Valle Crucis, North Carolina — In the hills of Watauga County in western North Carolina, the ride for Valle Crucis Elementary School students was filled with excitement Friday. They were among thousands of North Carolina students returning to school for the first time since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of the state about a month ago, chart a path of destruction.
“I was worried about them because of the hurricane,” one Valle Crucis student said of his classmates. “And I was super happy, super-duper happy to see them.”
Helene filled Valle Crucis Elementary School, a primary and secondary school, with 4 feet of muddy water and flooded school buses parked in front of the school. As a result, classes are temporarily being held in a former conference center located about a mile from the damaged school.
“Students, teachers and families have experienced trauma,” said Watauga County Schools Superintendent Leslie Alexander. “Returning children is the first step towards normalcy, but we have to realize that people have been through a lot.”
When Helene hit, 459 schools in 28 districts across North Carolina were affected. Schools in five of these districts remain closed. Some may not open until early November.
Many students still carry a heavy mental burden, the pain of losing a loved one or their home, or in some cases, both. At least 98 people were killed by Helene in North Carolina, according to figures compiled by CBS News, and the hurricane was responsible for at least 217 deaths in six states.
Additional counselors were at Watauga County Schools on Friday to meet the needs of staff and students who wanted to speak.
“For the first couple of weeks I started to feel anxious about not seeing anyone, so it was really refreshing to hear that this week we were going back to school,” said student Georgia, 12. of Valle Crucis.
Georgia was with her parents, James and Heather, when their home began to flood and their community was swept away.
“When the rain stopped and we went for a walk,” Heather said of her daughter. “She said, ‘I’m not learning academically right now, but I’m learning a lot about survival.'”
