Mia Llibre, Editor-in-Chief of The Powderhorn

Relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene have been extensive as Western North Carolina has suffered significant devastation. In the face of adversity, these communities have come together to support one another by providing families with essential resources. Watauga High School has played an integral role in supporting community members and continues to do so as school reopens for students. 

“The state passed a bill called HB 149 and it impacts all the counties that were impacted by Hurricane Helene,” said Dr. Leslie Alexander, Watauga County Superintendent. “And because we've had to be out of school so much, it was the option of either having to make up those 20 days of school at the end of the year or they could forgive those days. The state has allowed us to forgive those days, which means they're counting them completed and we don't have to make them up. That's good, but it's also 20 days of lost instruction.”

In order to minimize the impact for students and staff, the local Board of Education has made some adjustments to the academic calendar. For example, October 30 and 31 were scheduled to be half days to hold parent conferences. Those will now be full instructional days. Additionally, April 2nd was scheduled to be a PD day for teachers and that will now be a full instructional day. 

“The teachers are going to be spending appropriate time kind of reviewing and recapping,” said Daniel Machon, Watauga High School Assistant Principal. “We're going to be trying to ease our student body back into where they were in their classes. We don't want to blindside anybody. That's not our intention. Our intention and everything that we're doing is still going to be what's best for students.”

The question of snow days has been a concern for many students. While the scheduled last day of school is June 3, it is likely that this date will need to be moved back accordingly due to the foreseeable inclement weather. The school is advised to end as close to June 11 as possible, meaning that, in any case, there will not be an excessive amount of days compensated. 

The first quarter has been moved back a week to Friday, November 1; however, the regularly scheduled date for the end of the first semester remains on January 17. As of right now, Spring Break remains intact but it may fall under revision depending on the winter weather. The House Bill 149 provided additional remote days in order to prepare students for any further loss of in-person instruction.

“We have no control over the AP test schedule, and we don't even have control over state testing,” said Dr. Alexander. “We have made that request, the Superintendents of the Western Region, to have some flexibility with accountability for state testing. But I don't know if that will be granted. There have been hurricanes in the eastern part of the state previously, and that's not been taken into account. So we really don't know how that's going to turn out. So far, those state tests and those AP tests will be required for all students.”

Buses are now operating on limited routes for many of the schools, in order to ensure the safety of all students. The Department of Transportation approved of the 44 community bus stops where there is sufficient access for bus parking and for parents to drop off and pick up their children. Additionally, when parents are picking students up from the bus stop, they need to have a form of identification available for security purposes. 

“We're all coming in with a different experience over the last four weeks,” said Dr. Bailey, Watauga High School Assistant Principal. “Some students have been stressed out about not being in school because they're thinking they're falling behind in their classes and some don't even want to think about school because of what's physically happened to them and their families. Because we have a lot of students, where a community bus stop is the only way to get to school. It's definitely something to navigate together. We're just constantly listening to each other's needs and trying to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.”

Teachers will be focusing on the most important aspects of the course curriculum and will continue to carry conversations with each student to better understand their individual situations. The high school offers resources available for students, both for physical and emotional needs.

“We need to assess where kids are, and with grace and support try to figure out how to get everybody through this the best we can,” said Dr. Alexander. “I think what we've seen is how much our community supports our schools and how integral our schools are to our community. With that in mind, this is something that we've never been through before and we're going to have to figure out how to get through it together.”