A Tennessee high school resumed classes a month after floods in Helene

The first day of school atmosphere filled Keenburg Elementary School on a cool but sunny fall day. The excited students caught up after weeks of not seeing each other and everyone gathered in the gymnasium for the welcome assembly.

But Oct. 29 was no ordinary first day of school at Keenburg Elementary School, which hasn’t welcomed students since it closed in 2023. The building with small doors and tight hallways currently serves students at Hampton High School after their school was destroyed. by the floods of Hurricane Helene.

Freshman Justin Crowley ran across the gym to greet his best friend on his “second first day” of school. Crowley knew Ozzy Moore was OK, but they hadn’t seen each other and had trouble communicating as Carter County worked to rebuild even basic public facilities.

“My internet was completely down for about three weeks,” Crowley said, seeking confirmation from Moore on the timing. “I haven’t seen him in a hot minute. I fought.”

Hampton High School students and faculty were last together on Sept. 26 at their home about eight miles away. A school in northeast Tennessee was destroyed during a deadly storm.

School it lies along the Doe River, which has floodedtaking garbage to the school grounds. The football pitch and some buildings were destroyed. Administrators prepared the former elementary school so high school students had a place to study – even if taller students had to bend a little to enter some classrooms.

A different kind of homecoming

Hampton High School’s homecoming football game was scheduled for the night of the flood. Helene canceled these plans and assured that the Bulldogs would not play on their field for the rest of the season.

Instead of organizing weekend homecoming celebrations, they banded together to deliver food and water to neighbors.

“(Our engineering and design teacher) took students with him every day to clean out basements and remove damaged refrigerators,” advisor Allison Glover told Knox News. “We had kids delivering meals with dirty shoes right in the middle of things.”

Right now, while they’re excited to be back together, they have more questions than answers about what the future will look like. The most frequently asked questions are when they will be able to return to their own school instead of the one with playground equipment.

“We’re trying to let them know that we’re trying to get back to (high school) school, we’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” student support coordinator Tyler Malone said. “It’s a work in progress. We don’t know everything either.”

Malone feels at home in Keenburg. He attended elementary school there and later taught before working at Hampton.

In 2023, the former elementary school became the Clark County Schools administration building. Before returning to classes this week, district administrators moved in and faculty decorated the building with blue and white “Go Bulldogs” signs and the Hampton logo. Hand-drawn signs around the building reminded students how strong and important they are.

“We have kids who have lost everything,” Glover said, reflecting on how her role changed from helping with college applications to providing emotional support. “High school students, sometimes it’s hard to let down your walls. But I feel like it really forced them to be a lot more open than usual.”

A month after the scheduled match against Eagleton College and Career Academy, Hampton students and fans gathered at East Tennessee State University this past weekend for a unique makeup game: Clash of Compassion.

Happy Valley High School also faced Unaka High School, and the Hampton homecoming court was finally crowned at halftime.

“I really liked all the schools that were there; it was great for the community,” said defenseman Jayden Kuhn, a junior varsity student. “(Not playing on our field) was very strange, but Hampton travels well.”

“At least we’re together”

Heather Creed, a teacher’s aide at Hampton, felt relieved as she watched students greet each other in the gym on Oct. 29. He now knows that all students were counted, but this was not always the case.

Creed was a student at Hampton High in 1988 when: flooding killed seven people in Carter Countyincluding one of her classmates.

“I didn’t know until we went back to school,” she recalled. “All these feelings came back again. Although (the recent destruction) was devastated for the school, just knowing that everyone was safe was a blessing.”

Current students grew up hearing about the 1988 flood and were at school when the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly shut everything down in 2020. Elder Alexis Nunley feared the closure would be just as long.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish my senior year with my friends,” Nunley said. “Even though it’s a different school and primary school, at least we’re together.”

Back to basics

Keenburg will take some time to get used to. Students tower over backless stools in the cafeteria and are unaccustomed to single-person bathrooms in some classrooms.

During a tour of her new school, student Leigh Lipscomb couldn’t hide her shock.

“Be serious now,” Lipscomb joked to a friend when he saw the cafeteria. She reiterated that she is grateful to be back, but sees the humor in it all. “Our second dining room was much larger. We’re in elementary school.”

Malone said that after presenting the plan, staff quickly converted the administration building into a high school. First, they had to move donated supplies to neighboring churches. Then it was time to order appropriately sized desks and chairs.

“One good thing is that the rooms were mostly empty,” he said. “A clean plan, we just go in and set everything up. When teachers come in, they make their own little tweaks to it.”

It’s still a work in progress. Computers and printers are coming.

“We are heading in that direction. It’s going to be a slow process of figuring out how everything works,” Malone said.

Part of this process is allowing students to enjoy being reunited and begin to heal. Students cheered as Principal Kayla Clawson announced that first period had been canceled and replaced with a free breakfast and dance.

“We’re trying to get them into the classrooms, but we’re going to have to give everyone some grace,” Malone said.

Allie Feinberg writes about politics for Knox News. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg