Friday Feature: Hilton Horizons Academy

Colleen Hroncich

Candice Hilton had been a public school teacher for almost a decade, but was still excited when December rolled around. Christmas should be fun, she thought. It could be both educational and enjoyable. Then she saw the schedule. “17 days of testing,” she recalls. “We were going to be testing every single subject.” This included tests from the curriculum, the county, and the AIMS benchmarks, as well as preparing for state exams. “I had second graders,” she reiterates....