School Profile

Mission Statement

We, at Ashville Elementary School, believe that all students deserve a safe, structured environment in which to learn with an opportunity to reach their fullest potential and become life long learners. It is our vision to educate the total child so that the student will develop necessary critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as an appreciation for diversity.

About the School

Ashville Elementary School is located in Ashville, Alabama in St. Clair County. The school is located five minutes off Interstate 59 and is situated about halfway between Gadsden and Birmingham. The town of Ashville was established in 1822 and became the only county seat for St. Clair County. Due to a large mountain range south of the town of Ashville, travel was difficult early on and a second county seat was established in Pell City. Today, the county seat is still shared between the two. The town of Ashville has several antebellum homes still standing that were built in the 1800’s. Many of these have been restored and some serve as local businesses. The Ashville House Tea Room and Kell Realty are two businesses that maintain these historical homes. The community proudly opens numerous museums to visitors of our town and students in order to share the history of Ashville. Some of these museums include the Looney House, the Inzer Home, and the Archives Museum. While the town of Ashville is not considered one of the fastest growing towns in the county, St. Clair County is currently one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Alabama. According to the Alabama Association of Regional Councils (AARC), St. Clair County’s strengths are location, good water supply, proximity to the Interstate Highway System, pursuit of industrial growth, and the availability to help municipalities with development projects. The population in the community is predominantly European American, with a minority population composed of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Asians, and American Indians. There are approximately thirty churches in the Ashville school zone which include: Baptist, Methodist, Jehovah Witness, Church of Christ, and several non-denominational churches. The total population in the town of Ashville lies between 2,500 and 3,000. While the school lies within the city limits of Ashville, the majority of students live in rural communities on the outskirts of the city and are bused to the school. Students in Ashville attend Ashville Elementary School from K-4, Ashville Middle School from grade 5-8, and Ashville High School from 9-12.

School Characteristics

On January 15, 1831, the town of Ashville was twelve years old and Ashville Academy was chartered as a school for boys. The school was built on the town’s western boundary on the hill near Ashville Cemetery. The building also served as a place of worship for the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Due to multiple uses of the building, Ashville Academy was soon known as the Meetinghouse. The original building was soon outgrown and the school was moved across town to a huge one-room structure. The name was changed to St. Clair College and the school became co-educational. The boys occupied one side of the room around a large fireplace, while the girls were taught on the opposite end around a second fireplace. In January 1882, land was purchased where the “Old Rock School” would eventually be built. First, a wooden structure was constructed which was made up of three rooms and an auditorium. This building was used until it was destroyed by fire in 1907. At that time, a two-story structure was built and became know as Ashville High School. In 1921, construction began on the well known “Old Rock School”. The fieldstone building was established during the St. Clair County Board of Education meeting held on February 25, 1921. A motion was adopted “to issue warrants in favor of the Ashville School District 10 for such an amount of the Local Tax as might be necessary to supplement the funds of the town with which to erect a new school building in and for said school district.” State aid in the amount of $2,300.00 was extended for erection of the building and was matched with $4,600.00 in local funds. The citizens came together in a town meeting and agreed to erect a modern school. Every hour that could be spared from their farm work was used to pick up and haul the millions of small stones needed to build the school. The building originally consisted of five classrooms, but later an addition two wings, auditorium, and five basement classrooms were built. As the school grew, three additional buildings were constructed to house first grade, vocational agriculture, home economics, and a lunchroom. This building served the Ashville community well until 1963 when a modern brick elementary-secondary complex was built south of town. The historic “Old Rock School” burned in February 1980. The brick building constructed in 1963 to house the elementary students still serves the children of the Ashville school district. Three additions have been built onto the original structure since that time. The latest addition, including an office suite and eight classrooms was completed in December 1998. During the summer of 2001, the entire interior of the building was repainted to give the school a much needed facelift.