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District highlights student support work and recovery after Hurricane Helene
Summary
Buncombe County Schools presented strategic-plan highlights focused on student support services and recovery from Hurricane Helene, describing phases of trauma response, expanded McKinney-Vento needs, and programs such as EverDriven to maintain student connections to home schools.
Buncombe County Schools staff told the school board Thursday that the district’s strategic plan guided recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene and continues to shape student support services.
Doctor Jamie Johnson, who led the presentation on the district’s strategic-plan feature, said the plan’s goals around kindness, wellness and staff support became central tools during response and recovery. "Our strategic plan has served as a roadmap for addressing the needs of our students, families, and staff," Johnson said.
Johnson outlined a trauma-recovery framework the district has followed since the storm, describing phases that included the initial "heroic" response, an elevated attendance period the district called a "honeymoon" phase, and an anticipated "reconstruction" phase in year two. Schools operated as hubs for distribution and shelter, staff made door-to-door welfare checks, and bus drivers helped evacuate residents, Johnson said.
District staff described specific supports: the McKinney-Vento student population rose by "more than a thousand students," and the district partnered with EverDriven to help displaced students continue attending their home schools. Johnson credited outside partners and statewide volunteer counselors for supplementing local supports; she also highlighted the work of the Crisis Management Institute and named Sherry Loveray as an advisor used during recovery.
The presentation stressed that while immediate recovery achievements included reopening schools within weeks, long-term stressors have emerged: attendance and staff health dipped in later phases, behavioral issues rose, and staff require ongoing support. Johnson said the district is focused on maintaining staffing levels and student services — counselors, social workers, school psychologists and nurses — to support both academic recovery and well-being.
Board members expressed gratitude for staff efforts and emphasized the need to preserve local funding to keep those positions in place during reconstruction.
No formal board action was taken on the presentation itself; it served as an informational update in advance of budget deliberations.
