Academic Overview

Course Requests can be viewed within the School Portal. If you need assistance accessing the portal, please contact the School’s Registrar, Mr. Kussrow, in our Academic Office.

Parents

• You should login to the portal using the same credentials you used to submit your student’s online application.

New Students

• If you have logged into the portal, please use the same e-mail address and password that you have used previously.
• If you have not logged into the portal, you will need to set up your credentials (called a “Blackbaud ID”) by following the links in an invitation email that you will receive from Asheville School. If the school does not have an e-mail address for you, please have a parent contact our Admission Office to provide us with an email address we can use for you.
  • Note: Students cannot have the same email address as a parent.
• New students will receive their Asheville School e-mail addresses once they arrive on campus in August.

Returning Students

• Please login to the portal using your Asheville School student e-mail address.

Blackbaud ID Instructions

• CLICK HERE to view a detailed guide with instructions for setting up your portal login using Blackbaud ID.

Upon logging on, look under the “My Day” menu and select “Course Requests.” Some requests have already been added for you; others will be added as you complete our online placement tests and provide us with some additional information.

• Please do not add course requests yourself within the portal. Instead, you should email our Registrar, Mr. Kussrow, with any academic preferences or requests that you would like the school to consider.
• Student schedules and specific class assignments will not be available until much later in the summer months.

Standard Course Enrollment

Typically, every student is enrolled in five core full-year academic courses: an English course, a history course, a science course, a math course, and a world language course (either Spanish or French). In addition, students typically take an elective as a sixth course; that can either be an additional full-year course, or it can be a combination of three single trimester courses.

• All Third Formers (9^th graders) are already signed up to take “Life Skills” as their elective for the year, so no additional courses need to be added.
• Fourth Formers (10^th graders) are encouraged to take an arts elective for one, two, or three trimesters. A full Visual & Performing Arts credit is required for graduation.
• Fifth and Sixth Formers (11^th and 12^th graders) will take a single trimester of “College Prep” as an elective – in the fall for Sixth Formers and in the winter for Fifth Formers. Those students are encouraged to find other electives to take during the trimesters when they’re not in “College Prep.”

Although our academic year is divided into trimesters, almost all core academic courses are year-long (1 credit) offerings. Some courses are designed as single-trimester (1/3 credit) electives, generally for students who have already completed the core requirements in a department.

You can review our standard course progression and course offerings by grade level below:

• Standard Course Progression
• Course Offerings

Course Placements
Additional details about departmental course placements can be viewed in the following accordion panels. We do ask that incoming students take the necessary time in the beginning of the summer to complete the appropriate online departmental assessments.

The Academic Office requests that assessments be completed by June 30.

English Course Placement

English courses are determined by grade level, and those course requests have already been added as requirements to the course schedule.

• Third Form (9^th Grade): World Literature
• Fourth Form (10^th Grade): European Literature
• Fifth Form (11^th Grade): American Literature | American Literature (Advanced)
• Sixth Form (12^th Grade): Global Literature | Global Literature (Advanced) OR Women in Literature | Women in Literature (Advanced)

Should you have any questions about English course placements, please contact our English Department Chair, Ms. Chris O’Steen.

Summer Reading Requirements

Summer reading requirements are based upon your English and history course placements. Summer reading assignments can be found here.

Required 11th & 12th Grade Humanities Course Placement Consideration for New Students

All new 11^th & 12^th grade students must complete THIS FORM to indicate whether they want to be considered for the “Advanced” level of “American Literature” and/or “American History.”

History Course Placement

History courses are determined by grade level, and those course requests have already been added as requirements to the course schedule.

• Third Form (9^th Grade): World Cultures
• Fourth Form (10^th Grade): Western Civilization
• Fifth Form (11^th Grade): American History | American History (Advanced)
• Sixth Form (12^th Grade): Global Affairs (Advanced) [Optional]

Should you have any questions about History course placements, please contact our Interim History Department Chair, Mr. Jonathan Schwab.

Summer Reading Requirements

Summer reading requirements are based upon your English and history course placements. Summer reading assignments can be found here.

Required 11th & 12th Grade Humanities Course Placement Consideration for New Students

All new 11^th & 12^th grade students must complete THIS FORM to indicate whether they want to be considered for the “Advanced” level of “American Literature” and/or “American History.”

Placement into our math curriculum is based on each student’s prior experience and mastery of the fundamental components of that discipline. All students are expected to complete a math course at least one level above Algebra II to fulfill our graduation requirement in the Math department.

Required Math Assessment for All Incoming Students

To help us ensure that you will be placed at the appropriate level, we require all of our new students to complete the following online math assessment:

• All students should complete an online math placement assessment.
• The test will take approximately 60 minutes (you can take up to 90 minutes).
• Plan to complete the test in ONE SITTING; you can’t save and finish it later.
• Calculators are allowed for this test, but no other resources are allowed.
• CLICK HERE to access the Math Assessment.
  • The deadline for completing this assessment is June 30.

Should you have any questions about Math course placements, please contact our Math Department Chair, Mr. Jacob O’Brien.

Third Form

The standard science course for Third Former students is Biology. This course is offered at either the ‘Standard’ level or at the ‘Honors’ level. Honors Biology is appropriate for students with especially strong math and reading skills, and enrollment will be limited to students who have demonstrated those traits.

Fourth Form

Fourth Former students typically take Chemistry as their science course. This is offered at either the ‘Standard’ level or at the ‘Honors’ level. Students who have demonstrated strong abilities in their previous math and science courses are eligible for Honors Chemistry.

Fifth & Sixth Form

Fifth and Sixth Form science placement is dependent upon each student’s previous academic record and their own demonstrated interests and abilities. Our science requirement includes a high school credit in Biology (or an equivalent Life Science), a credit in Chemistry, and a credit in Physics. The first-year components of those courses can be taken either the ‘Standard’ or ‘Honors’ level; the second-year components are offered at the ‘Advanced’ level and are appropriate for students with strong math skills and a passion for science. Rising 11th and 12th grade students should email Mr. Van Kussrow to indicate their preferences for a science course next year.

Elective Courses

Elective courses within the science department are only appropriate for students who have already completed our core academic requirements for science: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

Should you have any questions about Science course placements, please contact our Science Department Chair, Ms. Christine Jones.

All Asheville School students must earn three credits in one language. Or, students may complete two credits in two languages. For example, a student who has earned a credit in French I, French II, and French III will have satisfied our graduation requirement. Or, a student who has earned a credit in French I, French II, Spanish I, and Spanish II will have satisfied our graduation requirement.

• Students for whom English is their second language may meet the graduation requirement with only two credits of a World Language at Asheville School.

Language Preference for Beginners or Students Interested in Studying a New Language

Asheville School offers courses in Spanish and French. If you have no previous experience in a second language (or if you would like to begin studying a new language), you should complete the following form to indicate your preference. Based on your response, you will then be enrolled either in Spanish I or French I next year.

• CLICK HERE to access our First Year Language Preference Form.
  • The deadline for completing this preference form is June 30.

Assessments for Students Who Have Already Been Studying French or Spanish

If you have previously studied either French or Spanish, you should complete the appropriate language assessment below to provide us with some additional information about your level of mastery in that language. The object of this test is to place you in the level where you are going to have the best chance to succeed.

• Outside help of any kind is prohibited on this assessment — either from a person, a textbook or dictionary, or from an electronic or online resource.
• This should take you less than an hour to complete, and it must be completed in one sitting.
  • A timestamp is recorded one you open this assessment, so please only start the process when you have time to complete it.
• The assessment is graduated, starting with more basic material and moving to more advanced — please try to complete as much of it as you can.
  • CLICK HERE to access our FRENCH PLACEMENT TEST
    • The deadline for completing the French Placement Test is June 30.
  • CLICK HERE to access our SPANISH PLACEMENT TEST
    • The deadline for completing the Spanish Placement Test is June 30.
• After you’ve submitted your language placement test, a member of the World Languages Department will reach out to schedule a Zoom call to assess your conversational skills (in either French or Spanish).

Should you have any questions about World Language course placements, please contact our World Language Department Chair, Ms. Caroline Fleming.

All students are required to take five academic courses each year, and we encourage students to choose a sixth course that fits their academic goals and interests. Since our daily schedule is based on a seven-period rotation, students with six classes per trimester will still have one free period in their schedule.

Third Form

• Third Form students will take a year-long enrichment course called “Life Skills”; because of that required course, additional elective courses are not available for Third Formers.

Fourth Form

• Fourth Form students are required take a single trimester course called “This I Believe” as a component of our public speaking requirement. In addition, Fourth Formers are encouraged to take a single trimester elective from within our Visual & Performing Arts Department to fulfill that graduation requirement.
• Please use THIS FORM to indicate your preferences for a Visual & Performing Arts Elective.
  • The deadline for completing this form is June 30.

Fifth Form

• Fifth Form students will take a required single trimester “College Prep” class during the second trimester. This will introduce students to the college admission process and prepare them for college selections and the application process.
• Please use THIS FORM to indicate your preferences for a Visual & Performing Arts Elective.
  • The deadline for completing this form is June 30.

Sixth Formers

• Sixth Form students will take a required single trimester “College Prep” class during the first trimester. This class will be focused on the college application process, providing guidance and support as applications are completed and submitted.
• Please use THIS FORM to indicate your preferences for Visual & Performing Arts Elective.
  • The deadline for completing this form is June 30.

Course Offerings

• Course offerings, including elective courses, can be viewed here.

At Asheville School, we are deeply committed to nurturing every student’s academic growth and success. Our Academic Support Team partners closely with all academic departments to provide individualized guidance and resources tailored to meet each student’s unique needs.

You can learn more information about our academic support services here.