The Transylvania Times -

On Nov. 16, Alice Wellborn will end her Transylvania County school board term. She was defeated on Nov. 3, but “defeated” is a bizarre word to apply to this community servant. For four years Alice has worked tirelessly for the students and teachers of our county. She never failed to do extensive research about any issue brought to the board.

After years as our district psychologist, when she retired in 2013, Alice continued to devote her time to children, families, schools and staff. Her wise and measured education newspaper column informed us all about the issues that face a small district such as ours. Her book, “The Savvy Parent’s Guide to Public School,” was a welcome help to families.

She spent months studying remedies needed for our deteriorating high school buildings. When some naively said, “Just combine the schools and build one new one,” Alice pointed out the value of Rosman High School to the vitality of its community.

When racial issues arose, Alice had long been a part of the NAACP Education Committee working to keep children of color in school and increasing their families’ participation. At her own expense, she traveled throughout the state to learn how others were working for student equity.

When the district began to examine the efficacy of the Resources for Resilience approach, Alice devoted her own time and money to taking the preliminary training in Asheville, in order to assess its usefulness to our children and teachers.

The classes she has taught at Brevard College have enlightened her about the impact of high school education practices and programs on college achievement.

In the face of COVID-19 closings, Alice never lost sight of the urgency of getting children back to school for their social, emotional and educational development and for their parents’ need to return to work.

Alice may have lost her bid for a second board term, but “defeated” is not descriptive of her legacy. She has set a high standard for what a school board member needs to offer his/her community. For that we salute her and thank her.

Dorothy Semans

Sheila Mooney

Mary Murray

Susan Andresen

Rebecca Wynn

Susan Wells

Mary Ann Iyer, M.D.

Penelope Davies

Roberta Miller

(Editor’s Note: All of the above signatories are residents of Brevard.)