes to transfer credit back to their full-time school. Students also can dual enroll at Mountain Ed and a college or university.

Hightower said the transition will be even more seamless with the announcement by Mountain Education of its administrators for the new campus: Trey Olson, Cherokee County School District’s current Chief Operations Officer, and Beth Long, Cherokee County School District’s current executive director for administrative leadership for elementary schools. Both are retiring from the Cherokee County School District this spring and then will work part-time in the shared leadership role for Mountain Education’s new campus.

“Trey and Beth are longtime leaders in our school district, and I know they will serve our community well in this new role,” Hightower said, noting work already is underway by Mountain Education staff to provide information to Cherokee County School District high school counselors and administrators, so they can best advise students and parents about its program.

The Mountain Education system of 18 campuses is led by Superintendent Wayne Lovell, who is working with his staff of education leaders to prepare for the expansion into Cherokee.

“With over 27 years of experience, Mountain Education has a unique perspective with regard to supporting student success,” Lovell said. “We are so excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Cherokee County School District in providing an enhanced evening high school option for the students of Cherokee County. This opening will represent the 18th collaborative partnership school we have in North Georgia.”

More information about Mountain Education is online at mymec.org.