Rooted Here Since 1999
The Mountain Community School was conceived in 1998 and opened in Hendersonville, North Carolina in 1999. From the beginning it was built on a conviction that runs counter to how most schools operate: that children learn best when they are fully engaged — intellectually, socially, emotionally, and physically — and that the world beyond the classroom is one of the most powerful teachers available.
For more than twenty-five years, that belief has shaped everything we do.
learning that looks like living
At TMCS, experiential learning is not a supplement to the curriculum. It is the curriculum in action.
Our campus borders Jackson Park, a 212-acre green space we use every day. Across all grades, students participate in nearly 70 field experiences each year — each one connected to what they are studying and grounded in the places and people of Western North Carolina. Our students participate in experiences like releasing fish into local waterways, tracking wildlife migrations, exploring regional ecosystems, and multi-day outdoor expeditions — all purposefully connected to classroom learning.
This is what we mean when we say learning through experience. Real places. Real questions. Real learning.
expanding the mission
In 2026, Mountain Community Schools made a deliberate decision to carry this educational philosophy further — not by growing TMCS beyond its capacity, but by building something new.
Mountain Community Online School was designed as a sister school to TMCS: a statewide virtual public charter school for North Carolina students in grades 4–8, built on the same values and the same belief in what students are capable of. MCOS was created for families across North Carolina for whom a brick-and-mortar school in Hendersonville is not an option — but for whom a rigorous, relational school that truly knows their child absolutely is.
At MCOS, experiential learning takes a different form. Each quarter, students complete Climb Higher Projects — cross-curricular assignments that challenge students to apply their academic skills through real-world exploration, creation, and presentation. The format is different from TMCS. The expectation is the same: learning should connect to the real world, and every student should be challenged to do something meaningful with what they know.
COS exists to serve students who need flexibility, but who also deserve challenge, structure, and meaningful connection to their learning.
One Organization.
Two Schools.
One Standard.
To support both schools with integrity, Henderson County Alliance for Education, Inc. — the nonprofit that has governed TMCS since its founding — was formally organized as Mountain Community Schools, the umbrella entity that oversees both learning paths.
Each school operates independently, with its own enrollment process, staff, and programs. But both answer to the same board, the same financial accountability, and the same mission that has guided this organization since 1999. What we built in Hendersonville over twenty-five years — a school where students are known, challenged, and sent into the world to learn — is the same standard we hold ourselves to for every student across North Carolina.
Each quarter, students complete one in-depth, experiential project that requires real-world activity, critical thinking, and meaningful connection beyond the home. These projects ensure learning is active, challenging, and connected to life outside a screen.