FBRA Blog
By Alex Briggs Allison, Girls Program Academic Director As an educator, it is a professional dream to work in a school that embodies and lives the pedagogy I hold close to my heart. I believe education should give every child a compass — not directions. I want students to discover confidence in their ability to […]
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Enjoy a Q & A with Caitlin Hay, Girls Program Math Teacher and FBRA Head of Technology. What inspired you to become a teacher? Looking back, I can see so many instances that make me think, “Ah yes, of course, teaching is what I am meant to do,” but in reality, the path to becoming […]
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By Will Yeiser, Executive Director and Co-Founder At the French Broad River Academy, we teach our students and staff to always “point positive.” On river trips, this phrase serves as a critical communication tool: we point only toward the line we want paddlers to take, never toward hazards or undesirable features. Because students learn this […]
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Enjoy a Q & A with Heath Alexander, FBRA Boys Program Social Studies Teacher and infinitely curious and interesting human being! What inspired you to become a teacher? I became a teacher because of the impact of my high school AP U.S. History teacher. Mr. Anderson taught me how to think critically and I have […]
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By Jack Schroeder, Math Teacher Math class can be a series of equations, or it can be a place where math meets imagination via the design process. Enter Desmos: an online graphing software program utilized by high schoolers and beyond as today’s standard graphing resource. This program is not intended for animation, illustration, or programming; […]
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Fall 2025 Overnight Trips are in the books! It was three days and two nights of working on paddling, climbing and campcraft skills, hiking and enjoying campfires, building stronger relationships with classmates and teachers, and learning lessons of resilience that inevitably arise in the outdoors. Whether on a river trip to the Tuckaseegee, Nantahala, or […]
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By Elizabeth Douglas, Director of Admission & Communication We were thrilled to welcome back several FBRA alumni to speak at our annual “High School Night” on October 6, 2025. Current FBRA families left the event inspired by our articulate graduates who shared about their transition to high school, what their respective high schools offer, and […]
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By Sara Valentine, FBRA Girls Program Staff All summer long, you’ll find FBRA staff exploring rivers and sharing adventures that fuel our passion for the outdoors, and that often means heading west on a US Forest Service river permit. With tens of thousands of lottery entries for these coveted river permits and only a handful […]
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By Jeff Edmonds, FBRA Boys Program Staff We are fortunate in Western North Carolina to be surrounded by wonderful places to mountain bike. There are renowned steep and challenging singletrack trails to be had, and there are plenty of places that are appropriate for beginners and for families with varying ability levels to ride together. […]
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By Will Yeiser, Executive Director & Co-Founder The 2025–26 school year is off to a wonderful start, and a big reason for that is one of our most cherished traditions: Induction Week at FBRA at Camps Green Cove for the Girls and Mondamin for the Boys. At first glance, Induction Week might look similar to […]
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