Asheville School
Encyclopedia
Asheville School is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina
. Founded in 1900, the Asheville School campus sits on 300 acres (1.2 km²) in the Blue Ridge Mountains and currently enrolls 270 students in grades nine through twelve. The school's mission is "to prepare [their] students for college and for life and to provide an atmosphere in which all members of a diverse, engaged, and purposefully small school community appreciate and strive for excellence- an atmosphere that nurtures character and fosters the development of mind, body, and spirit."
Fifty-three boarding students from grades 5-12—called "forms," according to the British system—were enrolled that first year. A century later, Asheville School has a diverse co-educational student body, remaining true to its founders’ vision of a small boarding school where students come to learn, build lasting friendships and receive an education that goes far beyond the classroom.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Asheville School has been careful to maintain the integrity of its original Tudor-style buildings while also incorporating newer structures into the campus master plan. Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, Asheville School has held a place of distinction in the field of independent education for more than 100 years. Asheville School continues to maintain that place of distinction in the 21st century as one of the nation's leading boarding schools.
Asheville School has a unique Humanities program that integrates the study of literature, history, religion, art, music, architecture, film and dance into a four-year sequence: Ancient Studies, World Studies, European Studies and American Studies. English and history teachers may team-teach these courses, along with the school’s music teacher and other guest lecturers. Students who complete the four-year sequence receive half credits for both history of art and history of music. The program is writing intensive, culminating in a final research project, the Senior Demonstration. Throughout the Senior Demonstration, students research and write about a subject of their choice, resulting in two major papers and an oral defense of the student's work.
All students must participate in an "afternoon activity" after the academic day ends. Each student can pick one for each season. All third formers and fourth formers are required to participate in one team sport during the course of the year. Each student can participate in art, drama, music, life fitness, equestrian, mountaineering, or an interscholastic sport (which are listed below).
, snow skiing, caving and mountain biking. Many students take mountaineering as an afternoon activity for daily on-campus instruction and practice. On-campus facilities include a high-ropes course, an Alpine Tower, a climbing wall, a swimming pool (for kayak instruction) and 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of forested land with miles of trails for biking and exploring. Off-campus trips are frequently offered to places such as Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest, the Tuckaseegee and French Broad rivers, and the Tsali Recreational area. All new students go on at least one overnight camping trip during their first year at Asheville School that introduces students to the school's mountaineering program and to the beautiful region.
There is also an Honor Council that hears the cases of students who have broken the honor code. This body is meant to be more constructive than disciplinary, and the members discuss the offenses of the students with them in order to achieve a sort of reconciliation between the student and the school.
The traditional football rival of Asheville School (Blues) is Christ School (Greenies).
The traditional Asheville School dessert is the Asheville School banana: a banana covered in lemon juice and sugar. The dessert is also featured on Vineyard Vines ties, bags, and belts which are sold in the school store.
Asheville School students are expected to maintain a well-groomed, well-dressed appearance. For boys, classroom dress includes jackets and ties; for girls, a dress skirt, jumper, or dress slacks with a blazer. Some substitutions may be permitted according to the season. Neat casual dress is required at other times.
Every fall the campus spends a day at Camp Rockmont in Black Mountain, NC.
Total number of faculty: 60
Number of teaching faculty: 36
Percentage of teaching faculty with advanced degrees: 73%
Overall student-faculty ratio: 4 to 1
Average class size: 13
Overall faculty residing on campus: 80%
Testing averages
SAT Reading - Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 570-680
SAT Mathematics – Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 580-690
SAT Writing – Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 560-680
Percentage of AP exams with scores of "3" or better (2010): 83%
Number of students designated as AP Scholars (2010): 43
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. Founded in 1900, the Asheville School campus sits on 300 acres (1.2 km²) in the Blue Ridge Mountains and currently enrolls 270 students in grades nine through twelve. The school's mission is "to prepare [their] students for college and for life and to provide an atmosphere in which all members of a diverse, engaged, and purposefully small school community appreciate and strive for excellence- an atmosphere that nurtures character and fosters the development of mind, body, and spirit."
History
Asheville School was founded in 1900 by Charles Andrews Mitchell and Newton Mitchell Anderson. Previously, the pair founded the University School in Cleveland, OH in 1890. The founding of these two schools was a daring experiment in preparatory education, as it challenged the time-honored system of British classical education. Anderson’s concept for Asheville School was of a place where boys could prepare for college or for the business world; where the body, through organized athletics, would be trained as well as the brain; where boys could learn constructive work with their hands as well as their heads.Fifty-three boarding students from grades 5-12—called "forms," according to the British system—were enrolled that first year. A century later, Asheville School has a diverse co-educational student body, remaining true to its founders’ vision of a small boarding school where students come to learn, build lasting friendships and receive an education that goes far beyond the classroom.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Asheville School has been careful to maintain the integrity of its original Tudor-style buildings while also incorporating newer structures into the campus master plan. Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, Asheville School has held a place of distinction in the field of independent education for more than 100 years. Asheville School continues to maintain that place of distinction in the 21st century as one of the nation's leading boarding schools.
Academics
Asheville School's academic course of study is rigorous and stresses a traditional core curriculum of humanities, mathematics, science, foreign language and the arts. Through the study of these subjects, students learn the fundamentals of good writing, critical thinking and clear communication. Class size is small, averaging 12 students per class and a student to teacher ration of 7:1.Asheville School has a unique Humanities program that integrates the study of literature, history, religion, art, music, architecture, film and dance into a four-year sequence: Ancient Studies, World Studies, European Studies and American Studies. English and history teachers may team-teach these courses, along with the school’s music teacher and other guest lecturers. Students who complete the four-year sequence receive half credits for both history of art and history of music. The program is writing intensive, culminating in a final research project, the Senior Demonstration. Throughout the Senior Demonstration, students research and write about a subject of their choice, resulting in two major papers and an oral defense of the student's work.
Honor Code
Students at Asheville School are expected to live by high ethical standards and to uphold an Honor Code. The Asheville School Honor Code states that no student will lie, cheat or steal, and they will report any student who does. When submitting any independent work, students "pledge" that they have adhered to the honor code. Students also constitute the majority of the Honor Council, the educational and disciplinary body which hears all violations of the Code.Athletics
- Fall: Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(Boys and Girls), Field HockeyField hockeyField Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
(Girls), footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
(Boys), Soccer (Boys) , TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(Girls), VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(Girls), EquestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
(Co-Ed) - Winter: BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(Boys), Basketball (Girls), SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
(Boys and Girls), WrestlingScholastic wrestlingScholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
(Boys), DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
(Boys and Girls), EquestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
(Co-Ed) - Spring: BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(Boys), Soccer (Girls), Tennis (Boys), Lacrosse (Boys), Track & Field (Boys and Girls), DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
(Boys and Girls), EquestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
(Co-Ed)
Mountaineering
Situated among the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Asheville School has emphasized an appreciation of the great outdoors since its founding. The school's location offers great natural beauty and an abundance of recreational opportunities. Asheville School has a well established mountaineering program that provides the staff, training and equipment to give students the opportunity to participate in backpacking, rock climbing, whitewater kayakingWhitewater kayaking
Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
, snow skiing, caving and mountain biking. Many students take mountaineering as an afternoon activity for daily on-campus instruction and practice. On-campus facilities include a high-ropes course, an Alpine Tower, a climbing wall, a swimming pool (for kayak instruction) and 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of forested land with miles of trails for biking and exploring. Off-campus trips are frequently offered to places such as Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest, the Tuckaseegee and French Broad rivers, and the Tsali Recreational area. All new students go on at least one overnight camping trip during their first year at Asheville School that introduces students to the school's mountaineering program and to the beautiful region.
Community Life
The Asheville School student body is made up of approximately 75% boarding students and 25% day students. The school values diversity and has students from 20 states and 13 countries. Roughly a quarter of the students receive need-based financial aid. The school has about the same number of males and females. An important avenue for student leadership is the Prefect/Proctor system, which calls on students to help manage dormitories, study halls, technology resources and lab space. Student representatives sit on almost every major school committee.Traditions
The school has a Conduct Council, where three alternate prefects and two alternating faculty convene with the faculty conduct chair in order to determine a recommendation of punishment for students who have committed a level one offense or various level two and/or three offenses.There is also an Honor Council that hears the cases of students who have broken the honor code. This body is meant to be more constructive than disciplinary, and the members discuss the offenses of the students with them in order to achieve a sort of reconciliation between the student and the school.
The traditional football rival of Asheville School (Blues) is Christ School (Greenies).
The traditional Asheville School dessert is the Asheville School banana: a banana covered in lemon juice and sugar. The dessert is also featured on Vineyard Vines ties, bags, and belts which are sold in the school store.
Asheville School students are expected to maintain a well-groomed, well-dressed appearance. For boys, classroom dress includes jackets and ties; for girls, a dress skirt, jumper, or dress slacks with a blazer. Some substitutions may be permitted according to the season. Neat casual dress is required at other times.
Every fall the campus spends a day at Camp Rockmont in Black Mountain, NC.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Asheville School include:- James HormelJames HormelJames Catherwood Hormel is an American philanthropist and grandson of George A. Hormel, founder of Hormel Foods .-Early years:Hormel was born in Austin, Minnesota. He earned a B.A...
, former U.S. Ambassador to LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... - Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr.Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr.Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr. was the fourth generation of his family to lead S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., which is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin. He was the son of Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr. and the great-grandson of company founder, Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr...
, former President/Chairman of S.C. Johnson & Son - Charles P. RiesCharles P. RiesCharles P. Ries is currently a senior fellow at the Rand Corporation.- Diplomatic career :He was the United States Minister for Economic Affairs and Coordinator for Economic Transition in Iraq, serving at American Embassy Baghdad....
, U.S. Ambassador to GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, 2004–2007 - Henry WillsonHenry WillsonHenry Willson was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in popularizing the beefcake craze of the 1950s. He was known for his stable of young, attractive clients, including Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Robert Wagner, Nick Adams, Guy Madison, Troy Donahue, Rory Calhoun, Clint...
, influential Hollywood agent - Edward GaylordEdward GaylordEdward Lewis Gaylord was a billionaire businessman and media mogul who built the Gaylord Entertainment Company empire that included The Oklahoman newspaper/ Oklahoma Publishing Co., Gaylord Hotels, the Nashville Network TV Channel ; the Grand Ole Opry, and the Country Music Television Channel as...
, businessman, publisher, media mogul; former owner of The Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music ChannelCountry Music ChannelCountry Music Channel is an Australian cable and satellite music television channel owned and operated by XYZnetworks. It airs on Foxtel and Austar... - Pete DyePete DyePaul B. "Pete" Dye is a world-renowned golf course designer and a member of a famous family of course designers. He is married to fellow designer and former amateur champion Alice Dye.-Early life:Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio...
, renowned golf course designer - Edward Bridge Danson, Jr., archaeologist and anthropologist; former Director of the Museum of Northern ArizonaMuseum of Northern ArizonaThe Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, that was established as a repository for Native American artifacts and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau.The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist Dr. Harold S...
and father of actor Ted DansonTed DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
. - Marisha PesslMarisha PesslMarisha Pessl is an American writer best known for her debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.Pessl was born in Clarkston, Michigan, to Klaus, an Austrian engineer for General Motors, and Anne, an American homemaker. Pessl's parents divorced when she was three, and she moved to Asheville,...
, writer of Special Topics in Calamity PhysicsSpecial Topics in Calamity PhysicsSpecial Topics in Calamity Physics is a novel by American writer Marisha Pessl. It is the author's debut novel. The book was first published in August 2006 by Viking Press, a division of Penguin Group. The book received many positive reviews and was named one of "The 10 Best Books of 2006" by the... - George M. Studebaker, Jr., son of the founder of The StudebakerStudebakerStudebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
Corporation, maker of the StudebakerStudebakerStudebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
automobile (1902) - J. C. Penney, Jr., son of the Founder of J. C. PenneyJ. C. Penney-External links:*...
stores - Allen C. Mayer, retired Vice President and Chairman of Oscar MayerOscar MayerOscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.-History:...
& Co. - Ralph E. Garner, President of T.W. Garner Food Company, primarily known for the Texas PeteTexas PeteTexas Pete is a Louisiana-style hot sauce in the United States manufactured by the TW Garner Food Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The brand has 6.0 oz bottles with bright red sauce, shaker top, and white and yellow label featuring the name in red and "Texas Pete", a red silhouette cowboy...
hot sauce - Harvey Samuel Firestone, founder of Firestone Tires
- James Arthur "Art" PopeArt PopeJames Arthur "Art" Pope is a North Carolina political figure, businessman, attorney and philanthropist. He is CEO and Board Chairman of Variety Wholesalers, Inc and President and Chairman of the John William Pope Foundation....
CEO and Board Chairman of Variety Wholesalers, Inc.
Fact and Figures
FacultyTotal number of faculty: 60
Number of teaching faculty: 36
Percentage of teaching faculty with advanced degrees: 73%
Overall student-faculty ratio: 4 to 1
Average class size: 13
Overall faculty residing on campus: 80%
Testing averages
SAT Reading - Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 570-680
SAT Mathematics – Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 580-690
SAT Writing – Middle 50 percent range (class of 2010): 560-680
Percentage of AP exams with scores of "3" or better (2010): 83%
Number of students designated as AP Scholars (2010): 43