Asheville students return to school one month after Helene devastated city
Asheville City Schools reopen one month after Helene
Dr. Kimberly J. Dechant, the chief of staff of Asheville City Schools, spoke about the part-time reopening of schools in Asheville, when the students will return full-time, the availability of clean freshwater in the school and the Teddy Bear Project the students participated in. Oct. 29, 2024.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - One month after floods from Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina, nearly 4,000 students there returned to the classroom this week.
Helene closed out September dropping nearly 30 inches of rain – or four months’ worth of rain – in three days in parts of western North Carolina. The torrential rains left devastation across Asheville, inflicting flood damage to many schools throughout the district.
One of the biggest hurdles schools had to overcome was the lack of clean water, as the primary and secondary water systems for the City of Asheville were wiped out by the floods, according to Chief of Staff of Asheville City Schools Dr. Kimberly J. Dechant.
North Carolina updates on Hurricane Helene recovery
The federal government has approved nearly $2 billion in assistance across six states to help people hit hard by hurricanes Helene and Milton, the White House said Wednesday. North Carolina governor Roy Cooper held a press conference updating on Helene recovery efforts.
While city water was reinstated a couple weeks ago, Dechant said it is not yet safe to drink. The school system has worked with a nonprofit known as Water Mission to install water filtration systems at schools, so students will have clean water to drink.
"I never would have dreamed that here we are in western North Carolina, surrounded by lakes and rivers, and that we would be in a situation where our water was compromised and that we would need access to something like this," she said.
Asheville residents residents line up for gasoline at a gas station on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. The remnants of Hurricane Helene caused widespread flooding, downed trees, and power outages in western North Carolina. (Travis Long/The News & Obs
Dechant added that, as they are working to install the water filtration systems in all Asheville City Schools, they are supplying bottled water to students.
Another challenge for school officials to address was overcoming the trauma of students who have been dealing with immense hardships caused by Helene and the disruptions they’ve faced in their lives.
Dechant said one way students have been helped was through a partnership with the Vermont nonprofit the Teddy Bear Project. The nonprofit brought teddy bears to the Asheville City Schools, so kindergartners each had a teddy bear with a personal note waiting for them to help welcome them back into the classroom.
"It was pretty amazing to watch those kids come in one by one, and the hugs that they gave their teachers and their instructional assistants," she said. "Our kids were clearly ready to be back in the classroom learning."
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