Founderess Corner
Melanie walker Malone, founderess
In 2005, nine students and three teachers gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, to start their first day at a new school. This school was unlike any other offering in the city at the time and was founded by a group of educators and parents with a common thought: What would education look like if it aimed to foster the whole person and encourage them to be full participants in life?
For a fifth of a century, this secret treasure, Red Mountain Community School (RMCS), has been nestled in Birmingham, offering an affordable, simple, independent school for all people.
Recognizing that many current educational practices actually deter from the hope of nurturing students who are full participants in all of life, we committed ourselves to an unhurried, liberal arts, locally-based education that fosters a community-minded, collaborative spirit. The most surprising thing about this work is that since they started, we’ve seen article after article, book after book, essay after essay affirm us.
An emphasis on Hospitality, Participation, Presence and Attention, Mystery, Suffering and Resilience, Rhythm and Ritual, and Fearlessness - habits that have been core tenants of RMCS since our earliest days - have now emerged as vital practices of children’s education.
Melanie’s Library
A Sequel
After spending 56 of her 61 years in Birmingham, Alabama, Melanie Walker-Malone has recently moved to Takoma Park, Maryland to be nearer to her children and grandchildren. This means that she has also weaned herself from her eighteen-year stint as Founder and Head Teacher. She returns to the school in Birmingham regularly to care for teachers and curriculum while securing the sustainability and longevity of this beloved work.
Melanie is entering what she calls a "new chapter," full of seasonal living, reading, long walks, baking, keeping, making, and exploring the riches of the DC area. A Sequel serves as a keeping library - the As, Bs, and Cs - for the various writing created throughout a life informed by Charlotte Mason, Saint Benedict, and the City of Birmingham.