This fall, I am starting The Hilt School, a small private high school for students who are not being served by the other options currently available in the Asheville area. Below, please find a few paragraphs which describe the school, and soon you will all be receiving a link to the website, Facebook page, and a blog I am writing about the school and about secondary education in America today.
For those of you who don’t know, I co-founded The New Classical Academy six years ago, and it is still going strong. The New Classical Academy is a private school in Weaverville which offers classical education in a hands-on environment and serves grades Pre-K through 8th. It was originally part of the plan to include high school, and I am so excited now to be able to fulfill that part of the dream.
I hope you will help me in getting the word out to anyone you may know who could benefit from a truly alternative and unique high school experience. The primary way people hear about schools is word of mouth, so please feel free to share this information with everyone.
It is my hope that The Hilt School will fill a need that has gone unmet in Asheville for a long time, and that together we can continue to improve our town. Please feel free to email or call with any questions you may have, and thank you so much for helping me to get the word out about The Hilt School.
Sincerely,
Kelly Homolka
828-242-4822 cell
The Hilt School: High School with Purpose
The Hilt School offers an individualized high school education designed to help students find a path to their future. The Hilt School graduates confident, directed young people who leave high school and enter the world with a purpose. Our students are given the opportunity to systematically explore themselves and their options, as they fulfill all of the necessary requirements for a high school diploma.
The Hilt School believes that all students can succeed, and that there are many paths to success. Whether that path includes university, community college, an internship, job training, travel, volunteering, pursuing a dream, or entering the work force is up to the student to discover. At The Hilt School, each student is given individualized attention in order to discover their own path.
The structure of our school week is unique. Students take paired English and History classes as well as paired Math and Science classes. Each paired class has both instructional time and scheduled study hall time to complete assignments. In addition to the academic courses, students take a course in Self-Discovery and one in Career Exploration. These classes are specifically designed to help students make informed choices about their futures.
The entire day on Friday is devoted to going out into the community to put our Self-Discovery and Career Exploration to the test. We will do everything from outdoor adventures to volunteering at non-profits to mentoring younger students, while using the experiences to further hone our choices for the future.
The small size of the school allows The Hilt School to offer a unique high school experience, which recognizes the necessity for academics and course completion while emphasizing the reality that each person has a unique contribution to make to our society.