Up to date information regarding Asheville City Elementary Schools.

August 22nd, 2008
Asheville City Elementary Schools Information

Yesterday, a mom of a 4 year old, asked me which school my daughter attended in the Asheville city district. Her son would be going to Kindergarten in the fall and she wanted to know how we went about choosing between Asheville elementary schools. We are very fortunate in the Asheville City school district in that we have 5 magnet elementary schools, each with a different focus / way of integrating the information but they all have to teach the same curriculum. I went around visiting all the school and these were some of my impressions.

Ira B. Jones elementary school, in the most northern part of the district, theme is Core Knowledge. I saw lots of emphasis on the classic traditional style of teaching. They strongly emphasize that knowledge builds knowledge. It is also the location of the city pre K. They put on yearly plays and have a wonderful playground. This past year they got involved in the Empty Bowl project which raised money for our local food bank.

When my daughter was starting school Vance elementary school, in the most western part of the district, was in the process of changing their theme. It is now Human Diversity and Ecology. "English is a second language program " known as EAS is located at Vance, so it is by far the best elementary school for children whose primary language is not English. It is by fair the most ethnically diverse school. Recently Vance has become involved with the NASA explorer project.

Claxton elementary, located north of the city, theme is Arts and Humanities. This school integrates lots of music and dance in their learning programs. Each year they put on a musical and have wonderful carnivals. Their after-school program offers classes in everything from martial arts to storytelling.

Hall Fletcher elementary, in west Asheville, is the Math, Science and Technology school. They emphasis working with computers. They bring todays quickly changing technology and science discoveries to the classroom.

We chose Isaac Dickson elementary for our daughter, it is the Experimental school and is located closest to downtown. The theme is built around the Foxfire principals. This is a hands on approach to learning. Children go on numerous field trips to experience the world around them. In the past few years she has gone to apple orchards, the WNC Nature center to learn about insects and see the butterfly exhibit, Linville Caverns, gem mining in a river, cultural events, and the Health Adventure at Pack Place in downtown Asheville.

The great thing about Asheville Elementary schools is there is a teaching method for everyone and you can choose what is right for your child.

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