Ashe County students engage in expressive arts after Helene

Ashe County public schools have been closed for weeks due to Helene.

Students were invited to take part in an expressive arts program where they could spend time with other kids and learn creative coping skills. 

In the Ashe County High School cafeteria one afternoon, kids lined up against big sheets of paper to be traced by their instructors. They’re tasked with filling the outlines in with paint, yarn, magazine cut-outs and whatever else they’d like. 

The portraits aren’t meant to look realistic — they’re supposed to represent what the students feel like on the inside. 

Andi Gelsthorpe is a licensed clinical social worker and co-creator of the expressive arts program. She says activities like these can help children calm their nervous systems and process overwhelming emotions.

“It allows them to have creative expression and really begin to access their internal resources, to build resilience and to express themselves," Gelsthorpe said. 

After finishing their drawings, the kids head outside to play with parachutes, create watercolor paintings with leaves, and socialize after going weeks without classes. 

Caitlin Adams, a licensed mental health counselor co-leading the program, says it can be really hard for children living in rural areas to get social interaction without school. 

“So I work with middle school kids, and I called a couple of them, and it was like immediate COVID quarantine flashbacks," Adams said. "And so just reminding ourselves we can be together in a shared space, and so let’s do that, so we don’t all start to get back into that headspace of like, ‘I’m alone in this; I’m isolating.’”

Debbie Hanna brought her elementary school-aged granddaughter to the program in part because she loves art, but also for that social component. 

“She loves being with other kids. She loves school," Hanna said. "She's missing school, so, yeah, kind of makes it feel a little bit normal.”

Ashe County schools remain closed this week while the transportation team works to design new bus routes. Students are slated to return on October 29. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.