The collaborative effort is meant to quell community fears and rumors about COVID-19 in K-12 school settings, said Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin. The first report, shared Nov. 5, identified eight cases across six schools.
Tag: Buncombe County Schools
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Buncombe proposes $815K for COVID-19 housing, utility assistance
Public comment on a grant application for federal coronavirus relief identified help with rent, mortgage and utility bills as the county’s greatest need. The Board of Commissioners is set to vote on a plan that would direct the aid, which will likely not be available until January, toward that purpose at its regular meeting of Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Cooper will allow K-5 schools to reopen under Plan A
Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, elementary schools will have the option to return to the classroom at full capacity. According to the state’s Plan A guidelines, classrooms will have no restrictions on the number of K-5 students allowed, but safety measures including mandatory face coverings, COVID-19 symptom screening and social distancing will still be required.
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.
Owners install filtration systems to limit potential COVID-19 spread
Despite a lack of definitive evidence that COVID-19 can spread through heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, residential and commercial property owners are looking for ways to preemptively protect themselves and their customers from potential airborne transmission.
‘Open lines of communication’ between local schools, health department
A week into the start of the academic year for Asheville and Buncombe County K-12 schools, local officials remain in open, weekly conversations with district administrators to help manage the spread of COVID-19.
‘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.
The school normal
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.
Over a third of Asheville, Buncombe K-8 families won’t return to in-person school
According to preliminary results from surveys sent to families with children in the younger grades, roughly 40% of those attending Buncombe County Schools and 38% of those attending Asheville City Schools are opting for all-virtual classes.
The end of the school year is bittersweet for teacher Kate Whittier
“I feel like our relationships got a lot deeper, because we were holding Zoom meetings in our living rooms. We got to see a different side of [the students].”
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.
State decries racism as public health threat during COVID-19
Noting that 34% of North Carolina’s 898 COVID-19 deaths through June 1 have been among African Americans, who make up roughly 22% of North Carolina’s population, NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen emphasized that structural racism has created health disparities in black communities.
Letter: Schools need coherent plan for reopening
“Asheville and Buncombe parents and students need assurance that a return to classrooms will be well-managed and safe.”
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.
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.
Schools seek county support for COVID-19 meal service during spring break
Educators will ask the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for nearly $87,000 in additional funding to ensure meals keep flowing during the April 6-10 break. Approximately 12,000 meals are being provided daily to children ages 2-18, helping meet critical nutrition needs for kids whose families are under stress from the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.
N.C. public schools to close beginning Monday, March 16, for at least two weeks
N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced the closure all all public schools in the state beginning Monday, March 16 until at least Monday, March 30, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
UPDATE: Asheville City and Buncombe County schools CLOSED Tuesday, Nov. 12
Asheville City and Buncombe County schools have updated their weather-related closure information. Both systems are closed Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Letter: We have chance to change direction of City Council
“As a community, we have the opportunity to change the direction and priorities of City Council by electing representatives who more closely reflect our values and vision for Asheville going forward.”
Buncombe County tests new app for emergency responders
This fall, two Buncombe County high schools — T.C. Roberson and A.C. Reynolds — will begin using the Vitals app, which provides information about participating students’ physical, mental and behavioral conditions to school resource officers and other first responders.