Susan Hinton heads the Resource Department for Mountain Ridge High School. Under this department, students are required to pass the ALT-MSA at a 10th grade learning level. This Special Education program is designed to test students at his or her individual level by using 10th grade curriculum textbooks that have been scaled down to the single student's own learning level. Each student has his or her own test specially designed to meet his or her level, and he or she must take the test until reaching at least an 80% grade. The educational areas covered in the Resource Department include reading, math, and Science, and each area is expertly covered and divided into goals, such as Statistics and Data Analysis for science and Comprehension of Literacy Text for Reading. Each Special Education student who is high school certified must take this specialized ALT-MSA and not the standardized HSA.The Resource Department also maintains a unique partnership unlike any other department, and that is Special Olympics - an organization not directly affiliated with the school. Special Olympics is an international organization designed, not only to enhance the athletic ability of the participants, but to increase social skills and cooperation among team members. "Special Olympics provides year-round physical activities for students who could not otherwise participate in other, regular sport activities in the high school," Area Director Dottie Turner states of the organization. "Sports offered include softball, basketball, track & field, aquatics, golf, kayaking, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, bowling, and bocce."