Dust-Finger Academy

Dust-Finger Acadamy is proud to declare itself the first ever Academy to teach magic east of the Nott Ridge. The school is young, vibrant, and, against all odds, has a great reputation. This is mainly due to the intese efforts of the magority of the staff to be as involved in the surrounding communities as much as possible. Every month, the school hosts dinners and potlucks and holiday celbrations, ingratiating itself completely in the community. People come a go often, gleaning what they want from what the school has to offer and leaving the rest with a cheerful smile and possibly a pastry covered in powdered sugar.
While they offer a 4 year program, most students stay for a singular semester to satisfy their curiosity then go back to their normal lives. Still, anyone is welcome at Dust-Finger academy.

The Building

To better align itself with the local culture, much of the schools initial architecture is based on what the builders were used too. blocky structure, short buildings, large stone base with some simple decorations. The roofs are few and square, and there are little embellishments that aren't serving some sort of purpose.
The school has 3 main sections that circle a large courtyard. Classes are all held in one wing while housing for the boarding students is in the other. The main hall has admissions, the mess hall, and a very small library. There are several doors out into the country side and woodland, which the students explore eagerly durring nice afternoons.

The School

Dust-Finger is more than just a building. Actually, it's barely the building, it's more the culture, curriculum, and life that the building holds.

Curriculum

Through much debate and possibly a lot of tears from one specific professor who will not be named for privacy reasons, the School decided to be pudent with it's curriculum. most course focus on practical runic magic with logical foundations and simple applications. Things that the community won't get too upset about if their child returns home knowing. There are few tests, simply demonstrations of understanding where those who need help to grasp a subject are given the help to do so. The General understanding in the faculty is that it is rather unreasonable to expect someone who has

little expirience with something as vast and potent as magic to understand and apply it properly on the first try.
As extra curriculars, there are teachers who specialize in developing affinities that are already there, such as a connection to the earth, plants, and even some looser styles of elemental manipulation if a student shows a knack for it. This is rare, especially since most students only stay one year, possibly two, which is not nearly enough time to cultivate any sort of skill.

Daily Structure

Unlike serious academic schools, Dust-Finger takes a more casual and wholistic approach to teaching. Classes are held in the morning from and hour after dawn to the noon meal. Then the afternoon is focused on practical skills and application of what they have learned. This is treated as personal time with the faculty avaliable for tuturing should a student ask.

Student Body

The student body is small, but mighty--at least they like to think so. For the past 5 years, the average class size is about 50-100 students. Most are Ealdorian or from close the Nott ridge where they are exposed a little more to the wonders of formal magic rather than just the rummors, but there are a few who journey from the heart of The Eastern Glades simply to learn something new. these are the students that tend to either thrive or run away screaming by the second week. Either way, they are loved and remebered by the faculty.

Faculty

All of the faculty are originally from west of the Nott Ridge. Several come from magic institutions of a great reptation to do some "charity work" in the east. Others grew up near or on the Nott Ridge themselves and know how beneficial knowing at least a little magic can be. In either case, the faculty of Dust-Finger are all incredibly passionate about the school and their students. They are welcoming and eager to get involved with the community even when faced with pungent distrust and some soured distaste.
Students report feeling personally invested in and genuinly charmed by their teachers. Many say they consider their teachers their personal friends on top of being amazing instructors.

History

Type

College / Academy

Parent Location

Alathorn

Owning Organization

Ealdora

A Strange Name

At first, Dust-Finger went by some old, magic sounding name but after the thrid year of quite literally no students at all, the school board got together to try and fix it. At the time, the school was going under some renovations and the walls were being chalked, which can leave a thin layer of dust covering...well, everything. One board member made a joke that he was a "dust-fingered academic" and the whole board loved the description. The name was changed 3 weeks later when they could hire a contractor to adjust the sign. That semester, they had their first 4 students enroll.

Cracks in the Foundation

As lovely and nice as Dust-Finger proclaims its progress, there are always issues. The biggest, of course, is simply that Dust-Finger is a magic school in the east. Expecting that to go well is a feat of magic in itself. It's easier in Ealdora, but the rest of the Eastern Glades are incredibly distrustful of magic--especially formal magic.
As of now, Dust-finger relies on being seen as a good influence on the community and not a corrupting force that most assume Magic is. If the image fades for even a second, all their good work could come crashing down.