The late Elder John R. Hayes, a leader in Asheville’s Black community, was a visionary who dedicated his life to uplifting youth and opening doors of opportunity for the underserved.

In addition to serving 16 years as president of the Asheville Buncombe branch of the NAACP and establishing Asheville’s radio station WRES 100.7, in 1977 he and activist Sophie Dixon founded the Hillcrest Enrichment program. That soon led to the establishment of the Hillcrest High Steppin’ Majorettes and Drum Corps, which, after Elder Hayes’s death in 2021, was renamed The John R. Hayes High Steppin’ Majorettes and Drum Corps.

Over the decades The High Steppers have marched, stepped, and drummed in countless events, including the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C., where they were joined by legendary dancer and actor Gregory Hines, and at several events by the request of former NC Governor Jim Hunt. They have made special appearances with NC State University’s Marching Band; and in the Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration in Atlanta, GA—as well as annually in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Rally in Asheville.

Now Elder Hayes’s legacy of service to the community continues under his son, Michael R. Hayes, who leads the Umoja Health, Wellness & Justice Collective, based at Trinity United Methodist Church in downtown Asheville. Afterschool programs there provide new generations of Asheville’s youth with opportunities for artistic expression, personal growth, and community involvement.

To support the educational and development programs of Umoja Health Wellness & Justice Collective, contact Michael R. Hayes, Executive Director at (828) 490-5774, or mail your contributions to Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice…

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Nearly 140 college scholarships administered by the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF) are now open for applications.

This represents nearly $1.8 million in available scholarship funds.

At NCCF, we believe in the power of education to improve lives. We partner with donors to administer scholarships for the benefit of students in every county in the state.

Most scholarships close for 2025 applications on March 3. There is no cost to apply and students can apply online using NCCF’s Universal Scholarships Application.

The Universal Scholarships Application matches information about the student—such as county of residence, GPA, or intended major—with criteria for approximately 130 scholarships. Students are then alerted to all scholarships for which they may be eligible.

About a dozen other NCCF scholarships have separate applications with different due dates. Students should review the criteria for those and follow the instructions on how to apply.

Visit nccommunityfoundation.org/Scholarships for detailed instructions and to apply.

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By Kristin D’Agostino –

Sophia West, a student in the college’s English Language Acquisition (ELA) program, moved to Asheville from St. Elizabeth Parish in southwestern Jamaica nine years ago to take a housekeeping job at the Inn at Biltmore.

At the time, the 52-year-old empty-nester was ready for an adventure and, although she’d never been to the United States, she jumped at the chance to join her cousin in Asheville who was also working at the inn.

Western North Carolina with its mountains and open space was similar to Jamaica. And the new job offered more money than she’d been making as a gas station attendant.

West took the plunge, and it paid off. For the past three years, she’s worked her way up in the ELA program and is now at the advanced level.

When not studying English, she cares for her 10-year-old grandson Kayden and works as a housekeeper at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community.

West also stays connected to her home country and her family. Every day ends with a WhatsApp session with her three grown kids. She loves Asheville’s selection of Jamaican food venues, especially Charlie King’s Food Truck, which is currently rebuilding after the hurricane, and she listens to reggae music whenever she can.

“I love my country,” she says. “The beaches, the food and the people all look out for each other.”

During her last visit home in July, West enjoyed cooking dinner with her family and sitting out under the mango trees.

One of the things she values most about her culture is the reverence that Jamaicans have for elderly members of the community. Grandparents often live with their families in the home, and older residents look out for the younger ones, keeping an eye on neighborhood children.

“There’s always someone at home,” West said. “Here, the elderly are in nursing homes and it’s kind of sad. They get lonely. At home you’d have someone to talk to.”

West feels a special connection with the older…

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Read 2 Succeed Asheville/Buncombe (R2S) and Christine W. Avery Learning Center (CWA) welcomed celebrated Black children’s book authors Veronica Chapman and Jaha Avery as the featured guests.

The reading, booksigning, and Community Holiday Extravaganza took place on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at the Arthur R. Edington Center.

A social impact ideator, author, and founder of Boxxout Enterprises, and the creative force behind BlackBabyBooks.com and Black Children’s Book Week, Veronica Chapman is an alumna of Spelman College and Babson College. She has dedicated her career to designing solutions for social change. At the Dec. 7 event she shared her children’s book, King Khalid is Proud, with attending families.

R2S and CWA was also excited to welcome Jaha Avery, lawyer, thought leader, and author of the powerful book, I Heard: An American Journey. A proud Southerner with more than three centuries of family roots in North Carolina, the Asheville native studied constitutional and civil rights law at UNC Chapel Hill. Her book explores themes of heritage, oral history, and identity through a rich narrative inspired by her background in civil rights law and advocacy.

“This year’s Community Holiday Extravaganza was a truly fun event” said R2S Community Engagement Coordinator, Toshia Sitton, who led the planning of the event. “Not only were two incredible Black children’s book authors visiting and reading and signing their books with families, but there was a holiday carnival games, prizes, cookie decorating, meals from Blessed Soul Food and Cooking With Comedy, music, hot cocoa, face painting, and more—all at no cost to families. Plus, there was a BIPOC holiday market set up for folks to support local small businesses to do some holiday shopping.”

All families attending received free copies of both books along with curated comprehension guides…

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By Duane Adams –

The impact of Hurricane Helene has changed the topography of the region, and remnants of the storm will be with us for the remainder of our lifetimes.

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, business owners are once again struggling to make unexpected life-altering decisions. Many are questioning whether to continue to press forward or just use this setback as an opportunity to embark on a new horizon. This is not an easy road to cross.

As with any unforeseen circumstance, business advisors are scrambling to provide guidance to help clients with the necessary due diligence to make tough decisions. Funds are finite, and applying for them is a time-sensitive matter, making the situation even more stressful. Fortunately, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina has published a list of steps to business recovery. Resource providers have found this shared list to be a useful guide as they assist clients in navigating the process of accessing the appropriate resources.

Here is a rundown of the recommended steps to take for anyone who may not yet be connected with a trusted advisor.

Contact your insurance carrier to file your claim. Be sure to document and make a list of damages by taking photos. Before and after images would be helpful.

Register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If a disaster declaration has been made for your area, contact FEMA. They have an app that you can download at no cost from your smart phone’s app store. You can also call (800) 621-3362.

Talk with a free, confidential business counselor. Call (800) 228-8443 or email [email protected] to get connected to a statewide network of support. All inquiries will receive a response from a confidential business counselor within two business days. Se Habla Español.

Experienced business counselors can help you:

• Assess the financial impact of your business
• Reconstruct…

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Maybe, maybe not.

A year ago, in September of 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that the Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems jointly study the feasibility of a merger and designated Buncombe County government as the lead entity for this project.

This is one of the three ways that the state’s laws offer for joining duplicative school districts:

• County and city boards of education can jointly request a merger and can call for a referendum
• A county board of commissioners can mandate a merger
• Legislative action can force a merger

More than sixty years after the first study was undertaken in 1963 to consider merging the two school districts—a study that recommended doing so—the legislature has chosen the third option. The move took some Buncombe County legislators by surprise, as it was hastily slipped into a different bill by Republican House members last September, but all indicated some support for the study.

Prismatic Services, the firm chosen by Buncombe County commissioners to study the issue, is conducting surveys and will also lead nine drop-in community meetings, as well as one online forum to gather community input that will be presented to the NCGA in February 2025.

Online surveys are available through Sept. 30, 2024, and include individual surveys for parents, BCS teammates, community members, and high school students. In addition, BCS high school students will be given the opportunity to take a survey in school. Principals will be sharing more information in the days ahead with parents of high school students.

Details on the study and links to the survey can be found at engage.buncombecounty.org/schoolsfeasibilitystudy.

The drop-in community input sessions are designed so community members can participate for 15-30 minutes at the time and location that best suits their schedules. Spanish interpretation will be provided. For those who…

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Peak Academy is a four-year-old charter school that began with 87 students and has grown to last years’ enrollment of 176—double the original number and then some. 

This rapid expansion of students could not be accommodated by the school’s original site at 83 Balm Grove Avenue in West Asheville, so beginning this academic school year (2024-25), the school is being housed at the Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center, at 133 Livingston Street.

This is also the site of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction authorized school that focuses on character development as it works to close the academic achievement gap for grades K-6 students. But old-timers remember the Edington Center (a.k.a. Reid Center), as the Livingston Street Elementary School, which successfully educated African American children during the Jim Crow Era of racial segregation. The neighborhood school was closed and converted into a recreation center by the city in compliance with federal orders to desegregate the system in the early 1970s.

The 206-student capacity for the 2024-25 school year was made possible by the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, which is the governing body of the Edington Center.

The Asheville PEAK Academy has brought a new purpose to an historic location.

P – Prepare
E – Empower
A – Achieve
K – Knowledge

These are the stated goals that the most diverse and qualified faculty and staff in the region strive to realize.

The measure of success is evidenced by the use of benchmark exams given to the students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Last year 100% of the students made progress in reading and math over the course of the academic calendar. The state-administered results of End-of-Grade exams for the Third, Fourth and Fifth grades celebrated their individual successes at the end of the year…

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Aspire Appalachian pathway program to benefit transfer students.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) has partnered with Appalachian State University’s Aspire Appalachian program, which provides a streamlined path for students enrolled in community colleges to complete their bachelor’s degrees at App State.

The Aspire Appalachian program is designed to ease the transition between schools for transfer students, boost degree completion rates, and minimize student loan debt. A-B Tech hosted a signing ceremony for the partnership on Friday, August 30, 2024.

“We’re excited to be part of the Aspire Appalachian program because it’s a win-win proposition for our students,” said A-B Tech President John Gossett. “A-B Tech’s university transfer students can save money by starting here and be assured of admission and an easy transition to Appalachian State upon graduation.”

As of this summer, App State has secured new and renewed Aspire agreements with 27 North Carolina community colleges, tripling the number of institutions participating in the program. A-B Tech also has individual agreements with other colleges and universities. Learn more at abtech.edu/transfer.

“We are proud to partner with A-B Tech to help realize the immense potential that can be reached when two- and four-year institutions collaborate to support students who want access to a college education,” said Dr. Neva Specht, acting provost of App State. “Together, we are working to meet workforce demand and contributing to the economic health and wellbeing of our state and region.”

Aspire Appalachian — Benefits, Eligibility, and How to Participate

Students involved in the Aspire Appalachian program gain access to numerous benefits, including:

• Guaranteed admission to App State
• Dedicated academic advising assistance…

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Chiquitos preschool believes in holistic child-centered learning through play.

In their program, children develop foundational skills through interactive learning, storytelling, and artistic expression. Their programs are designed to provide a nurturing environment where children can explore, create, and learn through Spanish and art immersion.

Created by Marsha Almodovar, the program is dedicated to fostering a love for learning and creativity in every child. Almodovar has lived in Asheville for about 16 years. She is a mother and painter who had a career in education and nonprofits. In 2023 she received a Tzedek Impact Social Justice award. She used the award funds to illustrate, write, and publish a Spanish-language child book. That process led her to lean into her true calling, to work with children and launch a Spanish-and-Art-based program.

Programs

Art immersion allows children to explore their creativity through various artistic activities, fostering their imagination and fine motor skills.

Immerse your child in the melodious world of Spanish music, where they can learn rhythm, movement, and cultural elements through engaging musical experiences.

Active play sessions promote gross motor skills, coordination, and social interaction.

The language learning component focuses on Spanish language acquisition through interactive games, songs, and storytelling, laying the foundation for bilingualism and cultural appreciation.

Mathematical concepts are incorporated into everyday activities, encouraging children to explore numeracy, patterns, and problem solving in a fun and meaningful way.

Exploring the outdoors is a vital part of the program. Children engage in nature-based activities, promoting curiosity, sensory experiences, and an understanding of the natural world.

Marsha Almodovar will be offering open play and story time Monday, Wednesday, and Friday….

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Asheville City Schools is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Darwin Carter as the new Director of Innovative Programming, leading both Cougar Academy and the Education & Career Academy at William Randolph. Dr. Carter officially began his tenure on July 15, 2024.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Carter to ACS,” said Kimberly Robinson, Executive Director of Student Services. “His extensive experience and visionary leadership will be instrumental in driving our Alternative Programs to new heights and pioneering groundbreaking opportunities.”

Dr. Carter brings over 25 years of educational experience to ACS. He began his career as a teacher of Exceptional Children (EC) in 1999, most recently serving as the High School and Alternative Education Principal for Hickory Public School District in North Carolina.

Throughout his career, Dr. Carter has consistently demonstrated strong leadership, collaboration skills, and a commitment to staying current with educational research. As a principal, he fostered a positive school climate, implemented a rigorous curriculum, and effectively managed the school budget.

Dr. Carter is passionate about education, stating, “Education is the beacon that illuminates our path to understanding, empowering us to unlock the mysteries of the universe.” He is eager to continue his work supporting students in their educational journeys.

Cougar Academy and the Education and Career Academy at William Randolph offer unique educational pathways for Asheville City Schools students seeking more personalized learning environments. Cougar Academy, a middle school program, focuses on social-emotional development and individualized learning opportunities.

The Education & Career Academy at William Randolph provides high school students with career exploration opportunities and personalized goal setting so they can delve deeper into subjects they excel in.

Dr. Carter’s leadership will…

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