How A Neurodivergent Boarding School Builds Belonging In Black Mountain

A teenager walks into a coffee shop and the staff already knows his name. That sounds small, but for a neurodivergent kid trying to rebuild confidence, it can be life-changing. We sit down with Brandon Moffitt, a licensed clinician and the founder and executive director of Black Mountain Academy, to talk about what happens when a school and a town work together to create real belonging for high school boys in ninth through twelfth grade. 

Brandon shares how families travel from across the United States to Black Mountain, North Carolina, and how the community becomes part of the learning plan: first jobs with local businesses, mentorship from safe adults, and a rhythm of daily life that helps teens practice social skills in the real world. We also get into why the school values the chamber of commerce, how community service builds purpose, and why “supported independence” is a healthier goal than the myth that anyone grows up totally on their own. 

You’ll also hear what visiting parents do around the Swannanoa Valley and Western North Carolina, from hiking and mountain biking to Lake Tomahawk walks, fishing, and the simple relief of sitting down to a great meal during a hard season of parenting. If you care about mental health, adolescence, neurodiversity, and the power of small town community, this conversation will stick with you. 

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Transcript

Meeting Brandon And The Goat Farm

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Brandon Moffitt. I am glad you're here today. I appreciate you coming in. I met you through the chamber, I guess. Oh yeah. We played phone tag for about five weeks, six weeks, and then one time I went to an appointment to meet with you and I mixed it up on my calendar and I was at a goat farm and it wasn't you.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

No, I don't work at a goat farm. You don't work at a goat farm as a goats are.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Oh, that's right, very important goats. But but anyway, we finally did meet, had a great meeting, really loved it. And at the end of it, I said, you have got to come be on the podcast. So what's your story? Where are you from? Tell me the background of Brandon.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Yeah, thanks. I'm glad to be here and glad for what uh you you're doing with our our town and supporting our local commerce and our local community and connections. I think that's an important thing. So I'm Brandon Moffat. I'm a resident here, have been here for since 2009, early 2009 is when I moved into Black Mountain. I'm originally from Hendersonville, so I'm a native North North Carolinian and lived in a variety of places before moving back here. And mostly for work, but also being closer to some of my family here. I think, you know, I'm my my roles in the community are quite multifaceted. So I I support different

Brandon’s Path To Black Mountain

SPEAKER_00 1:15

organizations, but where I spend most of my time for work is at a school, local school, uh specialized boarding school, Black Mountain Academy. And so that's almost in the heart of downtown. And we serve neurodivergent high school boys, ninth through twelfth grade, and kind of have a variety of roles there. But I'm a licensed clinician, the founder, executive director. So really support our staff and the roles that they have and in the variety of roles they have because we're 24 hours boarding. And then we're and really engaged in and invested in the community in lots of different ways. And we also are the beneficiaries of being in such a sweet community as a school. I'm also a dad. I have two kids, two teenagers that are living here and growing up in this town and uh have a a felt sense of connection and camaraderie and friendships, and they work in different places in town and some of our local businesses. And so I get to be a you know a dad seeing my kids come up in this sweet community. And then my wife is also here and has her own business. And so it's just been a a great place to to live, be a part of the community as a you know, as a family, and then to do the work that I do. And our students and their parents who are from all over the US, come here, land here, and have this felt sense of community for their child and the time that they're with us for about a year and a half. And so the that sense of community has been really important to me personally, but it also is an important part of what I do at Black Mount Academy.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Yeah. You're telling me that uh that your kids come from all over the country, all over the place. And I I don't know. I went I I did go to boarding school and uh I I do have a neurodivergent diagnosis, but obviously

Inside Black Mountain Academy’s Mission

SPEAKER_01 3:05

that wasn't a thing back in the day. I sure wish I don't I don't know that uh I don't know. I sure wish that it had been a more of not necessarily a focus. I didn't need it to be the focus, but I needed it, I needed help and I didn't know how. Yeah, I didn't know how. And I think it's just amazing what y'all do. And just getting to go on a tour and learn about the two campuses or I don't know, the campuses. Yeah, two campuses. Camp I. Yeah. How do you say that? I don't know. We have two campuses, campuses, and um, but how you start off at one and the goal is to get to go to the other one. And I just thought that was really very cool. Yeah. So one of the things I asked you when we were talking was uh, you know, why are you a member of the chamber? You don't you don't need marketing, you don't need help, you don't need you don't need me. Why are you I I I hate to say why are you a member of the chamber? But your answer was great. Do you remember your answer?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Yeah, it's a great question. I think two things for me come to mind. One is we partner as a as a school, as a specialized school, we partner with local businesses in a range of ways. So we're patronizing the businesses, restaurants, different, different places with our business, you know, contractors, service providers. And then our students are also a part of this community. So they're going to the coffee shops, they're going to the restaurants, their families are staying in our local hotels and bed and breakfasts. The ability to partner, support the local economy and local community, because it's it's a there's give and give reciprocally for our students and for our staff. A lot of our staff live here and live in the area. And so if in my view is as a school with families that are coming from all over the country, being able to support our local economy, our local community, and then our local community is also supporting us. We have given over 10,000 hours of community service since we opened. August is 10 years for us as a school. And we're constantly looking for different organizations, nonprofits, schools to get back to from a sense of service. A lot of our local businesses have hired our students over the years. And so they have this experience of supported employment. We're providing a lot of support to the employers and our students, having these successful experiences where they can feel really proud of themselves for the work they're doing. They're providing uh part of the, you know, there's there's a financial aspect to that, but they're also learning some really important skills as emerging adults. And so having committed to and and connected to our local businesses and local economies an important part of my vision for our school. And again, there's a just this really sweet felt sense of community that happens for our students and their families when they're when the families are visiting and when the students from day one they're going out and going to the ice cream shops and the flood shops and being able to see things, walk into the bookstores, and that that sense that they can land in a place as as unfamiliar as it is, as new as they are, and there are going to be people that welcome them and and care for them and then provide these really amazing opportunities, whether it's sports or jobs or opportunities to serve, guitar lessons. There's just any number of things that end up emerging and things that people need. Yeah, people all the time.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

And at the heart of it, what we all need is connection and community. We need this sense of place and belonging. And this has been such a sweet community for our students in that way and for our staff, and certainly for their families as they it's a big, it's a big journey to have your child away from home at this critical age. And yeah, and I think I appreciate you sharing your your own personal experience. I too grew up at a point where diagnosing ADHD and dyslexia was not happening very well, and living through that myself as as a a person who needed more support than I got, and then also looked back and got support that I didn't know I needed when

Chamber Ties And Local Partnerships

SPEAKER_00 7:05

I was a kid to be able to have that experience on a personal level is an important part of I think our conversation when we met.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, so I normally, I mean I I wanted you to tell all of that because it was so different. Like, like just meeting you finally. Finally.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Not at the goat farm.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

That's right. Not at the goat farm. That was that that was a goat rodeo, actually. I could actually use that word that whole day. Anyway, I wanted you to share all of that. We normally talk on here more about like just living here and and visiting here. And so what do your families do when they come to town? Not your family, but yeah, your families do where do they, I mean, how do they decide what they're going to do? I mean, how do they come for a weekend? Do they come for a week? How does it how does it work?

SPEAKER_00 7:54

All of the above. So our families are here sometimes for two to three days at a time, sometimes they're here for full weeks. We have families who have spent extensive time, and we have some families that have moved here in the area, in the region, in Black Mountains specifically. So there's kind of a range of things that are doing. There's lots outdoors to do. And so as a school, we're we our students are outside as often as the weather allows. And so all of our local parks, hiking trails, mountain bike trails, and and so our families are looking for that. You know, the Western North Carolina has a lot going on in regards to to music and food and adventure. And so anytime they can kind of tag into that. I'm regularly told by our families, again, they're coming from California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Chicago, Texas, Florida, that we have amazing food. And so patrons patronizing our restaurants and and enjoying and benefiting from wonderful food. There's again a felt sense of being cared for when you can sit down and have a meal in the midst of all that most parents have going on as they raise teenagers. You know, and so it's a this is a a busy time of life for parents. And as as your child moves from childhood to adulthood, lots of changes. And so being able to just ground yourself in a a walk with your kid and have a really good meal and connect and make memories. And so there's just a wide, wide set of opportunities that Black Mountain offers in that way. And it's it's it's neat. And then we're always our staff are like, you could join the running club on Wednesday, you can go to the you go fly fishing, you can go to the Biltmore State, you can go see this live show in you know, in the different venues we have.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

That's cool. I also remember a sense of pride in being able to show my parents when they came to boarding school. And they got I got to show my town and my, you know, I didn't have any town in the town we were in. We were in, I mean, we had a little MBS, Middlebury store was the name of it. MBS, I remember now. And and you could walk to that little store, and I think it was probably I, you know, I it was obvious, it was before they had expiration dates on the Snickers bars. And those were definitely needing, I remember that very clearly. We didn't have anything, but we could walk around, but but there was a lot of outdoor stuff. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't like here. This place is a whole lot different and more special to me, I guess. But but being able to show your parents around where they really don't know. Yeah. They don't know anything. And so that must be really cool for those. I mean, they can walk right into town from where they are, and that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

It is, yeah. I think the the that sense of pride, you know, for our students, uh, their their journey has been a mixed journey too, upon, you know, prior to

How Visiting Families Explore The Valley

SPEAKER_00 10:45

to to enrolling at Pock Mountain Academy. And so that sense of, again, I have a sense of place, I have a sense of belonging. I I have people who look forward to seeing me as I walk in the door of of again, one of the bookstore or the shop or wherever. Here's where I work, here are some people that I met. Hey, we do pick up games frisbee, or you know, the that that sense that they can have a sense of pride in themselves. And again, that felt sense of connection that happens. And for our our students who are neurodivergent, connections are really important, social connections and connections with safe, supportive adults that are there to be gracious and kind to them in the midst of the journey of adolescence, which is already hard enough. And it's especially hard when you're neurodivergent. Uh so yeah, there is that sense of of place and that sense of pride of here, you know, I I belong here. And, you know, and it it for each student that's different. Whether if they're into a sport, then it's going to be related to that. If they're into music, then it's related to that. If it's if they love to read, then it's it's gonna be about those interests. And so we really have, as a small town, we have enough going on that almost any of the interests that our students have, we can find a place for them to connect and expand and grow that interest. And in through the mentorship of someone teaching a guitar lesson or diving into one of their interests, you know, the like the library is another favorite place for a number of our students. And it's just different, different ways. And and as a therapist, working with this our our students and our staff, uh the the the critical parts of adolescence are really oriented around that. And if they're coming from a large city that they're just one more person on the sidewalk versus here where they're a known person who has a place uh makes a it makes a big difference in our community's been just lovely for my own kids as a dad and incredibly lovely for our students and their families.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Go back to being a dad. One of I mean I'm not a dad, you're a dad, but one of the things that my son says about coming of age or whatever that he he was 18 or 19 when he moved here. He moved here before I did, which is crazy. But uh but one of his words that he uses is it's a low-risk independence.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, yeah, that's what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

You're gonna go to the store down the street and you're gonna talk to somebody and they're gonna talk to mom and dad before you even get home. Yeah. And you're gonna know people, you're gonna know stuff. So he was like, I felt comfortable trying things out because if I got in trouble, somebody was gonna rescue me. Yeah. So I think I think that actually is a huge thing that the parents should know too, because it's gonna get back to you before those kids get back. If something good or bad happens, you're gonna hear about it.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah. That's cool. I know that my kids as a dad and then our students at the school, there are other people who care about them, looking out for them to make sure they're safe, they're having a good time, they're building relationships, they're navigating the decision making that's such an important part of growing independence. And so we we use the language supported independence sense. Supported independence. And in and ultimately, which is about interdependence, right? We're, you know, we have this notion as a culture that independence is I stand on my own feet by myself. And it's that's flawed because none of us do. All of us stand in in a space in which other people help us do the work that we do or raise our kids in healthy ways. And so for me to know that my kids are out navigating town on their bikes or at their jobs or they're working and that there are other people looking out for them. And so regularly I I'll get a text, you know, say, hey, are your kids volunteering? Are the students volunteering at at the you know the middle school track meet? I got this a a couple weeks ago. I'm like, I'm not quite sure if that's what they're doing, but I'll find out and they're like, they're doing an amazing job. You're like, okay, good. And they were, yeah. And and then when there's a challenge, because teenagers have challenges, and that's okay, there's

Pride Belonging And Neurodivergent Needs

SPEAKER_00 14:55

a gracious, there's been a very gracious approach to how to navigate those moments with our not only our students, but I I feel fortunate that my kids get the same grace and the same support. And here's a teachable moment, let's let's use it that way. And I think that's hard to come by. And I think the, you know, town of Black Mountain has it is going through and has gone through any number of stressors and pressures, especially since Hurricane Helene, and watching our community rise and and work through what is could otherwise be divisive or difficult and and and rise as neighbors and rise as as people. I think we're we're at a moment where it's easy to find what we disagree upon as as humans. And sometimes that's the focus of the news. And what I really appreciate and and love in this community is a lot of people looking at like, how do we help one another? How do we work through this? How do we take care of one another? How do we help the college students in our town? How do we help the young people that are here? And again, I get to be the beneficiary of that as a dad. And then we as a school, the staff and and you know, all the parents and our students get to be the beneficiary of that.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

All right. What's your family's favorite activity that's not food in the whole Swannanoa Valley? Do we like to go hiking? Do we do what do we do?

SPEAKER_00 16:22

So just about anything outdoors. So I was fishing on Saturday with my daughter in town. I was I mountain bike the mountain bike trails around here. We love to hike. The just at times when I'm I can do a a work call, just walking around Lake Tomahawk, or just have a moment in the middle of my day that I can walk directly from the school five minutes over to the trails. So we love to be outside and and finding ways to do that. And sometimes it's trying to find a in the summer, a cold swimming hole to jump into, or you know, my son's spending a lot of time at the public pool this summer with his friends. And so anything outside is trying to draw my family to yeah, that's what we love to do.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

I'm over here doing math, trying to figure it out. So I'm just gonna ask, is were your kids born here? Did you move them here? How did that work? Both of my police, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Both of my kids were born here.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Yeah. My wife is from Oregon, and we spent a good bit of time out there. That's where we met, actually. We were both uh wilderness guides. So speaking of being outside, guided whitewater and climbing and adventure trips 25 years ago, and that's how we met. And so again, anything outside is a big draw for our family. We love to travel. Yeah, so I'm curious what you love about the community. And then I have a follow-up question to that. But what do you love about this community that you have so much energy and so much passion about capturing the stories and uh the people in our community? And clearly that passion is yours. And I'm just curious what you love about all of that.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Nobody ever

Supported Independence And Small Town Parenting

SPEAKER_01 18:05

asked me questions, so that's kind of fun. I am, I don't know that I'm a connector at heart. I don't, I mean, I think at heart I am, but I didn't know how to do that. And and I and I learned how to do that and I love it. And part of that gift that I have is being able to remember the most obscure things about people that have nothing to do with anything. We uh we interviewed uh Brian Burpo, who's from Swannanoa, and I asked him, I said, you know, do you remember our first conversation? He looks at me like, what are you crazy? Of course I don't remember that. But I can tell you everything about somebody, which always comes back to make you go, you need to meet so and so. And I love making the connections because we all need we're built for relationships and we're built for fellowship and just being able to connect the right people together. And it's just been fun to be the new girl who doesn't know anything, doesn't know anybody, does I mean I didn't know a soul, and I mean I knew my parents, you know, and that was about it. I knew a lot of people in Montreat, but I didn't know outside of Montreat, I didn't know anybody. But just being able to build that, and and a lot of times I'll find something out about somebody that they did what? Like, oh, that but I don't know that stuff. So I don't anyway. I love the whole how how many people are willing to be open and tell you their story and not not try to hide everything. So I think it's just the connections and yeah, and yes, I do have a lot of energy, and finding people who have this match that energy is hard. Yeah, it's a hard thing to do, but I'll find them. Yeah, I'll hunt them down.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Well, I think the thing that stands out to me is that passion to connect is part of what is at the heart of this community, and it's the heart of I think when I think of a chamber of commerce, it's really about fostering and managing and and continuing to build on connections, you know, and and so that makes a lot of sense that that's part of your passion and exacting.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

I didn't I've never put those pieces together, but yeah, I've never connected those two things.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

There you go. Yeah, I think that's that's part of it. So my follow-up question is podcasts. What's what do you love about podcasts?

SPEAKER_01 20:11

I love people's stories. I just love to hear their stories, and even if I've heard it 15 times, I want to hear it again. I'm that girl who's like just just tell me a story. I mean, it if I'm talking to somebody on the phone and we've run out of whatever's going on,

Why We Tell Stories And Make Connections

SPEAKER_01 20:25

I'm like, so tell me a story. And they're like, about what? They just think I'm crazy. But I love to hear people's stories, and I guess it's maybe it's maybe it's self-centered that I get to think about like I get to listen to anybody's story anytime I want to.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

So that's great. It's fun. I I think we as we uh need more stories. I think the storytelling and capturing and holding and giving time for people's stories is an important thing that we can give to one another. So it's neat that this podcast is partly a a way to capture story and build connections, which are the two things that it sounds like you're really passionate about.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Anytime I meet somebody, the first thing I say to them is, What's your story and where are you from? Yeah. That's what I always ask people because I I get frustrated when people say, Oh, what do you do for a living? I'm like, don't start with that. Like that has like nothing to do with me. Right. Talk to me.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Our identity is not wrapped up in the work to do for sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Let's talk to each other first and then we'll talk about work. Work is that's secondary. Yeah, but that's what I and it it is funny because I asked you, I said, What's your story? Where are you from? And you went straight to work. We really did. We do. And I'm like, that's what most people do. Yeah. But you were on a roll and I liked what you were saying, so I just thought you keep going. But usually I'll stop them and go, No, what's your story? Where are you from? And they're like, Oh, that.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

So, but that is why I think Yeah, it's a way that our culture uh helps us make sense of. And for me, my story and my work are wrapped up in in the sense of purpose and meaning and making a difference, even if it's a small difference in the world. And so that's all wrapped up for me. And it's it is a part of my story, you know. And I I think that's a a good point. That and this is a way that you're capturing stories and carrying people's stories in a meaningful way.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

I think when I first met Peter, the PC Productions, Peter Council, who is always my hero with the podcast anyway. When I first met him, I said, I've always wanted to do a podcast, but I don't know how. He goes, I can do that. I'm like, really? And we talked about it, maybe. And that was before I worked at the chamber, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was it was a long time ago. But you know, I did a little radio stuff before, and that was fun and I enjoyed it, but I don't know how to run the board. I never learned how to run the board. I wouldn't either. Uh I mean, at the radio station, plus it was like the radio station was 75 years old, and I think the board was 68, you know, and it was like really old, and I was scared to touch anything. Yeah, but completely out of my league. But uh but anyway, so I enjoy it, it's fun.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Yeah, yeah. That's great. Well, thank you for having me on and uh spending time hearing my story and sharing stories and how our paths cross and will continue to cross.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Yeah. Thank you very much. I appreciate you coming.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Thanks for joining us on Exploring the Valley. Until next time, keep celebrating the pride of our community and discovering the magic of the mountains. In the meantime, you're free to move about the valley.