Fast and fun facts to know about Asheville City Schools as 2023-24 school year starts

McKenna Leavens, Asheville Citizen Times
·4 min read
Children help harvest the potatoes they grew in the Lucy S. Herring Elementary School Garden as part of the Bountiful Cities Feast program.
Children help harvest the potatoes they grew in the Lucy S. Herring Elementary School Garden as part of the Bountiful Cities Feast program.

ASHEVILLE - The countdown is on for the 2023-24 year for Asheville City Schools, as students and teachers will be back in the classroom beginning Aug. 28.

How well do you know your school district?

Here are some fast and fun facts about ACS, including famous alumni, compiled by the Citizen Times with help from Dillon Huffman, the schools' public information officer.

Did you know?

  • 134 years: Age of Asheville City Schools. The district was established in 1889.

  • Nine: Number of schools that make up Asheville City Schools, including two high schools, two middle schools and five elementary schools.

  • 689: Number of employees in Asheville City Schools.

  • 120,358: Number of breakfast meals served in the 2022-23 school year at Asheville City Schools, as well as 276,492 lunches and 36,509 after school snacks.

  • 132: Number of acres that make up the school grounds for all of Asheville City Schools.

  • 22: How man school buses the city schools operate daily throughout the school year, with 80 different bus routes.

  • 1,500: Number of students who rode school busses in the 2022-23 school year.

  • 1-to-1: Ratio of students to electronics; all city schools serving kindergarten through 12th grade supply each student with a Chromebook laptop or iPad to be used as an educational tool throughout the school year.

  • 98: Number of former students at Asheville High School served their country in World War I from 1917-1918.

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Oldest and newest buildings

The oldest building is Claxton Elementary School, built in 1924. Claxton sits at 241 Merrimon Ave., serving grades kindergarten through fifth. The school teaches under the "A+ program," which places an emphasis on the arts as essential to learning. Regular classroom curriculum like math is taught through arts-integrated instruction ― a way of learning that involves studying music or reading through a lesson involving visuals, according to the school's website. Claxton will celebrate its centennial year in January 2024.

Claxton Elementary August 18, 2023.
Claxton Elementary August 18, 2023.

The newest buildings are Asheville Middle School and Isaac Dickson Elementary, which were both built in 2016. Asheville Middle School is located at 211 South French Broad Ave. and serves grades six through eight. Isaac Dickson Elementary is at 125 Hill St., serving K-5 students. Isaac Dickson focuses on experiential learning and emphasizes in hands on and active learning, according to its website.

Asheville Middle School August 18, 2023.
Asheville Middle School August 18, 2023.

Awards

  • Ruafika Cobb, Ira B. Jones Elementary principal, was named North Carolina Western Region 2023 Principal of the Year.

  • Lucy S. Herring Elementary School educator Kristen Webb was named Asheville City Schools 2022-23 exceptional children educator of excellence.

  • Asheville High social studies teacher Lizzie Rogers was named 2023 ACS teacher of the year.

New school staff: Asheville City Schools welcomes 95 new staffers this fall; Who are they?

What to Know: Asheville 1st day of school: What to know about menus, pickup times, safety protocols

Famous alumni

Fletcher Mayor Preston Blakely is greeted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rally at Pack Square Park in Asheville January 16, 2023.
Fletcher Mayor Preston Blakely is greeted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rally at Pack Square Park in Asheville January 16, 2023.

  • Preston Kelly Blakely graduated from Asheville High School in 2013 and went on to become the youngest mayor in North Carolina at the age of 27. He was elected the mayor of Fletcher in 2020.

  • Asheville High 2002 graduate, Elisabeth Gray became an actress, writer and producer. She is known for being in the short film "Chicken" that came out in 2020, as well as the TV series "Understudies," which was released in 2014.

Warren Haynes performs on night one of the 30th annual Christmas Jam at the U.S Cellular Center in Asheville, Dec. 7, 2018.
Warren Haynes performs on night one of the 30th annual Christmas Jam at the U.S Cellular Center in Asheville, Dec. 7, 2018.

  • Musician, singer and songwriter, Warren Haynes is best known for being a guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band. He graduated from Asheville High School in 1978. He puts on a charitable music marathon called Christmas Jam every year in Asheville.

  • Ray Roberts graduated with the class of 1987 and went on to become a professional football player. Roberts played nine seasons in the NFL as an offensive tackle for the Seahawks and the Lions.

Henry Logan, the first African-American collegiate athlete in the history of North Carolina, was celebrated on his birthday, March 14, 2023, which was proclaimed as “Henry Logan Appreciation Day” by the city and the county.
Henry Logan, the first African-American collegiate athlete in the history of North Carolina, was celebrated on his birthday, March 14, 2023, which was proclaimed as “Henry Logan Appreciation Day” by the city and the county.

  • Henry Logan was a Western Carolina University Hall of Fame basketball player, being the first Black athlete at the school. Logan graduated from Stephens-Lee High School in 1964 where he won two state titles ― moving on to play in the NBA. Logan died at age 78 on July 26.

Notable Asheville High alumni, from left, Frances Nero, Henry Logan, and Shirley Ann Hemphill, are honored in The Alumni Center August 18, 2023.
Notable Asheville High alumni, from left, Frances Nero, Henry Logan, and Shirley Ann Hemphill, are honored in The Alumni Center August 18, 2023.

McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKennna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Fun facts about city schools, how well do you know your school?