Xpress sits down with both district leaders to break down 2023’s challenges as well as their visions for the year ahead for local public schools.
Tag: Asheville City Schools
Showing 22-42 of 261 results
Year in Review: Education, equity and rising costs define quality of life in 2023
Pay for educators, equity for underrepresented populations and housing affordability, as well as nationwide inflation, underpinned efforts to improve the quality of life for Asheville-area residents in 2023, as expressed by Xpress’ Year in Review survey of engaged citizens and leaders.
Letter: What’s behind ACS enrollment drop?
“Why are the schools so underutilized?”
Letter: Delve into reasons for ACS enrollment decline
“We need to look at this problem and determine if the reason for the decline in the population in public schools is due to the filtering out of students to charter schools or if there is truly a drop in numbers of young children.”
WTF: How a library gets its books
Some parents have made frequent appearances at school board meetings to argue that various books — usually related to sexual health or depicting LGBTQ+ students and families — don’t belong in libraries accessible to children. The latest edition of Xpress’s WTF — “Want the Facts?” — series looks at the policies and procedures that determine how books are chosen for school and county libraries.
Asheville school board delays vote on Parents’ Bill of Rights policies
Board Chair George Sieburg said board members wanted to explore how to show support to teachers and students in the policies beyond what has been provided by the N.C. School Boards Association.
ACS commissions enrollment and capacity study to address urgent challenges
The Asheville City Board of Education voted 6-1 at its Nov. 20 meeting to commission an enrollment and capacity study from California-based Cooperative Strategies without seeking competing bids, and started a conversation about the need to consider consolidating some of its schools.
Charter school puts a dent in Asheville’s racial achievement gap
This third-year Asheville public charter school, whose student body is majority Black, has begun to successfully close an achievement gap between white and Black students that has consistently been an issue in Asheville City Schools since it earned a worst-in-the-state designation in 2017.
Buncombe commissioners consider $40 million in capital projects for schools
Over $40 million in upgrades could be coming to a number of schools in Asheville and Buncombe County if the request from the School Capital Fund Commission is approved at the Tuesday, Nov. 7, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Buncombe sheriff: Crime is decreasing outside Asheville
Across eight serious crime categories reported to the State Bureau of Investigation, Miller reported a 15% decrease from 2021 to 2022 and a 2% decrease from the previous 10-year low, in 2019.
Buncombe commissioners to consider school district consolidation study
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider taking the lead to solicit a new study analyzing the feasibility of merging Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools at its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 17.
Asheville school board considers policy changes to comply with state Parents’ Bill of Rights
Representatives from the Asheville-based Coalition for Southern Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, asked board members at their Oct. 9 meeting to hold off on changing policies related to the recently passed Parents’ Bill of Rights while legal experts analyze how districts should implement the law.
Letter: Join in to rebuild playground and forge unity
“The project motto has become: ‘The community builds a park; the park builds a community.'”
Asheville City Board of Education sets performance metrics for superintendent
The metric, drafted by Superintendent Maggie Fehrman, will focus on her progress in three categories: strategic plan development; strategic facilities planning; and leader accountability, transparency, governance and policy.
Buncombe Schools superintendent touts improving grades
For the first time since 2015, students at 20 Buncombe Schools exceeded growth expectations during the 2022-23 school year, eight more than last year.
Letter: Voucher change would hurt public education
“The end result will further dismantle public education, where learning is already under attack.”
New Asheville City Schools superintendent outlines priorities
Amidst meetings with principals, administrative staff, board members and various ACS stakeholders over her first month on the job, Fehrman developed a three-pronged promise to “help focus and bring people together” in the upcoming school year.
Letter: The numbers don’t add up for teachers
“As a professional educator with a college degree, will she be able to purchase the house in: (A) five years, (B) 10 years, (C ) 15 years or (D) never?”
N.C. legislature prioritizes private education, Buncombe schools impacted
Private schools likely will become more affordable for families of any income next school year at the expense of public schools. The N.C. General Assembly is set to pass what amounts to a veto-proof bill removing the income cap for the private school voucher program. Buncombe County’s two public school districts could be out a […]
Buncombe Schools can’t redraw electoral lines as mandated
House Bill 66, which was passed into law June 7, requires Buncombe County Schools to redraw its electoral districts based on population rather than traditional attendance zones, as they’ve done since 1975.
“They have given us a task that is fundamentally impossible,” said Board member Amanda Simpkins.
Year-round schools remain rarity in WNC 30 years after they began
In July 1991, educators from Asheville, Haywood County and other districts traveled to Hendersonville on a fact-finding mission. Bruce Drysdale Elementary and Hendersonville Middle had just become the first public schools in Western North Carolina to offer year-round schedules, and the officials wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Bruce Drysdale Principal Noland […]