“The merest appearance of the possibility of theoretical danger or liability does not justify Buncombe County’s kids missing hours of real instruction.”
Tag: Buncombe County Schools
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A look into the daily routes of local school bus drivers
Bryan Newton has a full time job managing facilities at Camp Cedar Cliff. Still, he gets up at 5 a.m. every morning to drive about 22 students to school at Charles C. Bell Elementary School. Like the 225 other drivers in Buncombe County and Asheville City schools, Newton doesn’t do it for the money.
Letter: We need smarter school snow-day policies
“While safety is paramount, the current system of blanket school closures is failing our kids and families.”
Letter: Buncombe County Schools can take steps to build trust
“The implementation of such guidelines without broader public engagement can lead to misunderstandings and erode trust between the school administration and the community it serves.”
BCS revises academic calendar after weather cancellations
Associate Superintendent Jennifer Reed explained that the revisions would change Monday, March 17 from an optional teacher workday to an early dismissal day and adjust Tuesday, April 1 and Friday, May 23 from early dismissal days to full school days.
Letter: Reworking school district lines could help with cancellations
“The BCS system is simply far too wide, and as locals, we’re aware that it might be snowy and icy 15 minutes from the heart of Asheville and not at all in Asheville proper.”
Letter: School consolidation study lacks accountability
“Community members deserve detailed findings, transparent discussions and opportunities for meaningful input.”
School district consolidation not recommended
“Based on the literature review, constituent input, local environmental factors, the current operations and academic outcomes of each school system, Prismatic does not recommend consolidation of ACS and BCS,” concluded a report from Charlotte-based education consultants Prismatic Services.
Draft report: School districts shouldn’t consolidate
Mandated by the N.C. General Assembly in 2023, Buncombe County hired Charlotte-based Prismatic Services in March to analyze the feasibility of merging the county’s two public school districts based on finances, student enrollment, policies, procedures, student well-being, personnel, operations and facilities.
BCS swears-in new board members, elects chair
A study to determine the feasibility of the consolidation of Buncombe County’s two public school districts continues on schedule despite Tropical Storm Helene.
Buncombe County Schools to reopen to students Oct. 25
All 45 of the district’s schools now have nonpotable water, power and internet service, BCS Superintendent Rob Jackson told the Buncombe County Board of Education at an emergency meeting Oct. 18.
Buncombe County Schools continues to work toward reopening
Schools remain closed in Western North Carolina’s largest school district as officials scramble to get portable toilets and hand-washing stations shipped to Buncombe County Schools’ 45 campuses.
Ongoing updates about schools news on Friday, Oct. 4
The following is an ongoing list of news about education-related resources in Western North Carolina in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. This list will be updated as new information comes in:
More WNC schools are taking advantage of free meal programs for students
Hungry kids can’t learn. That’s one thing Heather Smith has learned in nearly a decade as a teacher.
“I truly believe that they have a hard time focusing if they’re worried about when their next meal is coming or if they don’t have energy,” says Smith, an eighth-grade math teacher at Waynesville Middle School.
BCS grapples with fallout from federal litigation around sex discrimination regulations
At its meeting Sept. 5, the Buncombe County Board of Education unanimously (7-0) passed interim policies that broaden the school district’s interpretation of what constitutes a complaint as defined by Title IX, a federal law passed in 1972 that bars sex discrimination in education.
County, school boards discuss priorities in unusual joint meeting
On Aug. 22, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners called a first-of-its-kind joint meeting within the Asheville City and Buncombe County boards of education to identify the three elected bodies’ shared purpose.
County Commission candidates make pitches at CIBO forum
Candidates talk about spending, support for education and what regulating short-term rentals should look like.
Letter: The crisis in K-12 public education
“Today, North Carolina ranks 48th in the country in per-pupil funding ($4,655 below the national average and dead last when it comes to school funding effort).”
Buncombe school board opposes private school vouchers
The Buncombe County Board of Education is not happy with the direction state legislators are taking in funding schools.
PHOTOS: Buncombe County Association of Educators rallies for increased education spending
At a rally in Pack Square June 6, the Buncombe County Association of Educators, an organized advocacy group for teachers, argued that the state of North Carolina and Buncombe County governments should allocate more funding for education.
Teachers’ mental health gets new focus
Kate Wargo moved to Asheville in fall 2021 with hopes for a fresh start. Teaching elementary school during the COVID-19 pandemic had left her exhausted, anxious and depressed. “It was the first time I felt dehumanized,” she says of the previous two years teaching fourth grade in Pennsylvania.
