Progressive Education Program

We hope everyone is having a great Holiday weekend! This is just a friendly reminder that our retake picture day will be this Thursday, January 18. Parents, please see your email for additional information. Staff, please plan on taking your picture on Thursday for our yearbook!

The last day for students and staff will be Tuesday, December 19! Holiday Break will be from December 20-January 2, 2024! January 2 is an Optional Teacher Workday for teachers. Students return on January 3, 2024!

Please use the link below to read the 2023 North Carolina School Report Cards. https://bit.ly/3hriYBh "The NC School Report Cards website contains snapshots of information about our schools, including the school performance grade, students’ academic growth, how prepared our students are when they enter a school, and a number of other measures as well," said NC Superintendent Catherine Truitt. "These resources are readily available for you and allow transparency into aspects like spending as well as school performance. Although this information is important to know, we know it doesn’t tell the complete story. It doesn’t show the hard work our educators pour in each day for their students and schools and it doesn’t show the spirit of the school itself. No data will be able to show the dedication of our educators nor will it show the extracurricular opportunities, the athletic programs, the apprenticeship, or career preparatory classes - all of which have a profound impact on students and growth."

Good afternoon, BCS Staff, Families, and Community: As the school year continues, we are working hard to ensure all of our students have the resources they need- and you can help! Thanks to a partnership with Purposity, we have identified the most urgent student needs and uploaded them to the Purposity website - a program that allows our community to meet these needs with just a few clicks. 🖍Items include everything from new shoes to school supplies. What do you need to do? Simply sign up at https://www.purposity.com/organization/BuncombeSchools, follow our page, and meet a need with just a few clicks today. You can also download the Purposity App for your smartphone.

The Buncombe County Board of Education will meet in regular session on November 2, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the Minitorium at 175 Bingham Road, Asheville. **Public Comment will be accepted in person. Members of the public wishing to speak will need to come to Entrance “B”. Doors will open at 4:45 p.m. and speakers must arrive no later than 5:15 p.m. to complete entrance screening procedures and sign in to speak. All speakers will have precisely three minutes to speak and must adhere to guidelines set forth in BCS Policy #2310 – Public Participation, including all reasonable rules established by the Superintendent. **Following monthly Public Comments, the Board will hear public comments specifically related to the required board policies addressing the State’s Parents Bill of Rights statutes. These policies are linked in the meeting agenda. **https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/current-public-board-agenda Individuals wishing to speak during this time should sign up on the designated sheet before the meeting begins. These comments will adhere to the same public comment guidelines set forth in BCS Policy #2310. Additionally, parents may email comments to be shared with the Board of Education to communications@bcsemail.org Given the desire of BCS to provide the most information possible to the public, the public may view the live broadcast via YouTube on the BCS Communications Department YouTube Account at: YouTube.com/BuncombeSchools

Good Afternoon PEP Families, This week is our SPIRIT Week. Monday is Flannel Day/Cowboy and Cowgirl Day. We hope to see everyone participating! Go to our website or Facebook Page to see details for each day. This Friday is our PEP Homecoming! We can't wait to crown our new homecoming queen. The game starts at 7PM. Tuesday, October 31 is an Early Release Day. All PEP students will dismiss at 12:30. Wednesday, November 1 is picture day! You should be receiving information from your child's teacher soon! I hope you have a great week ahead!

Monday and Tuesday, October 2 and 3 are Teacher Workdays. We look forward to seeing students back into our buildings on Wednesday, October 4!

We are excited for the first day of school. Below are some important first day of school reminders: -Our school day is from 8-2:30. Traffic around our buildings will be heavy. If you plan on bringing your student to school, please plan for extra time and make sure you park in a parking space. Please do not block the bus lanes! -Please allow for extra time with our bus schedule during the first week. Bus route times will not be exact. Please be ready 15 minutes before the scheduled bus stop time. Please reach out to your bus driver/transportation assistant for exact times. -This year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch! Your student, if able, can purchase extra food items during lunch. Please place money on your students lunchroom account if this is something that you are interested in. -Please return the beginning of year PEP Packet as soon as possible. Please note that students are not able to participate in therapy pool with these forms being returned. See your teacher or nurse for more information. -PEP picture day will be on November 11.

Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year! We are so excited for the opportunity to serve your child once again at PEP! Teachers return to school on Monday, August 21! Please expect your child's teacher to reach out to you sometime on the 21st to introduce themselves and to give you more information about the upcoming school year. If you do not hear from them, please reach out to the school at 828-654-1780. Also, please remember that our Meet The Teacher is on Friday, August 25 from 9-11! This is a drop in event. We can't wait to see you!

The Buncombe County Schools Board of Education is committed to providing a safe, inviting, and civil educational environment for all students, employees, and other members of the school community. The Board expects all students, employees, volunteers, and visitors to behave in a manner consistent with that goal. The Board recognizes that bullying and harassing behavior creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, detracts from the safe environment necessary for student learning, and may lead to more serious misconduct or to violence. Accordingly, the Board prohibits all forms of bullying and harassing behavior, including encouragement of such behavior, by students, employees, volunteers, and visitors. Additional information on reporting and responding to bullying is available here>>> https://bit.ly/3YG6ib4

🎒🖍📓 This weekend, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office School Resource Officers and BCS staff members will be collecting school supplies at the Walmart on Hendersonville Rd. (1636 Hendersonville Rd.). The hours are: Saturday, August 19- 10 am to 8 pm & Sunday, August 20- 10 am to 2:30 pm. Examples of school items are as follows but not limited to: -Book bags—lunchboxes—pencil boxes -Binders—papers—art supplies (crayons/colored pencils) - Pencils—pens—markers—highlighters - Tissues—hand sanitizer—cleaning wipes -Water bottles—dry erase markers—plug in ear- buds—other school related items -Printer paper We hope to see you there as we work together to help ALL students have a great start to the school year!

Attention, BCS Staff: We hope you are having a wonderful summer. Don't forget to check our Employee Values page regularly for local special discounts just for educators. . . . https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/employee-values

🌞 Our Summer Meals Program is in full swing! All children in our community are welcome to stop by one of the sites pictured below for a healthy meal! . . . . #community #summermeals #summer #summer2023 #bcs

☑️Vote for the Buncombe County Schools Foundation to win one of 12 grants being awarded by The Community Betterment Foundation in honor of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce's 125th Anniversary! Through July 31, you can support Buncombe County Schools Foundation in its mission to build a strong and dynamic foundation for Buncombe County Schools students and educators. Please vote for the Foundation once a day to win one of twelve $10,000 grants in partnership with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. There is strength in numbers; together, we are more through this powerful collaboration- “Building Community Through Business.” Vote once a day to support BCS students, educators, and faculty. Follow this link: https://woobox.com/hsn3i5 Learn more: https://www.ashevillechamber.org/.../celebrating-125-years/

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students next school year! We are pleased to inform you that Buncombe County Schools will be implementing a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). We will also implement Universal Meals at Nesbitt Discovery Academy (NDA). What does this mean for you and your child(ren)? Great news! All enrolled students at Buncombe County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Parents (except those with students at NDA), there are no action steps for you to take at this time to participate in this program. We look forward to serving your students beginning August 28, 2023. NDA parents will receive separate instructions regarding Universal Meals. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us at Buncombe Schools Nutrition Office, 828 255-5932.

This Friday, June 9 is the last day of the school year for our students. This is also an Early Release day. PEP will dismiss at 12:30!

Just a friendly reminder that there is no school on Monday, May 29, in honor of Memorial Day! Enjoy your long weekend. The last day of school, Friday, June 9 is an Early Release Day!

Some important reminders for all PEP families. 1) Our PEP Prom is approaching quickly. Please return all forms and payment to your child's teacher as soon as possible. 2) Special Olympics will take place on May 4. If your child does NOT have a recent physical on file with the school, he/or she will not be able to participate in the Special Olympic games. Please submit these forms as soon as possible. Please reach out to Ms. Hudson or your child's teacher as soon as possible. 3) It isn't to late to order a PEP yearbook. The price is 28.00. Ordering information can be found on our school website or Facebook page. Please ask your child's teacher for more information.

Good Afternoon PEP Families. This is Assistant Principal Jason Rollins. This Friday, March 24th is an Early Release Day. Students will be dismissed at 12:30. It isn't too late to order your PEP yearbook. The price is now $28.00 dollars. For more information on how to purchase a yearbook, please visit our website. Attention all high school parents and guardians. PEP Prom is on April 28th. You should have received information from your child's teacher about prom. If you did not, please reach out to your child's teacher now. Thank you! I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Good Afternoon PEP Families! This is Assistant Principal Jason Rollins. This Friday, March 10th is an Optional Teacher Workday. There will be NO school for students. March 15th is the last day to purchase PEP yearbooks at the discounted price of 22.00 dollars. All Physical and Medical information that is needed in order to participate in Special Olympics are due by April 15. Please see your child's teacher for more information. Finally, we want to recognize our outstanding School Social Worker, Mrs. Morgan Fox! This is National School Social Worker week and we couldn't be more lucky to have Mrs. Fox at PEP! I hope you all have a great rest of the day!