Thousands of students in the Southeast are facing major disruptions to their education in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The storm, which struck in late September, caused severe damage to homes, campuses, and municipal power and water systems, leaving some school districts unsure of when they will be able to reopen.
While virtual learning proved to be a helpful solution during the COVID-19 school closures, it is not an option for this crisis due to spotty internet and cellphone service. In hard-hit western North Carolina, some districts are warning students that they may miss up to a month of school, while others are unable to determine a timeline for returning to classrooms.
For families like Marissa Coleman’s, the uncertainty is causing great concern. Coleman has sent her four children to stay with their grandparents in Texas because their home in North Carolina’s Buncombe County has no running water. She worries about the impact this extended absence from school will have on her children’s education. “I feel like a month is a lot, but it’s not something that can’t be overcome,” she says. “But if we get further into Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s like, how are they actually going to make this up?”
In mountainous Buncombe County, Helene caused widespread destruction, sweeping away homes, cutting power, and destroying crucial parts of the water system for Asheville, a city of about 94,000 people. The storm also devastated remote towns and tragically claimed the lives of at least 246 people throughout the Appalachians, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.
The Buncombe County School system, which serves over 22,000 students, has informed families that no decision has been made yet regarding the start date or length of the school day. This is due to the need to repair buildings, restore phone and security systems, and redraw bus routes. Even when schools do reopen, educators are concerned about the potential long-term effects of the disruption on students’ learning and emotional well-being.
Research shows that children who experience natural disasters are more prone to acute illness and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The physical and mental health impacts can also put them at greater risk of learning loss, as absences can undermine achievement, and the effects of trauma can impact brain function.
This crisis comes at a time when there is growing concern about the effects of climate change on students. Wildfires have ravaged communities, displacing families, and many school systems with inadequate heating or air conditioning have been forced to close during extreme weather. According to the World Bank, 400 million children lost school days due to “climate-related closures” in 2022.
Just days after Helene made landfall, Hurricane Milton struck the same Florida coast as a Category 3 storm. While about half of the state’s districts were closed, all of them were planning to reopen by the end of the week. In the midst of this chaos, schools are doing their best to provide stability for their students. The Buncombe district has suggested that parents trade books with neighbors and friends for their kids, and have them write about something they’re looking forward to when school starts again. They have also encouraged turning everyday experiences into math problems.
Cécile Wight, a mother of two in Asheville, has been grateful for the support shown by schools during this difficult time. She mentions surveys checking on families’ well-being and an elementary school bus driver who took his own car to visit each child on his route. “That has been huge, just having the emotional support from the school system and from the people we know at the school,” she says.
However, uncertainty still remains. Wight’s family is able to stay at their home because they have well water, but many other families have yet to return since evacuating. As of Tuesday, most of Buncombe’s 45 schools still lacked running water, meaning they are unable to meet basic safety and hygiene standards. Schools are now exploring the possibility of opening without running water, relying on portable bathroom trailers. The Asheville Superintendent, Maggie Furman, has also mentioned the possibility of drilling wells at each school so they do not have to rely on city water.
For families like Coleman’s, the return to some sense of normalcy cannot come soon enough. “I understand the schools are going to have to take some time to find a way to open safely, and I support that 100%. But I definitely am not in the camp
