Little Switzerland
Little Switzerland, NC · Education
828newsnow.com
828 Scoreboard: Week 12 of high school football
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The regular season is in the books, and Western North Carolina high school football teams turned their attention to the playoffs Friday night, Nov. 6. After 11 weeks of football, the stakes were higher as area teams began their postseason runs, hoping to keep their seasons alive and move one step closer to a state championship.
The Greeneville Sun
WLOS.com
Ashe Post & Times
$35 million App State GEAR UP grant advances college, career readiness for Western NC students
BOONE — Appalachian State University’s Office of Rural Promise (ORP) is the awardee of a seven-year, $35 million GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The award marks the second consecutive $35 million federal grant App State has received in support of its GEAR UP program, allowing the university to serve more students and families across the western portion of the state. GEAR UP is a federally funded college access program designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education immediately after high school. Through a wide range of research-based services to students, families and teachers, App State’s GEAR UP NC Appalachian Partnership aims to improve college-going mindsets, high school graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment rates. Results from App State’s previous GEAR UP grants demonstrate the program’s effectiveness in improving educational outcomes. Among participating schools, 97% of students were on track to graduate by the end of ninth grade, and 98% graduated from high school on time, significantly exceeding the statewide average of 88%, according to 2024–25 data, the latest available. “By helping prepare thousands of regional middle and high school students