Moving Forward {with Mr. Cavnar}

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to travel to Germany with a group of amazing teachers.  Bobby Cavnar, the 2017 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, and the recent recipient of NEA's highest national teacher award was one of them, and we became buddies.  I respect him, and know that he is a great teacher who thinks deeply about the issues that are impacting public education here in NC. 


This week, in the wake of another deadly school shooting - Bobbie wrote a great piece about how we can move forward in NC.  I highly recommend it.

Read it here.

Choose NBHS {I did}

AP Information Booth, 8th Grade Open House

One of the primary changes in NC public education over the last several years is the rise of charter, STEM, and private schools actively recruiting talented students out of traditional public high schools.  Here at NBHS, we have certainly noticed the trend, and have quietly witnessed other schools attempt to sell their programs.

Whereas many of these nontraditional schools have much to offer our students, NBHS remains an amazing high school.  And we do not believe that great students will continue to simply walk in our doors without careful consideration.  Everyone now has a choice.

AP trip to the Civil Rights Memorial Museum, Montgomery, AL

To that end, we have decided to build a PR campaign to educate the families of Buncombe County on exactly what our school offers.  For my part specifically, that involves our Advanced Placement program.  We have developed a website specifically for our AP program, complete with information about all of our (now 16!) AP courses.  In addition, we opened an information booth at our 8th grade open house for families to ask questions and learn about our top notch programs.  This is just the beginning, but I hope that it helps paint a more complete picture of what NBHS has to offer.

We are the only school in Western North Carolina that offers 16 face to face AP classes, coupled with three AP history field trips (these trips include educational tours of NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, and DC).  Extensions of our AP program include our Robotics team, Science Olympiad, Mock Trial team (law), and our competitive Mathematics team.

I have taught at NBHS for 18 years, and am so proud of our school.  I believe in our teachers and students, and have witnessed firsthand the positive impacts that this institution can have on a child's life.  I choose NBHS.  I think you should too.