The Land of Sky Regional Council, which serves 71 local governments across Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties, recently added educational attainment to its portfolio of goals for Western North Carolina.
Remote learning fails students with disabilities
Virtual schooling is a constant challenge for children with disabilities. School-based resources like speech and physical therapy are hard to deliver remotely — and federal limitations to Medicaid have kept families from filling an essential gap in help for their kids.
From Education NC: Here’s how A-B Tech prepared for a fall semester unlike any other
EducationNC reporter Nation Hahn visited A-B Tech to learn how the school’s leadership is approaching “a semester like no other.”
From CPP: Tech hiccups plague virtual instruction across NC on first day of classes
NCEdCloud, a service supporting virtual education across North Carolina, went down briefly Monday morning as many districts began their first day of school with online-only instruction.
From CPP: Pandemic pulls shades over public’s window onto NC local government
The COVID-19 health crisis created logistical challenges, but it didn’t change the state’s law requiring public access to government meetings. Some local governments have taken unlawful shortcuts.
‘No one answer’ for local school COVID-19 notifications
The Asheville and Buncombe County school districts, in partnership with the county health department, have decided how students, parents and staff will be informed of positive COVID-19 cases, should they arise. Both districts will resume instruction on Monday, Aug. 17.
From NC Health News: Summer camps get creative to carry on in pandemic
Some kids have faced social isolation during the pandemic with schools closing and being unable to see their friends. Some youth camps opened their doors in the summer so kids could engage with peers and learn instead of having their eyes glued to a screen.
WNC colleges and universities return to in-person classes
While Asheville and Buncombe County K-12 schools are planning to start the academic year with heavy reliance on remote learning due to COVID-19, the area’s colleges and universities are taking a more aggressive approach in returning to campus. Western North Carolina’s higher learning institutions are bringing back students from across the state and around the country.
Buncombe school board votes for limited in-person return
The Buncombe County Board of Education was strongly divided on the move, approving it by only one vote. Chair Ann Franklin, along with members Amy Churchill, Max Queen and Peggy Buchanan, voted in favor of the plan, with Vice-Chair Cindy McMahon and members Pat Bryant and Donna Pate in opposition.
Deaf educator teaches, learns remotely during pandemic
Desiree Delbert, who works as an American Sign Language teacher at Asheville’s Franklin School of Innovation, normally runs her classroom with lots of student-to-student conversation and feedback — an experience that proved hard to replicate online.
From CPP: Not ready for prime time? Virtual school decision follows Asheville’s glitch-plagued virtual meeting
NC schools struggle with options, as teachers oppose in-person learning. Some districts embrace virtual instruction contracts with for-profit company.
Asheville City Schools changes course on remote learning
Instead of bringing students back to the classroom under the Plan B model outlined by Gov. Roy Cooper, as had been announced on July 14, the Asheville City Board of Education voted unanimously to follow the remote-only Plan C for at least nine weeks at a July 23 special called meeting.
From CPP: School districts face concerns from NC teachers over reopening plans
Teachers fear for their health under some NC school district plans, with other districts moving toward online-only instruction to begin school year.
2021 Buncombe budget passes immediately after public hearing
Over a dozen speakers ventured out on June 16 to share their thoughts during the COVID-19 era’s first county public hearing. The commissioners subsequently gave unanimous approval to a spending plan little modified from that recommended by County Manager Avril Pinder.
Cooper releases new guidelines for K-12 public schools
New guidance from the state outlines requirements and recommendations for K-12 schools to safely reopen this fall. Plus, North Carolina’s COVID-19 metrics are making national news — and not in a good way.
Private colleges and universities plan amid uncertainties
This past spring, COVID-19 required schools to shift from in-person to online classes. Come fall, private colleges and universities are eager to reopen their campuses. For many of these institutions, the financial consequences of remaining closed could be dire.
Nonprofit camps face uncertain summer
Camps have already suffered layoffs and revenue loss without the spring season, says Sandi Boyer, executive director of the North Carolina Youth Camp Association. But if they can’t operate this summer, they will face nearly 22 months without earned income. “It would be devastating for the camp industry to not open at all,” she says.
Local school budgets face ‘greatest emergency’ in COVID-19
As Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin explained to the county Board of Commissioners during a May 19 meeting, the system’s pandemic response has completely exhausted its $4.6 million rainy day fund — and the schools now project a $2.1 million deficit by the end of the fiscal year.
Pandemic left graduating high school seniors no time to say goodbye
Eligh Ros, a dual-enrollment 12th grader at Martin L. Nesbitt Jr. Discovery Academy, is on track to graduate as part of the class of 2020 with both a high school diploma and some college credit from A-B Tech. Early this spring, he was busy with classes and multiple club activities, his sights set on studying computer science or engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in the fall, when he suddenly found his life upended by Gov. Roy Cooper’s March 14 executive order to close schools.
Mission Health resumes elective procedures, maintains visitor restrictions
To date, 34 patients with COVID-19 have visited a Mission facility for treatment, said Dr. William Hathaway, the system’s chief medical officer, during a May 11 press conference. Two individuals with the coronavirus are currently receiving care at Mission, which he said has sufficient capacity of ventilators, personal protective equipment and intensive care beds.
Local music teachers pivot to digital lessons
Area music educators have been able to continue teaching digitally, but agree that video lessons are no substitute for in-person learning.