A.C. Reynolds High School is part of the Buncombe County Schools System. In 1955, three schools, Haw Creek, Fairview and Oakley, consolidated to establish A.C. Reynolds High School. The school was named for former principal and superintendent A.C. Reynolds. In 1976, the current facility was erected across the street from the old facility. After the high school moved into this new building, the original building became the middle school. The high school has two feeder schools: Cane Creek Middle School and A.C. Reynolds Middle School. Cane Creek Middle School, located on the Fairview/Fletcher border, also feeds into T. C. Roberson High School.
Student Enrollment
During the 2009-2010 school year, the student population was recorded as 1,334 students, with an attendance rate of 93.78%. The graduating class of 2010 had 312 graduates. Of those 312 students, 48% went to a four-year college, while 40% went to a two-year college. Other post-graduation pursuits consisted of 7% seeking immediate employment in the work force and 3% joining the military. At the time of graduation, 2% were undecided as to their post-graduation goals.
Faculty
The faculty consists of seventy-one teachers, a principal, four assistant principals, four counselors, a career development co-ordinator, two media specialists, and services from a school psychologist and a speech therapist. A.C. Reynolds High School employs teachers that have all been certified in their subject, and the school currently hosts 32 national board certified teachers.
Curriculum
A.C. Reynolds High School provides four levels of classroom instruction for students: Advanced Placement, honors, college preparatory and occupational. Included within the different instructional levels are vocational, work study/co-op programs, apprenticeships, internships, an Army ROTC program, as well as many courses offered in the visual and performing arts. A.C. Reynolds provides students with the opportunity to participate in dual-enrollment programs with Asheville-Buncombe Technical College and the University of North Carolina at Asheville as well. New advances in technology have made possible online course opportunities through Learn and Earn, UNC Greensboro iSchool, and NC Virtual Public High School. A concentrated curriculum program is used at A.C. Reynolds High School. Students take four 1-½ hour classes each semester, with each semester running a total of 18 weeks. In that time, students can earn four credits for up to a total of eight credits per year.
Athletics
Varsity and JV high school sports include. ACR also has a recreational ultimate team. In 1999, 2002 and 2009 the ACR football team won the 4A State Championship. The 1999 team is famous for its crushing defense which is considered by many sports writers to be the best in the history of the state. In 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015 the Reynolds Varsity Cheerleading team won the State competition. In 1999, 2004, and 2005, the Reynolds Varsity Cheerleading team won the Cheerleaders of America National Championship.
Extracurricular activities
AC Reynolds High School offers many extracurricular activities, such as:
A school newspaper called the Cedar Cliff Notes, which has won several academic awards across the state, including the Tar Heel Award for Scholastic Journalism Excellence. Cedar Cliff Notes is run by Phyllis Cooper's newspaper class, and is published every six weeks. It is a member of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, Quill and Scroll Honor Society for High School Journalists, and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Performing arts and China
In May 2008, the A.C. Reynolds Symphonic Winds Ensemble and the Chorale were extended an invitation to be good-will ambassadors and cultural representatives to the People's Republic of China by the US-China Cultural and Educational Foundation. The two groups engaged in a ten-day tour in the Spring of 2009 in Beijing and the surrounding areas. A.C. Reynolds is the only public high school to have been extended this invitation since the foundation's founding in 1996. Principal Dr. Regina Lambert went to China with them.
Honors
Silver Medal Award by the U.S. News & World Report in their issue, America's Best High Schools
