We're Proud to Be Buncombe County Schools' Kennedy Center Partner
Since 2018, LEAF Global Arts and Buncombe County Schools have been designated a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Partners in Education team — only the third cohort ever selected from North Carolina. This national honor puts BCS in an elite group of school districts partnering with arts organizations to transform teaching and learning. Together, we're proving that arts integration and global awareness belong in every classroom, every day. For BCS students, that means access to cultural arts experiences that build creativity, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning.
This Partnership Puts Buncombe County on a National Stage
LEAF and BCS were among just seven teams nationwide selected for the Kennedy Center's Partners in Education program, joining nearly 100 teams across 39 states and the District of Columbia. Our team attended the Partners in Education Institute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., bringing national best practices back to Buncombe County. As only the third North Carolina cohort, BCS is recognized as a leader in arts-integrated learning — sharing our local model, from global arts residencies to the Easel Rider mobile art lab, with school districts across the country.
Our Teaching Artists Are Right There in BCS Classrooms
Teachers want to bring the arts into their lessons, but too often lack the training and resources. That's where LEAF Schools & Streets steps in. Over 16 year-round Resident Teaching Artists deliver programs in HIP HOP, world percussion, African Diaspora drumming and dance, theatre, and media arts — all inside Buncombe County Schools. Twice a year, international visiting artists deepen these residencies. Every program is aligned with the Search Institute's Developmental Assets framework, building cultural competence and personal power in students. By partnering directly with BCS teachers, we make arts integration sustainable, not occasional.
