ACSF board and staff agree that at our core, and in everything that we do, we will show up for students, families, and educators with revolutionary love and provide opportunities for students to live a curious life.

Continue reading to learn how ACSF is doing whatever it takes to infuse arts education into classrooms, connect middle schoolers to new careers and opportunities, center the wellness of our educators, and support students as they realize their passions and dreams.

Spring TAPAAS residencies are in full swing:

  • Kindergarten students have learned about emotional expression, colors, shapes, and the beauty of our differences through puppetry creation with artist Edwin Salas Acosta
  • Primary school students created clay pots as they learned about Cherokee pottery and legends from potter Ona Armstrong
  • Elementary students practiced mindfulness and yoga while exploring their inner strengths and hopes through paintings with artist and author Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • High school students discovered new ways of expressing themselves through collages with artist Ginger Huebner

These are just a few of the innovative residencies happening across our schools!

This session, over 85 students have been participating in 15 fun, hands-on, and unique clubs such as LIT Candle Making, Bat-tastic Nature Crafts, Mic-Drop: Podcast Posse, and more!
ACSF's March Board of Directors meeting was led entirely by students! Porsha Carter, Juvae Mullings, and Paiden Castelblanco, all student representatives on our board, led our directors through voting actions, a comprehensive financial review, and program updates. We were also joined by several members of the Racial Equity Ambassador Program who led a presentation and scenario practice with the Asheville 6 Strategies for culturally responsive classrooms. We never fail to leave inspired by the leadership of this generation!

This February, Black Educators in Asheville City Schools participated in a two-day seminar with Dr. Reginald Turner hosted by the Black Educator Excellence program. This seminar fostered a collaborative, safe, and brave space for ACS's Black Educators to learn the necessary habits around building and sustaining emotional resiliency. The positive impact of this seminar with Dr. Turner was inestimable! We are deeply grateful to Dr. Turner for sharing his gifts of time and wisdom with our organization and our educators.

"It was life-changing. Dr. Turner provided an inspirational and eye-opening experience for our Black educators. His presence in the space and ability to relate to our community was much needed. He impacted the lives of many and provided them a beacon of light for the present and future." -Brandon Whiteside


Join us in celebrating one of our incredible ACS alumni and scholarship recipients, Mr. Jacob Kerber, who has returned to his alma mater and is now an inspiring educator at Asheville High! Jacob was the 2008 recipient of ACSF's Lee H. Edwards High School Class of '48 Scholarship:

"My name is Jacob Kerber and I was in the AHS graduating class of 2008. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill where I graduated in 2012 with a double major, a BA in History and an BA in Spanish. I went on to Duke University to receive my Masters in Teaching degree in 2013 (but am a UNC Tarheel through and through!). As a Durham Teaching Fellow through Duke, I taught in Durham Public Schools for two years at Northern High School. In 2015, my wife and I decided to move back home to the Asheville area, and I was lucky enough to get a job at my alma mater, Asheville High School. Now, in my seventh year at Asheville High School, I am lucky enough to offer an elective social studies course called World Conflict and Human Rights, I am the faculty sponsor for the Interact Club which is in association with the Asheville Rotary Club, and I am a coach on the prestigious AHS Speech and Debate team! I am Cougar Proud!"
Want to make a big impact without even touching your wallet? Here are 3 easy ways to support Asheville's students and teachers:
Support ACSF while you shop! Visit smile.amazon.com, sign in with your Amazon.com credentials, choose Asheville City Schools Foundation as your charity of choice, and start shopping! Don't forget to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return!

Donate your tax return! You did all of the hard work of filing your taxes before April 18th, now sit back and let your tax return make a difference for students.
Donate your IRA Required Minimum Distribution! If you are 70.5 years of age or older, you can make a gift to ACSF from your Individual Retirement Account! Your gift is free of federal income tax, counts toward your annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), and is excluded from your gross income.

Donations may also be made via cash, check, wire transfers, or online. Cash and Checks may be mailed to: Asheville City Schools Foundation, PO Box 3196 Asheville, NC 28802. Please contact Rebecca Abide, Development and Communications Director at (828) 350-6179 to receive banking information for wire transfers or to gift shares of stock.
Click here to view a full list of community businesses supporting our students.