Kayla Sims is a non-traditional teacher working in a non-traditional school. During our talk, I learned the importance of acknowledging the difference between 'alternative' and non-traditional while also talking about the perceptions that surround students in poor, rural communities. Especially those taking an unconventional path towards high school graduation. What I also learned is that those perceptions are tethered to expectations, and that educators like Kayla, who is a social worker and school counselor at Mountain Education Charter High School in Georgia, are working to reset expectations for everyone, including their students. Expectations have the power to help students achieve their goals - it's important to maintain high expectations for students. But I also learned that expectations are sometimes connected to a history of disillusionment or a legacy of poverty, and that the wrong expectations about what young people are capable of have a way of undermining their chances. I expect you'll find this discussion as fascinating as illuminating as I did. 

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