CCC&TI helps Helene-impacted Valle Crucis students

Not long after the damage was assessed, Watauga County Schools Superintendent Leslie Alexander and Valle Crucis School Principal Bonnie Smith reached out to college officials and other community partners for help in finding a new location for the 342 students who attended the school.

“Directly following the hurricane, our main focus was locating all our staff and students,” Alexander said. “By the fifth day, we were able to accomplish this, and we were able to take a deep breath. However, we quickly realized that we had to find a place for the students and staff at Valle Crucis to finish the year.

“This was a pretty big lift, given that we were all just trying to get through each day and take care of one another in the wake of the disaster. The way that CCC&TI came to the rescue was really quite amazing.”

The efforts of CCC&TI President Mark Poarch and Watauga campus Executive Director Ronny Holste resulted in the college making schedule changes to provide space for Valle Crucis students to finish out the academic year. Students utilized space on the college campus in Boone while construction on a new Valle Crucis School is completed, Bowman said.

Other partners also stepped up to help provide classroom space for students, including the Valle Crucis Conference Center and Holy Cross Church, which is hosting kindergarten through fifth grade students. Appalachian State University’s Child Development Center is helping to provide space for pre-kindergarten students.

“When we began looking at possible spaces to help with the situation, we not only wanted to provide dedicated classrooms and a quality learning environment, we also wanted the students and staff to feel like they were part of the CCC&TI family,” said Poarch.

Holste was also tasked with finding five classrooms that could be reassigned to VCS students through the end of the 2025 spring semester.

The partnership between the college and school has not only added a new presence at the Watauga campus, but it has also reinforced the college’s commitment to working with Watauga County Schools to provide as many avenues to success as possible for local students and families, Bowman said.

“One of our goals as a community college is to educate students at an earlier age about career opportunities in our area and introduce them to educational programs that align with those careers,” Poarch said.

“Having the Valle Crucis middle schoolers on our campus is giving us a great opportunity to showcase what CCC&TI has to offer so these students will make better-informed decisions about the next steps in their educational and professional journeys.”

For longtime Boone residents Blaine and Ginger Hansen, the initial impact of the storm was not just a disruption, it was a shock and a grim reminder of how quickly things can change on the heels of a natural disaster, Bowman said. The Hansens have lived in the High Country for more than 13 years and both work in higher education. They have three daughters who attend Valle Crucis School, Ainsley, who is in sixth grade, and twins, Rosie and Callie, who are in second grade.

“Like many in our community, we were initially in shock,” Ginger Hansen said. “We knew the storm was going to be bad, but we were not physically or emotionally prepared for just how bad it ended up being. But, thankfully, the girls and I were able to leave for a few days after the storm to stay with my sister’s family in Raleigh.”

When the Hansens learned that the girls would have to finish out the school year in different locations, Ginger Hansen knew there would be an adjustment period, but she never doubted the people who would be caring for her children and knew that together, they would be able to make it work.

Now that several months have passed and the family has had a chance to settle into their new routines, the Hansen girls are adjusting and are all enjoying school in their new locations, Bowman said. For sixth-grader Ainsley, being on a college campus has had a positive impact on her so far.

“Being on campus at CCC&TI every day helps her to feel more mature and mindful of her future,” Ginger Hansen said. “We’re so grateful for the warm welcome that CCC&TI has extended to her and to all of her teachers and classmates.”

Alexander said the partnership has been positive for families and the school system.

“CCC&TI not only offered to provide our middle school students with classroom space, they allowed our teachers and students to become part of their campus family,” Alexander said. “That is really what this experience has been like. They have welcomed us in and have really worked to help our Valle Crucis middle schoolers feel like part of their school community. They have taken partnership to the next level, and for that, I am very grateful.”