Asheboro City Schools officially opened their new Welcome Center on Feb. 15. As families walked into the newly designated hub, the sign on the door and message adorning the walls directly expressed the overall purpose for this new center — to empower families and connect communities.

District educators greeted families, and school leadership gave tours and talked about resources and upcoming events to be held in the space. Student volunteers were also there to help translate for families where there was a language barrier. For the 2022-23 school year, 51.1% of students in Asheboro City Schools identified as Hispanic.

Superintendent Dr. Aaron Woody said, “One of our commitments has always been, and it continues to be, partnering with anybody to help our kids to be successful.”

“We wanted spaces where folks can come in a non-threatening way, and an unintrusive way, and have access to resources in the community, and also connect with us from an academic standpoint.”

Asheboro City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Aaron Woody

Woody believes the school district can be a “cultural broker” and provide a place to connect the dots in the community. The space will be available to the business community, the faith community, and more, and also as a place where where families can come get help with things like navigating the FASFA and looking at Advanced Placement, honors, or dual-language courses for their students.

The two-room welcome center will be used for classes and educational sessions as well as a place to obtain school supplies, computer access, and material about community resources for families.

The welcome center renovations are due in part to a Digital Learning Initiative Grant from the Department of Public Instruction. Asheboro City Schools will receive $95,000 per year for a total of three years. The school district intends to use those funds to continue to develop the Global Innovation Center, where the brand new welcome center is located.