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EDUCATION
Blue Ridge Community College apprenticeship program
Excellent Schools for All Ages
Whether you’re looking into schools for your children or are thinking of going back to school yourself, Henderson County and the surrounding area offer a variety of educational opportunities.
PRESCHOOLS
Parents with small children will find numerous choices when it comes to child care and preschools. Many churches offer weekday programs and private and publicly funded child care centers operate throughout the county. For more information and a current list of child care options in Henderson County, contact Mountain Child Care Connections at SWCDCINC.org/Quality-Childcare, or call the toll-free hotline at 877-752-5955 or visit the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education at NCChildcare. NCDHHS.gov.
HENDERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
828-697-4733 HCPSNC.org
For children five years of age to 18, Henderson County Public Schools has 23 schools—four high, four middle, 13 elementary, the Henderson County Career Academy and the Henderson County Early College. All are accredited Cognia. The Career Academy and the Early College (together, the Innovative High Schools) are housed in the Molly A. Parkhill Building on the Blue Ridge Community College campus. The Career Academy offers high school students pursuing direct, specific career goals with Art, Business & Finance, Culinary, Fire Fighting and Mechatronics academies plus access to all the technical career pathways through BRCC. The Early College gives many first-generation college students the opportunity to complete high school and college
Henderson County Public Schools serve more than 13,500 children ages five to 18.
coursework through BRCC in five years and graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. HCPS serves more than 13,500 children with a staff of more than 3,000 instructional and noninstructional employees. Twenty-one of the schools operate on a traditional schedule of four nine-week grading periods. Bruce Drysdale Elementary and Hendersonville Elementary operate on a flex schedule of four nine-week grading periods with three-week inter-sessions. North Carolina legislation requires that schools begin no sooner than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Henderson County Public Schools continues to be one of the highest performing school districts in the state. In 2018-2019, the last year for which this information is available, HCPS ranked 11th out of 115 public school districts in North Carolina for its overall proficiency, had 19 of 23 schools (83%) that met or exceeded growth in academic performance, was home to three high schools that received recognition from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for achieving a cohort graduation rate of 95% or higher and had a four-year graduation rate of 91.4% – maintaining an 11-year trend of exceeding the average North Carolina graduation rate. The system has a total of 184 National Board Certified Teachers. HCPS is named a “Schools to Watch® District” by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, and 11 schools (eight elementary, two middle and one high) implement Franklin Covey’s The Leader in Me school-wide model
PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
Henderson County also has two public, tuition-free charter schools – FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher and The Mountain Community School in Hendersonville.
FERNLEAF COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL
FernLeaf Community Charter School moves beyond traditional classroom based instruction by employing a rich and varied projectbased experiential learning model that brings the curriculum to life for students, teachers and the community. Founded by area educators, the K-8 school seeks to foster a rich learning environment that engages students and helps them develop into compassionate, thoughtful human beings as they grow and achieve academically. For more information, call 828684-3645 or visit FernLeafCCS.org.
MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
The Mountain Community School’s mission is to honor individuality and diversity, nurture respect for self and others and foster a lifelong love of learning. The Mountain Community School is a charter school that offers a rigorous curricular experience based on an expeditionary model of learning in grades K-8. For more information, call 828-696-8480 or visit TheMountainCommunitySchool. com.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
In addition to public schools, Henderson County has five private schools.
Captain Gilmer Christian School in Fletcher offers instruction for grades pre-K through 8th grade and serves as the primary school for Fletcher Academy. The Academy provides a general college preparatory work/ study program for day students and boarding students in grades 9 to 12. Both schools are Seventh-day Adventist. For more information, call Captain Gilmer Christian School at 828-684-8221 or visit CaptainGilmer.com, or call Fletcher Academy at 828-209-6800 or visit FletcherAcademy.org.
IMAGO DEI CLASSICAL ACADEMY
Imago Dei Classical Academy is a classical Christian school in Mills River that seeks to glorify God by teaching students, parents and staff to think clearly, listen with discernment and understanding, reason persuasively and articulate precisely. For more information, call 828-513-4966 or visit IDCANC.org.
IMMACULATA CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Immaculata Catholic School in Hendersonville provides academic and religious instruction for preschool through 8th grade, integrating Roman Catholic tradition into a comprehensive instructional program. For more information, call 828-693-3277 or visit IMMAC.org.
VERITAS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher is an independent, co-educational, PreK-12, college preparatory school with an educational culture built on the classical Trivium and Christianity. Veritas also offers a program called “School Within a School” that provides support to students with high-functioning autism and learning differences. Veritas’ academic program is enhanced by a 3-year-olds preschool program, a Center for Nature Studies, a fine arts program, an athletics department and an assortment of electives and extracurricular activities. For more information, call 828-681-0546 or visit VeritasNC.org.
HOMESCHOOLING
Homeschooling is also an option for North Carolina parents and children. Resources include: • Classical Scholars in Mills River which supports homeschooling parents with a unique classroom environment and opportunities to foster leadership –
ClassicalScholarsHomeschool.com • Henderson County Homeschool
Association – Homeschool-Life. com/NC/HCHA • NC Division of Non-Public Education – NCAdmin.NC.gov/Citizens/
Home-School-Information • North Carolinians for Home
Education – NCHE.com
HIGHER EDUCATION
BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
828-694-1700 BlueRidge.edu
Blue Ridge Community College is a two-year, comprehensive postsecondary institution that elevates the educational experience to prepare students for 21st-century success in the workforce or at four-year colleges and universities. With campuses in Henderson and Transylvania Counties, the college offers more than 100 degrees, diplomas and certificates; more than 200 online courses; veterans services; and fast-tracked job training in five semesters or less. Blue Ridge’s faculty develop and teach programs that provide reallife practice, meet the needs of employers and lead to well-paying careers. Blue Ridge graduates are also eligible to transfer to any of North Carolina’s 18 public colleges and universities.
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Blue Ridge helps students overcome financial obstacles by offering more than 400 scholarship opportunities through the College’s Educational Foundation. It also has one of the largest continuing education programs in the state for students of all ages. Blue Ridge strives to connect students with area employers through services such as the Small Business Center and NCWorks Career Center.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY HENDERSONVILLE
828-697-0105 Wingate.edu/Academics/Hendersonville
Wingate University’s Hendersonville campus offers a fully accredited Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) program and Masters of Physician Assistant (PA) studies. Both programs emphasize small classes, a student-centered environment, service to the community and reallife experiences in problem-solving and application of skills. Wingate University School of Pharmacy graduates engage in more than 2,150 hours of pharmacy practice experience in hospitals, community pharmacies and medical clinics. The PA studies program is integrated with local hospitals and healthcare providers. Wingate University’s healtheducation facility located next to Pardee UNC Health Care is a joint venture of Wingate, Henderson County, the City of Hendersonville, Blue Ridge Community College and Pardee UNC Health Care.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE
828-251-6600 UNCA.edu
UNC Asheville offers an education that is adaptive, affordable and relevant as the only dedicated liberal arts and sciences campus in the University of North Carolina System. Award-winning faculty, a nationally acclaimed undergraduate research program and small class sizes foster connections between curiosity and critical thinking, courage and challenge, imagination and impact, opportunity and responsibility. Learning at UNCA extends well beyond classroom walls. Focusing on undergraduate studies, UNC Asheville prepares the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals through facultymentored research projects, careerrelated internships, study-abroad experiences and service projects that make an impact at home and around the world. UNC Asheville is home to 3,600 undergraduate scholars with more than 30 major areas of study, 16 NCAA Division I athletic teams and an award-winning, internationally known Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
