Hitting the TRAILS: Mountain Ed. rolls out landmark LMS
Dr. Jennifer Glover, director of teaching and learning (left), with Lena Dowdy, executive director of technology (right) celebrate at a luncheon for the TRAILS launch.
By Lara Moore

After interviewing more than 50 students about why they withdrew from high school, writer Deborah Feldman unearthed a mix of answers.
Most scenarios involved two factors: a student’s loss of faith in oneself as a learner and, directly or indirectly, the school itself. In an interview about her book Why We Drop Out, featured on the National Education Association Web pages, Feldman notes that of everyone she interviewed, no one indicated a school intervention in response to their warning signs, such as chronic absences. She concludes the interview with the antidote: “(...) The main thing is to help kids feel like you have their back, no matter what.”
Down to its bone marrow, this is what Mountain Education Charter High School does. In an effort to express this through the curriculum, school leadership set out to find new content that would be the most relatable, current and useful for students. The mission led Dr. Jennifer Glover, Lena Dowdy, and about 30 other writers, on a 3-year endeavour to build a new Learning Management System (LMS).
The idea for the new curriculum, TRAILS, stemmed from a conversation with Glover, director of teaching and learning, Dr. Wayne Lovell, superintendent, and Dr. Ray McNulty, who represents a nonprofit called Successful Practices Network, which specializes in trauma skills, career literacy and dropout prevention. At the time, about 90% of Mountain Education’s online curriculum was GradPoint, owned by Pearson. 
“Mr. McNulty shared that every aspect of our school system was spot-on with serving our second-chance population, with the exception of our curriculum,” said Glover. He added that it lacked a real-life connection and relevant learning. “Our superintendent, Dr. Wayne Lovell, took that to heart and tasked the teaching and learning and technology departments to create a customized Learning Management System, called TRAILS. Mountain Ed. is piloting new LMS classes on an ongoing basis, and will fully transition to TRAILS on June 1. This also means that all studnets must finish their current coursework in GradPoint by the first of June.
According to Lena Dowdy, director of technology, teachers who helped write the curriculum went an extra mile– literally. Instructors filmed lessons on-site, so classes about ecosystems were filmed from places such as Okefenokee Swamp. TRAILS features include: audio for passages to be read aloud, spot-check questions for understanding and a pacing feature that students are required to pause and consider the content, as opposed to clicking through at lightning speed.
(Story continues, right column below, see TRAILS)
From homelessness to hope
Above: Barvor (BJ) Redman, MECHS student, and Mike Fisher, Ninth District Opportunity Housing and Program Planner, catch up on the front porch of the Brighstone Transitions community center.
By Lara Moore

Before becoming homeless, he liked to write about God. 
Facebook was his platform of choice for sharing Bible verses. Barvor Weegie Redman, or BJ, also liked dreaming of the day when he would earn an accredited high school diploma, and spending time with his little sister, who has accompanied him on their journey through the United State foster care system. Back in their native Liberia, glaucoma left their biological mother blind and struggling to provide. 
Yet, an abrupt departure from his foster family’s home in 2020 left him at the door of a Salvation Army shelter in Gainesville, Ga., with little time to pack, no way to save, and slim odds of graduating. Redman claims this was the will of the adoptive family. It was two months after his eighteenth birthday and he was alone. His sister remains with the foster parents. 
At the shetler, what was running through his mind? Was he safe? Amidst the unforgiving housing and rental market known to man, how was he going to provide for himself or graduate? And– after all this– did he still want to talk about God?
That’s actually Redman’s preferred starting point. “Without God being part of my life,” he said, “I would not have been able to endure what I’ve been through.” He added that the fact that humans are responsible for their actions doesn’t faze his religious views. “I definitely know that without God, I would most likely not be where I am today,” he said.
And where’s that? Thanks to a collaboration between Brightstone Transitions, Ninth District and Mountain Education Charter High School (MECHS), Redman is currently safe, warm, dry, sheltered– and pursuing his dream of finishing high school.
Located in Gainesville, Ga., Brightstone Transitions is an organization that supports neurodiverse populations ages 18-30 as they work towards a lifestyle of freedom and independence. Brightstone primarily supports clients on the autism spectrum, but also serves individuals with nonverbal learning or obsessive compulsive disorders, through a 3-tiered approach toward self-reliance. In the first phase, six residents of the program may live together while learning life skills, such as cooking, navigating social interactions and showing self-advocacy, especially in the workplace. As residents become increasingly self-reliant, they advance to a second or third tier of the program, where case managers slowly remove certain resources or supports. “Side-by-side, we teach them life skills,” said Chief Executive Officer Jill Allen. “Our motto is ‘Independence through application,’” she added.
How did Redman find himself at Brightstone? After spending four months at the homeless shelter, Mike Fisher, housing and program planner for Ninth District Opportunity, found him and reached out, in an effort to secure permanent housing. However, Redman didn’t have a means of financing Brightstone’s services. Allen wanted to hear his story anyway. “We met with BJ and we loved him,” she said. In the discussion among Brightstone’s leadership team thereafter, Allen said: “If we don’t help a kid like BJ, what are we really doing? So, we took him pro bono.” They secured a scholarship through the Brightstone Foundation, which is a nonprofit that helps sponsor Redman’s journey. 
In an effort to promote self-reliance, Brightstone partners with MECHS to help their clients earn accredited high school diplomas. “Our partnership with Mountain Ed. is invaluable,” said Allen. “The partnership truly matters. There are two reasons for this: We have young adults that have been shuffled around different programs their whole lives. They often need to earn extra high school credits,” she added. “They want an education and for most of them, the typical high school setting is just too overwhelming.” 
Mountain Ed. teacher Lori L. Chastain teaches Brightstone residents, including Redman, twice a week, in an on-site, smaller, familiar, comforting setting. “He’s always seeking knowledge through research,” said Chastain of Redman. The moves from an orphanage in Liberia, to the New York State foster system, to an adoptive family in North Georgia, have presented some gaps in Redman’s educational experience. So, Chastain’s instructional process and support for Redman is all-encompassing: “Last week, I sat down and he wanted to watch an educational video and I wrote all the notes for him,” she said. Chastain also helps him: read questions, longer passages, and explain more nuanced details, such as tone. “I take those context clues and explain those,” said Chastian. She added that there’s no way he would have this type of support in a traditional high school.
Though Redman has been through a lot, he remains undeterred in pursuit of his ultimate goal– graduating. “He’s just a kid that doesn’t give up,” said Brittany Means, his mentor and a Mountain Ed. English teacher. Several teachers also his determination as he completes at least one module, or chapter, every time he’s in class. “After everything he has been through, he’s still going to Mountain Ed., trying to make something of himself,” she said. Redman also beams at his progress. “I’m almost finished with health and world history,” he recently reported. “I try to get as much done as I can and I feel good because I’m getting closer to finishing school,” he said.
When he graduates, what’s next? Redman has said he’s open to the options of technical schools or learning a trade. Chastain added that he has benefited from the training and community provided by Brightstone and Mountain Ed.-- and that, in the grand scheme of things, that may remain the ultimate goal. “For BJ, having a family or having a house or having someone that cares for him is probably what he’s striving for,” she said. 
Recent Graduates
Gracie Haley, Hall Campus
Tatyana Whitaker, White Campus
Eduardo Mendoza, Hall Campus
(TRAILS)
Students may also notice an ease in learning through another feature: pre-tests. “The pre-tests are really good because you can exempt an entire lesson or multiple lessons… it gets a lot done that you don’t need to do,” said Kirsten London, who says she exempted 15 or 18 mini-lessons. It’s important to note that this feature is only available during face-to-face instruction. To clarify, she said, students are not skipping entire chapters but, rather, concepts touched on in each lesson. To be exempt from part of a lesson, students need to make an 80% or higher on the pre-test. She also added that TRAILS is easier to use and better than the previous curriculum. “With GradPoint, I had several things that I already knew, but you can’t exempt those, you have to do it,” she added. London, who wants to work in real estate, is looking forward to making up for lost time during the pandemic, rejoining her cohort and possibly graduating a little earlier.

New you can use: TRAILS resources

Enjoy these highlights from our semiannual Student Appreciation Drive
Student yoga, Forsyth Campus
S'mores, Gilmer Campus
Heritage Day (with Cuban coffee), Hall Campus
Make your votes count!
Today's the day-- it's time to vote for an amazing educator and staff member to be eligible for Teacher and Staff Member of the Year. Campus principals will provide
a voting form at today's PLC.
After your campus votes for two candidates, they'll then go on to compete at the district level, and the district winner will then compete in the state-level competition. Voting can be done form your phone or laptop. See this video for details.
Presenting our young & fearless writers:
Recent Graduates, continued
Yvette Pineda, Hall Campus
Student & Staff Wellness Newsletter
True or false: We only remember about 25-50% of what we hear.
To find out, check out this month's wellness newsletter. In addition, Martha Kent's newsletter features simple, actionable, student-friendly pointers for active listening that virtually everyone can use.
In the newsletter, Kent, Director of Student & Staff Wellness, also offers readers a valuable way to take inventory of their surroundings-- parents, pets, hobbies, sports, friends, habits, churches, etc.-- and therein note the energy flow of each item, positive or negative. This exercise is an extension of the Life Map Lesson in Thur Hike Seminar. Kent, formerly the Director of SEL, recently upgraded her job title to include a whole-child approach to educating students on topics including health, security and life- and work-ready skills.
Mountain Education Charter High School
1963 Tom Bell Rd.
Cleveland, GA 30528
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