Mission and Philosophy

The mission of The Mountain Community School is to create an educational environment where students are inspired to academic excellence and discovery. Teachers, parents, students, and the community will work together to honor individuality and diversity, nurture respect for self and others, and foster a lifelong love of learning.

By utilizing a curriculum rich in content, strong in basic skills and relevant to daily life, children will be guided to success. Small class size, strong parental support, teacher autonomy, and a willingness to explore innovative teaching methods will be the hallmark of this school. Our goal is to instill a sense of pride and a love of learning in each and every child, through service to school and community.

Small class size will constitute the cornerstone of our program. This allows for greater individual attention for each student and an opportunity for teachers to tailor teaching methods to suit the needs of each child. Teachers will be encouraged to utilize a variety of teaching strategies and tools to engage and stimulate students to achieve excellence. Personalized and creative teaching will benefit students across the academic spectrum.

Parent and community involvement will be vital to the success of The MCS. Through the use of a Family Partnership Agreement and the recruitment of support from business and community groups, we will bring our community into our school as partners in public education.

We are very fortunate in Henderson County to have a large retiree community that has a keen interest in public education. By bringing the generations together, we can enrich the educational experience of our students and the lives of everyone involved. The support provided by our partnership with the community will also allow our teachers time to work on improving the educational direction of our school, and afford them opportunities to work together as a group in a teaching community with a truly shared vision.

We have chosen a curriculum of scope and sequence which is rich in content and furnishes common ground for communication in a diverse society. The Core Knowledge Sequence has been shown by statistical studies to narrow the performance gap between students of lower socioeconomic status and others. This curriculum provides a clear progression with building blocks of knowledge which will foster teacher cooperation between grades.

Assessment of our success will be measured not only in terms of standardized testing, but also by parent, student, and teacher satisfaction. The MCS will be evaluated by the willingness of families to choose our school, as well as by the willingness of the Board and Principal to accept and solicit input from parents and children concerning the curricula, governance, and function of our school.

Students will be expected to participate in service projects for their school and community. The sense of self-worth and "connectedness" this provides the children will enhance their self-respect and motivate them toward successful learning.