The high school dropout rate is down — don’t stop now!

Posted on by Betsey Russell

I was pleased to read about the advances that Buncombe County has made in increasing high-school graduation rates [“Making the Grade,” Feb. 9, Xpress]. Thanks for covering this important story. Most children in our community attend public schools. The success and well-being of our entire community hinge on the quality of our public schools and their ability to graduate students ready to work and participate in our democracy.

This effort, along with many other important initiatives, is making a difference in the chances for success of the most vulnerable children in our community. Likewise, there are so many great things happening in the Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools that benefit all children. As a member of the board of directors of the Asheville City Schools Foundation, I can point to our work to provide artists-in-residence to every school, to extend learning through high-quality after-school programming and to make the classroom experience relevant and exciting with technology that allows for true experimentation and exploration at our high school.

Many in our community are not aware of the devastating effects that legislation currently being considered will have on our public schools. One proposal would fund only one school district per county, and force a merger of the Asheville City and Buncombe County schools. If this happens, we would lose the ability to tailor programs, like the dropout-prevention program you covered, to the communities we serve. We oppose drastic budget cuts that will force a return to the one-size-fits-all education from which we have come so far.

Our community needs to speak loudly to our N.C. General Assembly at this time and send a clear message that we need funding for our city and county districts, and we expect legislators to preserve the taxes that are currently in place so that our schools can continue to care for our children.
To find out more, attend the forum at Asheville High School on Thursday, Feb. 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit ashevillecityschools.net.

— Betsey Russell
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam
View all posts by Webmaster →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “The high school dropout rate is down — don’t stop now!”

  1. chops

    I wish the NC legislators would revise the compulsory attendance age to 18. Other states do it.

    avl.mx/2q

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.