Asheville City Schools still needs to fill about 50 positions for the school year that starts Monday, Aug. 29. With only 18 of 29 ACS bus routes staffed to roll, some of the system’s youngest students may need to board the bus as early as 6:45 a.m.
Tag: Buncombe County Schools
Showing 64-84 of 175 results
City, county districts stress school security
Uvalde, the deadliest school shooting in a decade, underscored persistent questions about school safety, stricter gun laws and ways to “harden” schools to help keep students and staff safe. In Asheville and Buncombe County, those topics are on the minds of families, law enforcement and school personnel.
Buncombe board set for June 21 budget vote
The final fiscal year 2022-2023 budget ordinance, which includes over $398 million in general fund spending, calls for the same $81.9 million allocation to Buncombe County Schools proposed June 7.
Buncombe school staff urge commissioners to increase pay
“We still have to work other jobs to make ends meet,” said Melanie Allen, a 26-year veteran of BCS’ technology department. “We’re struggling. We feel like nobody cares. Morale is low. We have watched other counties and agencies enable steps and raises. We’re keep thinking we’re next, that we’ll be able to make it. Then nothing happens.”
Letter: Free your children from government schools now!
“When will Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools consolidate into all one for equity, inclusion, diversity, for the children and the taxpayers?”
Local schools seek major support from Buncombe leaders
Requests outlined by Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin and Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman sought county government spending increases of up to $27.9 million, representing a nearly 32% jump from the county’s current contribution.
Local groups tackle period poverty
People who work on the issue in Western North Carolina agree that period poverty is more widespread than it may seem due to the cultural stigmas of both poverty and menstruation. And financial issues wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic have made menstrual hygiene products even more inaccessible for many.
Q&A with Julie Silver, school nurse for Buncombe County Schools
Julie Silver wanted to be a school nurse from the time she was in nursing school. “It was fun because you got to do rotations through the different nursing careers and shadow them,” says Silver. “I really enjoyed going to do my shadows with the school nurses because it’s not just boo-boos and Band-Aids. There’s […]
County considers $749K grant for Haywood Road housing project
On Tuesday, Feb. 1, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to award Haywood Street Community Development a $749,000 grant toward construction of a 45-unit project in the West End/Clingman Avenue neighborhood. Asheville City Council has already contributed $296,000 toward the project.
Local resources support WNC’s first-generation college students
In April, Tanya Ledford left a 22-year-long education career teaching history and English at public schools in Henderson and Polk counties. But Ledford’s new job hasn’t taken her far from the classroom. She is now assisting Hispanic high school students, many of them the first in their family to seek a college education, through the […]
Anti-domestic violence org teaches healthy relationships to teens
“Healthy relationships are the best protector against abusive relationships,” says Chaka-Khan Gordon of Helpmate, an Asheville nonprofit providing services and support for survivors of domestic violence.
Letter: Thanks to local schools for alternatives in COVID-19 era
“So it was a great relief to hear that at least a few local schools are protecting children against what I firmly believe are the real dangers of our time.”
Letter: Meaningful change can start with alternative education
“Early childhood education offers a better model of learning that honors and develops the whole human, but in later grades, schooling is equipped for an industrial world that no longer exists.”
Letter: A win-win in BCS’ dropping enrollment
“With fewer children in school because of home schooling, class size could now be an advantage for those who choose or have no choice but Buncombe County Schools.”
Letter: Public schools deliver more than academic learning
“If we take away support from our public schools, it will lead to wide inequity and discrimination.”
Buncombe County Schools enrollment drops as nontraditional options grow
Last school year, Buncombe County Schools saw an average daily membership drop of over 1,500 students, its biggest in the past six years and about 6.4% from its 2019-20 figure of 23,712, with nearly 450 students moving to home schools. At the same time, area private, parochial and charter schools have also seen gains in enrollment.
Critical race theory debate comes to Buncombe
Critical race theory, a set of ideas about the ways race influences society, drew 13 commenters at a June 3 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Education. Officials at both the county and Asheville city school systems say they do not explicitly teach CRT and encourage students to develop their own judgments.
Letter: Asheville and Buncombe schools should be all one
“The bloated Asheville City Schools needs to be heavily doctored and combined into Buncombe County Schools for the desired all-one effect.”
Letter: Plan, then vote to send students back
“There is no excuse that these educational professionals [did] not have a concrete and specific plan set in place before voting to send students back.”
Cooper urges all K-12 schools to reopen for in-person learning
New policies from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction recommend all elementary schools open for in-person learning under Plan A, which does not require 6-foot social distancing between students and teachers. Middle and high schools are encouraged to reopen in-person under Plan B, which requires 6-foot social distancing at all times.
Mission COVID-19 patients double as holidays approach
While there’s light at the end of the proverbial COVID-19 tunnel, Western North Carolina residents cannot let down their guard. Over the last week, the percent of positive COVID-19 tests has risen to 7.8% in Buncombe County; the county’s daily COVID-19 case counts now average 100 or higher.