Doug Thomas has been driving a bus for Yancey County Schools (YCS) for three years. He starts his day running a route and after dropping students off, he heads to East Yancey Middle School where is he one of two custodians.
Many of the roads on his route follow a river or a creek. On Nov. 18, 2024, morning traffic is busy with trucks carrying machinery and hauling gravel. Thomas passes piles of debris dragged from the water ways, waiting to be moved elsewhere.
He points out Micaville Elementary, a historic stone building constructed in 1936. Ayles Creek sits beside it and flooded the building to the point of no return.
“We aren’t used to being helped,” he said. “We are used to helping people.”
On this Monday, Thomas is looking forward to seeing familiar faces as he heads towards a new pick up spot. He exudes enthusiasm for his job and his school in the way he waves, in how he greets students, in his comfort behind the wheel.
“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” he said.
YCS spent 26 days in session prior to Hurricane Helene. Once the storm hit, school buildings were used for shelter, food and supply distribution, or as an overall emergency command center.
Students were out of school for more than seven weeks with major water, power, and infrastructure issues throughout the county. YCS was the last public school district to come back in North Carolina, and people like Doug Thomas are thankfully manning the welcome wagons.
A new kind of first day for students
Visiting East Yancey Middle School
East Yancey Middle School began its day with an all-students assembly in the gym where Principal William Byland focused on assuring students. He said there were extra tutors on staff now, and the school counselor was set up in the cafeteria with other support staff from neighboring counties if anyone needed to talk. If students had forgotten their locker combination, he would be standing out in the hallway with a rolodex to assist.
Students were dismissed by class, and the eighth graders were last in the stands. Byland took a moment to address them personally. There is a student in this class who is still missing. He acknowledged this for them, and emphasized that things may not feel normal and if anyone needs to talk, there are resources.
“We love you guys, we really do. We will get through this together,” he said.
Students bustled down the halls, getting to class on time, seemingly eager to reset their routine. Educators were taking this day as a welcome back to the familiar, if not normal.
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In Leigh Davis’ 7th grade science class, she waited by the door with seat assignments, assuming some students would have forgotten where to go. No one needed reminding, and they promptly pulled out their class materials, two students went to distribute binders, and hands shot in the air with answers during the first exercise of the day.
Visiting Burnsville Elementary School
About half a mile down the road, Burnsville Elementary School (BES) was also getting use to a new normal with 156 new students.
Melanie Bennett, the principal at Micaville Elementary, was answering a phone call in the front office at Burnsville Elementary. With the closing of her school, 198 young students needed to be placed elsewhere in the district.
The majority of her students moved to BES, while 40 others went to South Toe Elementary. She is helping with the transition and splitting her time between the two schools.
“The familiar face is what the parents want to see,” she said. Continuity with Micaville students remains her top priority, noting “every kid in this building has someone from Micaville with them.”
In the week before returning, there was an open house for all families whose child attended BES — old and new — to ease anxieties for students and parents. Dr. Brent Law, principal at BES said, “We are students first — and what that really means is that when you do the right thing for students, you also do the right thing for adults and employees.”
Upon return, the school focused on student support so building a comfort bag and experience was carefully curated for each student. At the beginning of the first day, students received a Battle Pup.
To be good pet owners, students would need warm items during the winter season. They received blankets for their Battle Pup, and went in small groups throughout the day to pick out a brand new coat for themselves. Backpacks and other supplies were available for any student in need.
The school district already had a school consolidation plan in place for 2026, but Helene expedited the process. Blue Ridge Elementary (BRE) is expanding with an addition to accommodate redistricting, and now it will happen earlier than expected. It was announced on Nov. 22, via Superintendent Kathy Amos, that Bennett will become the new principal at BRE.
Visiting Mountain Heritage High School
About five miles down the road from Burnsville Elementary sits the only high school in YCS, Mountain Heritage High School (MHHS). It’s first day back post Helene the school boasted a 95% attendance rate, said Principal Daron Williams.
In the 48 hours following the storm, his school became a main hub for emergency management and stayed that way for weeks. Search and rescue teams from New York, Texas, California, and other states arrived as well as the National Guard. “We had a little over 300 of those folks living in our building, every classroom, every corner in the gym. And this was when we had no water, no power,” said Williams.
The first day with students back was unbelievable, said the principal. He noted that this year’s seniors are those who started 8th grade during COVID. They are resilient, but he wants the class to not miss out on anymore hallmark experiences. Helene disrupted MHHS’s homecoming week festivities, so they were picking right back up.
Some of his students’ houses still don’t have power or passable roads. He and his staff are taking care to accommodate individual student needs, working with schedules to see how best they can serve students.
Behind the main campus of MHHS and down a small hill is the school’s Construction Training Facility. In it students were putting the finishing touches on a home. This home was originally financed by a mother in the community for her daughter, but during the storm, the mother lost her home so now it will be for them both.
“It has taken on a new role,” said instructor Jeremy Dotts. The class is also building a storage shed to accompany the home. It will be moved from the MHHS campus right after Thanksgiving.
Dotts has bigger plans for the future of the program now that Helene has altered the landscape of his community. He wants to downsize the product his students usually build to 500 square foot tiny homes. These new spaces would be tailored to accommodate a certain size family. He would like his students to start producing four tiny homes each semester to help those in need.
“I want to take this program and maximize it to help the community,” he said. It will take restructuring the experience, but they have the potential to do it as long as they can find funding.
“Yancey County lost of a lot of homes. We were truly the epicenter of the storm. The need is just so great. These guys,” Dotts said motioning to his students, “I had everyone of my students return. We did have a few that lost quite a bit, and their spirits are still high, and I think if we are going to lock these guys into a trade and keep them in our community this is a step that we need to take.”
The first week back to school after Helene for YCS saw a water main break in Burnsville, altered bus routes due to impassable stretches, and two remote learning days thanks to icy roads. Its an uphill battle to continue serving students in the face of persistent challenges, but everyone here remains in one way or another feeling blessed.
“You’ve probably heard it a hundred times, but we’re Yancey Strong,” said Williams.
“We’re just resilient, and I don’t know, I’m just really proud of my students, I’m proud of my staff, I’m proud of the county.”
Daron Williams, principal at Mountain Heritage High School
