ROANOKE TIMES  
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997            TAG: 9702200022
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY  
DATELINE: NEWPORT
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
      Published correction ran on February 21, 1997.
         Mike Dawson was standing beside Julie Meltzer in the photograph 
      accompanying the story in Thursday's New River Current about the 
      proposed Mountain Community High School. Dawson was misidentified in the
      photo caption.

IT TAKES A DREAM ... TO START A HIGH SCHOOL

Ask teachers how they would change education, and many would begin with the phrase, "Well, if I had my own school ..."

Five educators, who are starting an alternative, private high school in Giles County, don't need the "if" any longer.

The Mountain Community High School, opening this fall, will be the first of its kind in the New River and Roanoke valleys to serve high school students. Schools like Blacksburg New and Blue Mountain in Floyd gear their programs toward elementary-age children.

Like those schools, Mountain Community will offer small classes, community involvement and a chance for students, and their parents, to actively develop their own learning.

"This isn't about people feeling good about doing nothing," said Julie Meltzer, "this is based on real challenges and real accomplishments."

Meltzer said she and her husband, Jonathan Bender, have been daydreaming about developing a school for years. Meltzer is getting her doctorate in curriculum and instruction at Virginia Tech; Bender heads the math program at another alternative school in Roanoke called Community School.

The two shared their dreams with Tina and Mike Dawson. Mike Dawson, who works for the Appalachian Trail Conference, has led students on learning trips around the country through the Community School; Tina Dawson formerly served as director there.

Together with sociologist Susan Mead, the group met weekly for a year, devising a plan. They've spent about $5,000 of their own so far, and have established a nonprofit organization for donations and grants.

Beginning this week, the group has scheduled meetings in various areas of the valley to talk with parents about their plan.

Each student will design a course of study that covers areas such as communication skills, creative arts, fitness and community service. A quarter of his or her credits must be earned working in internships or volunteer work.

The group is hoping to have at least 20 students enroll for this fall. They'll take over the first floor of the old Newport School, and share the large brick building with artists already there.

Until they know how many students will enroll, the group can't say if they'll hire teachers, or just guide instruction themselves. None of the organizers plan to quit their current jobs, though, and the group hopes to use creative ways to teach.

"One of the real advantages with having the school near Virginia Tech," said Mike Dawson, noting the school is just 12 minutes from Blacksburg, "is the number of people who have a passion for something and would love to teach high schoolers."

They don't want to be perceived as criticizing public schools, Meltzer said, but some students just don't fit into the regular mold.

The group hopes to attract kids who may want to study a specialized area, who were home-schooled, who weren't getting enough individual attention in regular classrooms or who weren't challenged enough there.

No matter who they are, they will be an asset to any college or business once they finish, she said.

"There's no way a kid who has internships, who has traveled across the country and completed complex writing projects and can look a person in the eye with self-assurance will be at a disadvantage," Meltzer said. "Colleges are looking for kids like this."

The group won't say how much the private school will cost students, though they admit it will come in at the high end compared to similar schools. But that will include items like a month-long trip each year to a different region of the country. Students will study the people and politics of the area, as well as facing physical challenges like hiking and camping.

"There's a real trust in this relationship," said Mike Dawson. "If you let kids push their limits - not socially, but in ability - you show them what they're capable of."

For more information, call (540) 544-7645.

LENGTH: Medium:   85 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ALAN KIM/Staff. Julie Meltzer and Jonathan Bender's  
          Mountain Community will offer small classes, community involvement  
          and a chance for students, and their parents, to actively develop  
          their own learning. color.