The Cherokee County Board of Education recently unanimously approved contracting with Mountain Education Charter High School to take over the school district's evening high school program, currently known as Polaris Evening Program.

Beginning in June, Mountain Ed will run the evening school program at the Etowah East building on the Etowah HS 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 Ed. Classes are open to students ages 15-21 and to age 22 for special education students.

Mountain Ed 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 on to graduation, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower said, noting that an evening high school has been a valuable academic choice in Cherokee County School District (CCSD) for many years. Were excited about this partnership and the benefits it will provide to our students.

Like CCSD, Mountain Ed 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 Ed is also accredited by the 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.

For more information about Mountain Ed, visit MyMEC.org.