From Desk of ACS Supt. David Burleson: Welcome Back Students, Successful Bash

By ACS Supt. David Burleson

On Monday, Aug. 17, the Avery County Schools welcomed over 2,100 students back for another exciting school year. Much hard work went into having our schools prepared for the students to enter their schools, and I want to thank all those who put forth that effort in dedicated service to our students. As always, when starting a new year, there are adjustments to be made in perfecting bus routes, cafeteria schedules, student schedules, and other various issues. We appreciate your patience as we strive to resolve in ways that will best serve our students.

In addition to a great start of a new year, our community was able to participate in the second annual Back to School Bash on Saturday, Aug. 1. This event was far reaching and offered tremendous support and encouragement to our students and families. The Back to School Bash held at Linville Land Harbor was a true blessing and affirmed how our county cares so abundantly for its children. Saturday emphasized clearly how much Avery County values our young people and how much they support our school system. No one could possibly place a value on what this event meant in the lives of these students, both monetarily and emotionally.

From the churches that donated money, supplies, and materials, to the community organizations that showed up to distribute materials—“Thank you”. Over six hundred of our Avery County Schools’ students along with family members came out for a day of fun, excitement, information, and great fellowship. A very special thank you goes out to Mrs. Michelle Trivett, Activities Director at Land Harbor, Betty Miles, Patricia Shook, Libby Wise and Kathy Benfield for all their hard work and effort to put this together. We also extend special appreciation to David Vance and Mark Phillips at Land Harbor for supplying the technical assistance, traffic control, and for putting all of our safety information together.

There were many groups and individuals who assisted and supported our Back to School Bash; and I want to express my deepest gratitude for those contributions. If you were a part of this important event and do not find your name on the following list, please let us know so that we can appropriately tell you so. (I apologize ahead of time for any omissions.) Again, thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students!

Please mark your calendars for the 2016 Back to School Bash, tentatively set for Saturday, Aug. 6. We hope that we can grow the event and include even more community stakeholders. Interested persons may contact Libby Wise at libbywise@averyschools.net or me at davidburleson@averyschools.net.

As I have stated many times, our schools are stronger because of your support and participation. Remember that we are here to assist you or answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to give us a call at (828) 733 – 6006 or visit www.averyschools.net.

‘Together, we can build bright futures on child at a time.’

David Burleson, Superintendent