Asheville School? (Swannanoa: schools, living in, eat)

[Chefridge]

I will be relocating to Asheville in the summer along with my wife, 4 year old, and 6 year old. We have visited most schools there and have narrowed our choices to Asheville Catholic or Rainbow Mountain. They are very different from each other but both seem like great schools in there own right. We will be living in the Beaver Lake area, very close to the Catholic school which is a big plus for me. My reservation about it is we are not Catholic and wonder about how the teaching of science is approached. Everything else seems great about the school. Rainbow mountain on the other hand is a good distance away, but seems very open minded and arty which we like. The kids enjoyed there day in the Catholic School, but had a blast at Rainbow Mountain. I was just looking for any input or recommendations from people who have kids that have attended either school or attended themselves. Thanks for the help.

[willbo1]

I know this isn't answering what you asked so I apologize. But... have you looked at/considered Odyssey Community School? Similar to RM in some ways and a much nicer campus and great faculty. Again, I apologize if you are set on deciding between those two and aren't looking for additional suggestions.

[Chefridge]

Thanks for the reply. We looked at Odyssey School but weren't big on the sharing of classes for different grade levels. It is a nice campus though.

[eiafjam]

Asheville Christian Academy in Swannanoa

[ShipOfFools42]

I thought this thread was going to be about Asheville School, which is a private, co-ed, part-boarding, part-day student, excellent school with a beautiful campus. My old headmaster from Christ School in Arden would hate me for saying so, but Asheville School is awesome; way nicer than Christ School could ever hope to be. But that's a ways off for you since your kids are young.

I don't know much about Rainbow Mountain, and maybe I'm just an intolerant non-hippie, but the place has always kinda made me roll my eyes. I dunno, what kind of name for a school is that? Silly complaint for sure, but something about a school called Rainbow Mountain, located on Haywood Road, just makes me a bit hesitant. Because, like, that's a weird part of town, and you would definitely want to find out who is going to be teaching your child. I'm sure they have great teachers there, but then again, there are some super-hippies with some super-hippie ideas on how to raise a child living in West Asheville. Yet again, not necessarily a bad thing, just something to know. I mean, I saw something about some meditation/new-age type deal where the mother holds the child in her hands and swings him or her around in a circle, something crazy like that; the picture I saw had a caption saying it was in someone back yard in West Asheville.

Several of my friends are bona fide dread-lock hippies, and that's cool with me because they're great people to be friends with. But when it comes down to our social, political, and all other sorts of views, we strongly disagree. You just need to be very aware of whose hands you're putting your child into everyday. Because as much as I love my friends, I wouldn't want any of them caring for my child on a daily basis (if I had one, that is).

DISCLAIMER: "Hippie" is not exactly the correct term, because actual hippies don't exist anymore. But I think you guys know what I'm talking about, especially if you live in Asheville. You know, dress crazy to draw attention, wear dreadlocks, go to a concert five nights a week, live entirely on kale and carrots, get offended if you eat a steak, you know what I mean.

[willbo1]

Originally Posted by Chefridge

Thanks for the reply. We looked at Odyssey School but weren't big on the sharing of classes for different grade levels. It is a nice campus though.

Got ya!