Flooding from Hurricane Helene damages schools in Watauga County

Hurricane Helene has caused significant damage to Watauga County homes, roads and buildings.

Schools have been closed this week as a result, but it may be a long time before some of them reopen. 

Boone resident Marcie Hampton’s children attend a small nonprofit school called Wildwood Agile Learning Community. But the building, which was in a low-lying area near a creek, has been completely destroyed along with nearly everything inside of it. 

“The fire marshal told us not to go in the building because they're worried about the structural integrity. So it's pretty much been wiped off the map," Hampton said. "But I think now people are getting out and looking and seeing kind of the damage, because we're able to get a little bit more mobile. And so I think a lot of schools are going to be experiencing a similar tragic feeling.”

Several other schools in the area sustained damages according to a report by the Watauga Democrat. That includes significant flooding in the current Valle Crucis Elementary School. Mountain Pathways Montessori School also shared that its campus was hit hard by the floods. 

For now though, Hampton said her top priority will be making sure her loved ones and neighbors are safe. 

“It feels terrible because the school is such a wonderful place, but it's almost a lower priority, because there's literally, you know, best friends of ours lost their entire house," Hampton said. "And so unfortunately, I think, our next immediate steps are just trying to make sure people are safe and taken care of, and then we'll look to the school.”

Watauga County Schools are closed this week, though Watauga High School is operating as a water distribution center daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hardin Park Elementary School will be providing childcare from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Wednesday. 

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