Asheville High, 419 McDowell St.: grades 9-12, 1,167 students in 2024-25, a B (74) state grade.

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the school’s website; Asheville City Schools’ enrollment and calendar pages; Buncombe County’s school district mapping tool; the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2024-25 report card data and 2025-26 school assessment workbook; the federal NCES school directory; and the NCHSAA’s 2025-29 realignment.

Asheville High is an Asheville City Schools high school at 419 McDowell St., Asheville. It shares its McDowell Street campus with the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville (SILSA), the district’s small early-college-style high school.

Who to call
Address 419 McDowell St., Asheville, NC 28803
Phone 828-350-2500
Grades 9 to 12
District Asheville City Schools
State school code 111302

Principal

Principal Derek Edwards, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: an average daily membership of 1,167 students in the 2024-25 school year, up from 1,134 in 2023-24, according to the state’s report card data.
  • Federal count: 1,165 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 87 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 13 students per teacher.

State report card

North Carolina grades every public school A to F. The grade is based 80% on student achievement and 20% on academic growth, according to the state’s 2025-26 annual testing report. For a high school, achievement includes end-of-course tests, the ACT or WorkKeys, NC Math 3 and the four-year graduation rate.

School year Grade and score Growth
2024-25 B (74) Met
2023-24 B (72) Met

The 2024-25 grade is the latest in the state’s downloadable report card data. From the state’s 2025-26 school assessment workbook:

  • At grade level or above, all end-of-course tests: 65.4% (statewide, all tests: 59.2%)
  • College and career ready (Level 4 and above): 47.4%
  • Growth in 2025-26: met expected growth
  • By course, at grade level or above: English II 77.3%; Biology 65%; NC Math 1 28.7%; NC Math 3 71.1%
  • ACT composite of 17 or higher, 11th graders: 75.8% (statewide: 54.5%)
  • Four-year graduation rate: 90.2% (statewide: 89%)

The full report card, with class sizes, teacher data and school safety figures, is on the state’s NC School Report Cards site.

Attendance zone

Asheville City Schools does not draw attendance zones inside the district. It offers school choice at every grade level to families who live in the district, assigning students to their school of choice within board policy, school capacity and a 1991 federal desegregation order, according to its enrollment office. The elementary schools are magnet schools, and families may pick any of them where space allows and racial balance is kept, according to the district’s magnet program page.

The line that matters is the district boundary, which does not match the city limits: by our measurement of the county’s map, the district covers about 37% of Asheville’s land area, and Buncombe County Schools serves the rest. Check an address with the county’s school district mapping tool, which the district links from its enrollment process page.

Feeder pattern: Asheville Middle, the district’s only middle school, feeds Asheville High; the county’s map assigns the whole city district to the school.

Students from outside the district may apply for discretionary admission. They pay annual tuition, get no bus service and must be released by their zoned school, according to the enrollment process page.

We found no rezoning or boundary change approved by the Asheville City Board of Education that affects the school.

Calendar and bell times

Coming dates on the Asheville City Schools 2026-27 6-12 calendar (PDF):

  • Wednesday, Oct. 28: end of the first quarter
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: no school for students (teacher workday)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: holiday
  • Wednesday, Nov. 18: late start
  • Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Wednesday, Dec. 16: late start
  • Friday, Dec. 18: early release
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break
  • March 22-26, 2027: spring break
  • Friday, June 4, 2027: last day of school, early release

Bell times: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for middle and high schools, according to the 2026-27 calendar. The district’s enrollment FAQ puts the earliest drop-off for secondary students at 7:45 a.m. On late start days, Asheville High’s own calendar lists classes from 10:30 a.m.

Sports and activities

Asheville is a 6A school in the NCHSAA’s 5A/6A Conference G for the 2025-29 alignment, with A.C. Reynolds, Enka, Erwin, North Buncombe and T.C. Roberson, according to the approved realignment.

The school’s athletics pages list these teams:

  • Fall: football, boys soccer, boys and girls cross country, girls golf, girls tennis, field hockey and volleyball
  • Winter: boys and girls basketball, boys and girls indoor track, boys and girls swimming and diving, and boys and girls wrestling
  • Spring: baseball, golf, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys tennis, boys track and field and girls soccer

Fall schedules and results are in our Friday night football guide and on our scoreboard.

Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment with A-B Tech and UNC Asheville are open to Asheville High students from 11th grade, according to the district’s enrollment FAQ.

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Frequently asked questions

What grades does Asheville High serve?

Asheville High serves ninth through 12th grade.

What is Asheville High’s school grade?

Asheville High earned a B, with a score of 74, in North Carolina’s 2024-25 School Performance Grades. In 2025-26, 65.4% of its state tests were at grade level or above and it met its growth target.

What time does Asheville High start?

The middle and high school day runs 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to the Asheville City Schools 2026-27 calendar.

What conference is Asheville High in?

Asheville is a 6A school in the NCHSAA’s 5A/6A Conference G for the 2025-29 alignment, with A.C. Reynolds, Enka, Erwin, North Buncombe and T.C. Roberson.