Asheville City Schools Foundation: Programs

Asheville Middle School River Corps students, led by AMS teacher Will Yeiser on their fall retreat.

More About Us:

Programs

The Asheville City Schools Foundation is dedicated to mobilizing the entire community to support student success. Here’s how we’re accomplishing our mission...

Volunteer Academic Coach Program
The Foundation recruits, screens and trains volunteer academic coaches (a hybrid of tutor/mentor) for all grade levels. This year, the Foundation will place 90 volunteers to serve either during the school day or afterschool at Delta House, Youthful Hand, or the YWCA.<learn more>

<Download our brochure> Click here to view profiles of our academic coaches.

IRL (In Real Life) an after school initiative of the Listening To Our Teens Network
Beginning Fall 2010, students at Asheville Middle and the Randolph Learning Center can join In Real Life, an engaging and enriching after-school experience. This unique, coordinated effort brings together more than twenty community groups and teacher clubs to offer consistent, flexible opportunities for students to grow in confidence, build relationships and have fun. Enjoy one simple registration process and the same low-cost for an array of activities in three 8-week sessions.
Click to read more about IRL and the Listening to Our Teens Network. read more >

Grants Program

The Foundation awards Project and Micro Grants to teachers and administrators to fund creative and innovative ideas in the classroom (over $545,000 since 1993). Thanks to the generosity of our donors and grants from the Janirve Foundation and Progress Energy, we have more than $45,000 at work in our schools this year. read more >

Foundation Fellows Program
In August 2009, the ACS Foundation introduced the Foundation Innovators Fellows Program funded by the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation that supports professional development of the fellow’s own choosing and design; funds ranging from $500 - $5000 for classroom materials & project supplies; leadership opportunities; and a community of fellows.

The ACS Foundation also awards scholarships to ACS employees to fund the pursuit of educational goals of all kinds--from workshops to graduate degrees.

Student Scholarships
In the 2008-09 school year, the Foundation awarded $180,000 in student scholarships to graduating seniors at Asheville High School and SILSA. The Foundation administers numerous scholarship funds, both endowed and annually funded, created by generous individuals from the community. We also assist students and their families by hosting financial aid workshops.

The Asheville Learning Links VISTA program in partnership with North Carolina AmeriCorps VISTA
The Foundation hosts AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers and places them in the community. VISTAs work to build the capacity of local nonprofits by fundraising, volunteer recruitment and building community partnerships. read more >

Emergency Family Assistance
The ACS Foundation works with school based social workers to meet emergency needs for families in crisis. Once traditional resources are used up, social workers from the schools use our application process to support families in need so that their students can remain in school.

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