County commissioners approve $5.5 M for STEM high school in West Asheville

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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STEM

Asheville STEM school rendering via the Asheville Citizen-Times

“STEM”–science, technology, engineering and math–is the focus of a new high school coming to West Asheville’s Emma neighborhood.

$5.5 million in funding was just approved yesterday, and the money will be used to renovate the existing 50,000-square-foot Career Education Center space on Bingham Road in West Asheville.

The STEM high school is expected to be open for the 2014 school year.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

The school will have up to 400 students and will have a curriculum that is “problem-solving based and inquiry based,” (Buncombe County schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin) said.

Advanced technology will be used in classes and science, technology, engineering and math will be integrated into instruction in other classes like English and social sciences, he said.

The project has been delayed a year or more over concerns of water and soil contamination at the site.

Read the full Citizen-Times story here: Commission approves STEM money

From Mountain Xpress:

The school will emphasize its core subjects as well as real-world experience such as internships. The school system is planning to partner with A-B Tech to offer students college credit for some courses, said Baldwin. He added that the school’s focus will be on preparing students for the jobs of the future, noting that work opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math are growing 60 percent faster than other fields.

Scheduled to open Aug. 1, 2014, the school will have a freshman class of 80–100 students. Plans call for additional students to be added each year until it reaches a full capacity of 300–400 students.

Read the full Xpress story here: Growing a STEM: Buncombe Commissioners approve new high school

More from WLOS: STEM high school approved

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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1 Comment

  1. vivian February 20, 2013

    I hope they will use some of those funds to improve the roads in the neighborhood.

    Reply

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