ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Visitors to A.C. Reynolds High School and A.C. Reynolds Middle School will see big changes when schools reopen in late August.
Buncombe County Schools announced in a press release that it will increase security at two schools by building a guardhouse whose doors will be locked during school hours. The release said it will be the first entry point for registration at both schools. Reynolds Middle School is the only high school in Buncombe County that does not have a security guard at the school entrance.
”Once the school system received the rights to Rocket Drive from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, planning for the event began very quickly,” Reynolds Middle School Principal Ben Alexander told News 13.
Construction has already begun on the Rocket Drive project, which will also include a new sidewalk extending from the high school to the crosswalk at Route 74-A (Charlotte Freeway).
”Our campus is very walkable,” Alexander said. “We have kids from nearby communities who come to our high school and to school. There are also those who ride bikes.”
”(Visitors) stop there, register their name, license plate number and then state the purpose of their visit. We are the only traditional high school in Buncombe County that does not have a guard house,” he said.
”It’s going to be an extra layer of security,” she told News 13. “It gives all the parents peace of mind that when their kids come here, they’re going to be protected while they’re in school. It’s a public school. It’s going to be mostly for people who live in the area, but the school picked a really good time to do it, which is the summer holidays.”
Traffic will be closed from Charlotte Highway to Rocket Drive due to ongoing construction. Motorists can still access A.C. Reynolds High School and surrounding communities via Charlotte Highway along Rose Hill Road to Reynolds School Road. A.C. Reynolds High School can be accessed from Charles Lytle Lane off Charlotte Highway.
Drivers arriving at the high school will enter the parking lot from Reynolds School Road and park, then walk from there to the main gate.
The newly paved Rocket Avenue is expected to open in mid-August, just in time for the start of the 2024-2025 school year. The first day of school for students is Aug. 26. The press release says that once the school year begins, the Rocket Avenue gates will be open for neighborhood residents to use after school and on weekends.
Post time: Mar-18-2025