The success of Mary Mosley Performance Learning Center

With a little more than 60 students, the Mary Mosley Performance Learning Center in New Hanover County is giving at-risk students a chance to succeed in a much different classroom than you would expect.

“New name, new concept, new attitude…”

That is the feeling behind the new Mary Mosley Performance Learning Center. This year, the district revamped the former Lakeside High School, which served the county as an alternative school.

“It wasn’t so much of changing Lakeside, it was about giving students an opportunity from across the county who were not succeeding in the traditional setting,” said Mary Mosley Principal, Jerry Oates.

Mosley is a non-traditional high school with a business-like atmosphere where students wear uniforms and 80 percent of class work is taught on the computer. Daily, Principal Jerry Oates receives a list of students from schools in the county who are struggling to succeed in school. Those students on the list then get the option of enrolling at Mosley.

“Many of them have been coming here, so again that saves the district and that dropout rate that we so earnestly try to reduce,” Oates said.

School counselor, Jill Larson said the smaller classes, with more one-on-one attention from teachers, has changed the students attitudes.

“They all want to be here, and they are all taking to it pretty quickly,” Larson said.

Gerome Boseman, a Mosley student said, “It helps me out a lot. I can move on faster, graduate early and that’s what I’m hoping for.”
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“It’s more one-on-one, they help you more. There are not as many people in a class as regular high school and you can’t get as much help as you can here,” Brittany Johnson said. Brittany is also a student at Mary Mosley.

Larson said gauging the success of Mosley will come true when the first group of students receive their diploma.

“I’m pretty excited to just have the first graduation ceremony to show the community that our program is working and it’s doing what it is supposed to do,” said Larson.

The Mary Mosley High School is the sixth Performance Learning Center in North Carolina. To push its students to success, Mosley is currently looking for mentors to pair their students with for extra guidance.