Buncombe County Schools history

By 1920, Buncombe County was firmly established as a transportation, manufacturing, forestry, agricultural, educational, medical and tourist center.

Despite the profound impact of the "great depression" that began in 1929, those same industries exist today in a vibrant metropolitan area surrounded by unsurpassed natural beauty.

1976 The organization now known as Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County began as Youth Services Action Group with a focus on advocacy work.

1992 Children First is established as a program of the United Way of Asheville-Buncombe County.

1995 The Family Resource Center opens and provides food, clothing, and emergency supports for families living in the Emma Community.

So in 1997, when local real estate attorney Marc Rudow told her he had stumbled on a collection of slave deeds while researching a parcel of land at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds, she was eager to use them with students.

1998 Children First becomes an independent non-profit and provides both direct services and public policy advocacy.

2003 Children First becomes the Buncombe County affiliate of Communities In Schools, a national dropout prevention network.

2007 Children First/CIS afterschool learning centers open and provide homework assistance for K-5th graders in under-resourced communities.

Then, in 2012, Drew Reisinger, the newly elected Buncombe County register of deeds, learned of the students’ work and immediately saw the ethical and practical value of placing the deeds online.