That was a teacher from the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which began as a state-funded program to pay the fees of private, after school music, art, writing, the

That was a teacher from the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which began as a state-funded program to pay the fees of private, after school music, art, writing, theater, and science/math schools so all kids, especially lower income kids, could have access to private, fee-charging programs that developed talents other than just sports. Eventually, the program evolved into an actual public school, but one which requires auditioning for the specialty you are interested in. The author of "The Hunger Games" is a graduate.