What are the ages of the students at HCS? How many students go there?

We are accepting applications for students who will be entering kindergarten through sixth grade next year. Usually, this means that a child turning 5 on or before August 31st, 2023 would be entering kindergarten. We do not currently have middle school classes. We cap our enrollment at 16 students per year, so our available spots from year to year vary. Based on feedback from our current students’ enrollment intentions, it looks like we will most likely have spots available for the 2023-24 school year for grades K-5.

Where is the school located?

Holler Creek School is located in Cana, VA, in Carroll County, just north of the state line of NC and just below of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other nearby areas include Patrick County, VA, and Surry County, NC. We are about 20 minutes from downtown Mount Airy, about 20 minutes from Hillsville, VA, and about 30 minutes from Galax, VA. Our campus is nearly 35 acres of mostly undeveloped mountainside, and it includes 2 ponds, grassy hills, creeks, lots of forest, caves, and trails.

What are “field work” days?

Every 4th Friday (once per month), we lead students on an excursion for field work that is closely integrated with our curriculum.  Many of the activities we do leading up to the trip and afterwards are closely related to this shared experience, so it is very important that students participate in these trips.  Most field trips start with an early morning meet-up, and involve transportation in chaperones’ cars, time outdoors exploring, studying, observing, and playing, lunch and snack breaks, and then driving back to our meet-up spot for pick-up, usually late in the afternoon.

What kind of educational philosophy is used to teach at HCS? What kinds of things do students learn?

Holler Creek School is rooted in Place-Based Education.  At our school, that means learning arises authentically from hands-on, experiential learning.  While we incorporate rigorous academic work, we strive to grow these subject-area skills like Reading, Writing, and Math from shared experiences studying the natural and human environment at our school, in Carroll, Patrick, and Surry Counties, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Virginia and North Carolina, and so on.  We use Place-Based Education in order to find a common starting place with students, and to cultivate a school culture of inquiry, investigation, observation, and innovation.  At HCS, children are actively engaged in their learning, and aware of their role and impact within the school. See the bottom of our home page to learn more about our curriculum.

Who are the teachers there?

Aaron Sebens and Melanie Schrage are the co-founders and primary teachers at Holler Creek School. Aaron grew up in Carroll County, graduating from Carroll County High School in 2000. He has taught for 17 years in 3 countries. Aaron holds a Masters degree in Special Education and is a certified North Carolina Environmental Educator. Melanie has spent 5 years as a classroom teacher and 10 years as a Speech Language Pathologist in the school setting. She holds Masters degrees in both Special Education and Communication Disorders. They are excited to invite guest teachers to the school for special projects as well. Aaron and Melanie have lived and worked in Durham, NC for the past 12 years, and they are excited to join and contribute to the community here with their family and HCS.

What kind of involvement do families typically have at HCS?

As a small school, volunteering is seen as an essential contribution to our school community, but this can look different for different families, depending on schedule and interest.  Opportunities to volunteer include chaperoning field work days, helping with special events, helping with arrival and/or dismissal, assisting with administrative tasks, classroom support, fundraising, or sharing a skill with our students as a guest expert.  If there is a specific way you would like to help out, please let us know! In addition to volunteering, families connect with one another at our community building events throughout the year, which might include bonfires, performances, project shares, potlucks, or hikes. This is our way of celebrating the collaborative efforts of our families and staff!

How do parent teacher conferences work?

Our school year calendar runs on trimesters. After each of the three trimesters ends, parent-teacher conferences are held. These are not optional, but parents can choose to attend virtually or in person. We see these as important opportunities for parents and teachers to connect and update one another so that we can all function as a team to support the children at HCS across settings.

Is standardized testing used there for assessment?

Yes, we do administer standardized testing once a year in order to assess students’ progress for their age and grade level. We use the Stanford 10 for each grade level. While we do believe that results are useful, we recognize that results are only one measure of a child’s progress and ability, and we do not teach to these tests. Our goal with testing is to give children a test experience, since tests can be very difficult later on if they have never been exposed to them at all, but not to stress children or their families out about them. Testing day is just another day in the year, and certainly not our most valuable one!

How does the curriculum there align with state standards or Common Core?

Our Math and Language Arts curriculum align with Common Core standards, yes. We choose to align with these standards rather than state standards because our students come from both NC and VA. While we do rigorous, developmentally appropriate work in Science, Social Studies, and the Arts as well, we form our own curriculum for these, integrating these subjects with Math, Language Arts, and project work using place-based educational principles.

What are the school day hours?

8:30-3:30. Drop-off happens from 8:15-8:30. At 8:30, we walk from the drop-off site by the creek for .4 miles to the school buildings.  After putting away bags, lunches, etc., we start our morning, which includes 2 academic blocks (one for Math and one for Reading and Writing), as well as an all-school Morning Meeting and a Snack/Break where students can engage in free play outside.  We have an hour for recess and lunch, and then afternoons are primarily used for project work, as well as other opportunities for Music, Art, and Movement.  We clean up as our last activity of the day, and walk back out to the creek together for 3:30 dismissal.

When does school start? What holidays are observed?

School starts on August 22nd for the 2023 school year. We have a week off for fall break the first full week of October, two weeks off for December holidays, a week off the second week of March for spring break, and we finish the year on May 3rd, 2024. We also take one week off for Thanksgiving. Our school calendar is based on trimesters.

Do you have before or after school care options?

Unfortunately, we cannot offer these options for the 2023-24 school year due to our limited staff size and budget. We recognize this is a hardship for some families, and we strongly encourage families at HCS to arrange carpools or child care sharing situations to cut down on daily driving time, stress, and expenses.

Does the school provide snacks or lunch?

We do occasionally make a snack or meal together, but unless you get communication about this on a specific day, then students are expected to bring their own healthy lunch and a small snack to eat during our morning break.

How much does HCS cost?

Tuition rates for 2023-2024 will be $5000 for the school year, with $200 in fees for materials and other expenses. See tuition and fees for more details.

Are scholarships/financial aid available?

Yes, financial aid and scholarships are both available. Check back or contact us for up-to-date details on this, as it depends on our fundraising progress.

What is the application process? When can I visit?

Our application process starts with filling out the application form on our admissions page. After you submit it to us, we will be in touch with you to set up a tour of the school and an interview. This year, we will be scheduling tours starting in March. At this visit, we hope to share our school site and vision with you by touring the campus location, answer any questions you might have, and help your family learn more about us as a school and as teachers. In addition to this site visit, an interview with your child(ren) and caregiver(s) is an important part of our application process. This interview may happen on the day of your site visit, or it may be scheduled over a video call. Once you have completed those 3 components (application form, visit, interview), we will let you know within 2 weeks whether we feel that we would be able to meet your child’s educational needs at HCS. From there, you can enroll your child!

Who can I contact to learn more or ask a question?

Melanie Schrage, M.Ed., Co-Director of School: (919) 283-6275, melanie@hollercreek.org, 379 High Cliff Ln., Cana, VA 24317

Aaron Sebens, M.Ed., Co-Director of School: (919) 433-6657, aaron@hollercreek.org, 379 High Cliff Ln., Cana, VA 24317